Destiny 2 ‘Servers Are Not Available’ Error? Here is What to do
The ‘Servers are not Available‘ error is probably one of the most commonly faced issues by Destiny 2 players. And this is not restricted to PC players. The problem is reported to occur for Xbox Consoles (Xbox One, Xbox Series) as well as for Playstation (PS5, PS4).
This particular error is different from the rest since it’s not wrapped in an error codename (like Bee, Currant, or Weasel)
After investigating this particular issue thoroughly, it turns out that this type of error is not always displayed as a result of an underlying server issue as you might think – here are also some local factors that might cause this problem. Here’s a list of potential culprits:
- Underlying server issue – By far, the most common cause for this particular issue is some kind of server issue that is entirely beyond your control. To make sure if you’re dealing with an ongoing problem with Destiny 2’s server, all you can do is identify the issue and wait for the involved developers to fix the issue.
- Launcher is missing admin rights – If you’re experiencing this issue on PC, there’s also the possibility of a local issue preventing the connection with the gam server from being established. In this case, you’ll need to modify the default behavior of Steam to always launch with admin access.
Now that you are familiar with every potential cause that might trigger the ‘Servers are not Available‘ error with Destiny 2, let’s walk through all the available troubleshooting strategies that will help you identify the culprit and fix the issue (in some cases).
1. Check for an underlying server issue
Before exploring additional possibilities, the place to start is with an investigation to figure out if Destiny 2 is indeed having server issues or you’re the only one seeing this error message.
Given the fact that you’re seeing a generic issue and not an issue with a status code, it’s either a completely new issue or something that has to do with a widespread error.
To check if this is is the case, use services like DownDetector or Outage.Report to figure out if other users in your area are experiencing the same kind of issue.
Go ahead and check the latest user submissions and to figure out if the issue is widespread or not.
If you just checked and there’s no ongoing server issue that other users are experiencing, you should assume that your PC or console’s inability to connect to the server is probably caused for something occurring locally.
But before you exclude a potential server issue from your potential culprit list, check the status page of Destiny 2 and take a look at the official Twitter support account of Destiny 2 and see if other users are currently talking about this error.
Note: If your investigations have led you to believe that the server error is genuine, there’s nothing you can really do other than wait for the developers to fix the issue on their side.
On the other hand, if you manage to find no evidence supporting a severe issue, follow the next method below for an attempt to fix the issue locally.
Start Steam as Administrator (PC Only)
As it turns out, if you’re experiencing this error when launching Destiny 2 on PC via Steam, it’s possible to see the ‘Servers are not Available‘ error due to a connection with the server that’s being blocked locally due to the fact that the game is not running with admin rights.
This issue has been occurring since Destiny was first launched in 2017. Fortunately, you can fix the error easily by forcing the game’s launcher (Steam in this case) to open in Administrator mode.
Follow the instructions below to ensure that Steam opens the game with admin rights and to make this behavior default for every game launch:
- First, start by checking if this fix is effective by right-clicking on Steam, then choosing Run as administrator from the context menu.
Run Steam with admin access - Now that you’ve ensured that steam is opened with admin access, launch the game normally (through Steam) and see if you can get past the ‘Servers are not Available‘ error.
- In case the same kind of issue is no longer occurring, let’s make this behavior permanent. Do this by right-clicking on the Steam icon and clicking on Properties from the context menu.
Accessing the Steam properties menu - Once you’re inside the Properties screen of Steam, go to the Compatibility tab using the horizontal ribbon at the top.
- Next, move down to the Settings section and check the box associated with Run this program as admiminsrator.
Run program as administrator - Finally, click on Apply to save the changes, then attempt to launch Destiny 2 once again and see if the problem is now fixed.
