Re: Madden NFL 21 - Cannot connect to EA servers - Check Ethernet Cable Message

Hey, @rickysteve40 

After looking over the UO Trace there is significant packet loss and wide ping variance. The range you're experiencing is a major concern where it could be a damaged server site your connection is hitting along the way to our servers. There's been some wild weather across the United States lately including blackouts in the East region, so it may not be your equipment or your local network but rather an ISP backbone technical issue.

A similar player was having trouble connecting and their ISP discovered an issue. It's this post here: https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues/PS5-Madden21-can-t-connect-to-server/m-p/9961639/highlight/true#M8557

I recommend contacting your ISP and showing them these trace route results so they can help troubleshoot the path your connection is taking to our servers. 

Understanding your results

There are a few things to keep your eye out for when running these tests.

• High ping times: If your average ping times are often above 150ms, you’ll see slower response times in-game. If they’re over 200ms, you’ll probably have connection drops.
• Packet loss: If you see numbers other than 0% or 100% in the % Loss column, it means data is being lost at that point in your connection. If you see it in more than one place, or if the numbers are high, this is probably what’s causing your connection issues. Make a note of the hops where packet loss is happening, and contact your ISP to let them know about it
• Big differences between the best/worst ping times: This is a good indicator of an unstable connection. The difference between your best and worst ping times should be 100ms at most. If it’s more than that, that means a jittery or spiky connection. This is what causes lag in games and is the source of frustrating inconsistencies in performance. If you see this in your UOTrace, talk to your ISP about that, too.

@rickysteve40 

Mobile hot spots are not advised for today's connectivity requirements for online console gaming. With the packet loss and high ping times you were receiving in the report this is unfortunately something we will not be able to fix as the results indicated it's a local network problem, I'm sorry.

You may want to check the wiring for your cables and router for any damage that could be contributing to the significant packet loss. If you're able to purchase a gaming router and return it to the store for a full refund in the event it doesn't improve your connection, that's worth a try. If you intend to play our games in a competitive mindset and are on WiFi, going with a router that can boost your speed is ideal. You mentioned you're playing 3 stories up, I'm guessing there is a lot of objects the WiFi signal has to travel through to get to your console. Microwaves, steel, walls, people walking in front of the signals path, and a whole lot of other random factors can play a part in WiFi strength. 

I too am experiencing the exact same thing and I’m on PS4

I started getting must be signed in to PlayStation Network error today. I have reset the modem, router numerous times. I have deleted the application and re-installed and still get the same message. My son is straight down the hall and has no problem playing madden 21. I have loaded and played every game installed on my PlayStation and have no trouble with any of them only Madden 21.

I could imagine. I can't understand why my son is in one room and can sign in every time, but I am 30 feet away and cannot. These companies make it so hard to get your money back for a non-working, falsely advertised football simulation game, I would rather pull a tooth. Until the NFL ends the exclusive agreement and EA has some competition, we will always have problems like this. I have played every Madden since the original and they have genuinely gotten worse every year for about the past 15 years.

@Boltboy77 

Are you able to load up Madden NFL 21 from your son's console?

Around January 16-17th

Yes, he has no problem signing in. His loads right up. I still cannot sign in on mine.

I have also been having this same issue on XBOX one.  i can't get on with my account, the other accounts work just fine for Madden 21, but not mine.  Mine also works for all other EA games including past Madden games.

Is problem started for me last Friday, 2/5/21.  6 help sessions of all the same thing with nothing working, even called my ISP to check the connections and everything works except for my gamertag access to EA servers on Madden 21.

@litebeerbuzzSo my issue started January 11th, it was fixed for me on February 5 after a server maintenance which is weird because that’s when it started for you. And 4 days later on February 9th I continued to get the same error message and not able to log into EA servers. So I’ve had only 3.5 days to play series 4 in MUT. EA has identified this problem is coming from the back end of EA accounts having multiple gamertags connected with the same EA account. In my case I have my children’s gamertags connected and that is the cause. I assume this will take another month for them to fix, I have lost all hope for EA to fix this in a timely manner. @EA_Blueberry

I know it's too late, but i had the exact same issue and this is the only thing that worked:

You simply have to port forward with TCP/UDP, the port numbers are 443 for both TCP and UDP. If you don't know how to, you just have to search a tutorial for your particular router model.

For more detailed info, just check this: https://help.ea.com/en-gb/help/faq/opening-tcp-or-udp-ports-for-connection-issues/