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Fortnite ‘Waiting in Queue’: What the Error Means & How to Fix It

Get out of that queue and back into the game!

Are you getting hit with the ‘Waiting in Queue‘ message when trying to join a game or log in to the servers in Fortnite? This guide will explain everything you need to know about the message and how you can start playing the game again.

What Does Waiting in Queue Mean in Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 4?

If you’re getting the ‘Waiting in Queue’ error notification when trying to load up Fortnite, this is because the number of players trying to join a game or log into the servers is currently too many for the servers to actually handle.

It can also be a result of the servers simply being offline for scheduled maintenance. Rather than not allowing you to hop into the game at all, Fortnite will put you in a login queue so that as soon as the servers come back online, it can start getting players in as fast as possible.

At the time of updating this article on August 25, 2023, the reason you’ll be getting this message is because the servers are just coming back online after a near-five-hour scheduled maintenance for Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 4’s release today. The servers are coming back online, but due to the huge surge in player’s trying to login to check out the new map, Battle Pass and weapons, a queue system has been implemented to slowly ramp up server capacity. This prevents from from crashing and preventing anyone from playing the game for extended periods of time.

The Epic Games servers and services status page now states that all systems are operational following the Chapter 4 Season 4 update downtime.

Essentially, ‘Waiting in Queue’ means you’ve been put in a queue in order to allow the servers to deal with each player’s request a few at a time, preventing the servers from being overwhelmed and crashing. This is a measure implemented to prevent unexpected downtime and is just one of those things you have to deal with, unfortunately.

How to Fix ‘Waiting in Queue in Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 4

Unfortunately, there’s no real way to avoid getting this error message. Your best bet is to just sit tight and wait for your place in the queue to finally be reached by the servers, or for them to come back online if there’s just scheduled downtime.

If you try closing the game and reopening it, you’re basically resetting your position in the queue, so you’re only going to increase the amount of time you have to wait until you can start playing the game again.

With a bit of luck, the ‘Waiting in Queue’ message will eventually disappear and stop showing up for new players trying to log in or join a game. This will happen once the sudden surge of players joining and logging in has subsided, so if you really don’t want to wait around, we recommend trying again in 10-15 minutes.

That’s everything you need to know on the Fortnite Waiting in Queue error. For more tips and tricks, be sure to check out the links below.

About the author

Chris Jecks

Chris is the Managing Editor of Twinfinite. Chris has been with the site and covering the games media industry for eight years. He typically covers new releases, FIFA, Fortnite and any good shooters for the site, and loves nothing more than a good Pro Clubs session with the lads. Chris has a History degree from the University of Central Lancashire. He spends his days eagerly awaiting the release of BioShock 4.

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