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sayedhussain112's avatar
sayedhussain112
Seasoned Newcomer
1 day ago

FC 26 Connection Problem – High Ping and Unstable Connection in Bahrain

Dear EA Support Team,

I am contacting you regarding a connection problem I have been experiencing with EA SPORTS FC 26 Ultimate Team for approximately five months.

I live in Bahrain and play on PlayStation 5 (PS5). My internet provider is Batelco/Beyond.

Almost every time I enter matchmaking, I receive high ping, usually around 123 ms, and the connection is unstable. During matches, I frequently see the red connection arrow, and I also experience connection drops.

I have already tried all the basic troubleshooting steps available from my side, including restarting my modem/router, checking my internet connection, testing my internet speed, restarting my PS5, deleting and reinstalling FC 26, and testing the game again after reinstalling it.

My internet speed is good and my connection works normally for other services. However, the problem continues specifically with FC 26.

Because this has been happening for approximately five months, I would like EA to investigate whether the issue is related to EA Game Data Centers, matchmaking, or network routing between Bahrain and EA's servers.

I have also pre-ordered FC 27, and I am concerned that the same problem may continue when I move to FC 27. I do not want to start the new game and experience the same 123 ms ping, red connection arrow, unstable connection, and connection drops all over again.

Please investigate my connection and matchmaking routing and let me know what is causing this issue and whether it can be fixed before I start playing FC 27.

Details:

Country: Bahrain
Platform: PlayStation 5
ISP: Batelco/Beyond
Game: EA SPORTS FC 26
Mode: Ultimate Team
Issue duration: Approximately 5 months
Typical ping: Approximately 123 ms
Connection indicator: Red connection arrow
Problem: High ping, unstable connection, and connection drops

I have already completed the basic troubleshooting steps, so I would appreciate a technical investigation into the server connection and matchmaking routing rather than being asked to repeat the same basic troubleshooting steps.

Thank you for your help. I hope you can identify the cause and provide a permanent solution.

3 Replies

  • sayedhussain112's avatar
    sayedhussain112
    Seasoned Newcomer
    16 hours ago

    Hello,

    Thank you for your response.

    I have checked the EA Game Data Centers information, and I can see that there is an EA Game Data Center in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, which is geographically very close to Bahrain.

    This is what I do not understand about my situation.

    If there is an EA Game Data Center in Dammam, relatively close to Bahrain, why am I still consistently receiving approximately 123 ms ping during FC 26 Ultimate Team matchmaking?

    I understand that there is no physical EA Game Data Center in Bahrain, and I understand that my connection needs to reach another location. However, Dammam is much closer to Bahrain than many other EA Game Data Center locations, so I would expect the latency to be considerably lower if my matches were being routed there.

    I also completed the EA Connection Quality Report, and my results were:

    Connection Score: 90/100
    Average Ping: 45.94 ms — Good
    Jitter: 10.37 ms — Good
    Packet Loss: 0.02% — Great
    Connection Type: Ethernet

    This is another reason why I believe the issue needs further investigation. My general connection quality test shows an average ping of 45.94 ms, while FC 26 matchmaking consistently gives me approximately 123 ms.

    So my main question is:

    If there is an EA Game Data Center in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, why am I receiving approximately 123 ms ping in FC 26 matchmaking instead of significantly lower latency?

    Could you please confirm which EA Game Data Center my FC 26 Ultimate Team matches are actually connecting to?

    If I am not being connected to the Dammam Game Data Center, could you please explain why my matches are being routed to another data center instead?

    Could this be related to Batelco/Beyond routing or peering, or could it be related to EA matchmaking and server selection?

    I would also like to clarify that I am not saying my ping must be exactly 20–30 ms. My concern is that approximately 123 ms seems unusually high when there is an EA Game Data Center relatively close to Bahrain, especially when my EA Connection Quality Report shows an average ping of only 45.94 ms with very low packet loss.

    This is especially important to me because I have already pre-ordered FC 27. I do not want to start FC 27 and experience the same approximately 123 ms latency, red connection indicator, unstable gameplay, and connection drops.

    I would really appreciate it if the technical team could investigate the actual route and Game Data Center being used for my FC 26 matches, rather than only looking at my general internet connection.

    Please let me know which data center my matches are connecting to and whether the approximately 123 ms latency is expected for a player connecting from Bahrain.

    Thank you for your help. I hope we can determine why I am receiving such high latency despite having a good overall connection and an EA Game Data Center relatively close to Bahrain.

     

  • EA_Hux's avatar
    EA_Hux
    Icon for Community Manager rankCommunity Manager
    1 day ago

    Hello sayedhussain112​ ,

    Thank you for providing such thorough details and for already going through all the standard troubleshooting steps.

    The reason you are experiencing a consistent 123 ms ping and connection instability is that there is currently no physical EA Game Data Center located in Bahrain or the immediate vicinity. You can verify this and see our active server locations in our official EA Game Data Centers Article. Because of this, your connection has to route to the nearest available data center, which increases your ping.

    To help us see if there is  a more optimized Internet Service Provider (ISP) in Bahrain for your location, could you please run a test using our EA Connection Quality Report Tool  This tool measures your connection score and compares how different ISPs in your area perform with our games. Maybe changing to a different ISP could help.

    I can't guarantee that a new data center will be opened near you for FC 27 but we will pass on the feedback.