Summary
When using the Matchmaking Portal Device in UEFN maps, all players in a party are kicked with a “Duplicate Connections Established” error. After this, affected players are unable to use any party features — they can’t invite friends, create new parties, or join private ones. The only way to fix this is to join someone in a public party or restart the game. This issue has persisted for over a year and is very common, especially on low-population UEFN servers.
Please select what you are reporting on:
Creative
What Type of Bug are you experiencing?
Matchmaking
Steps to Reproduce
Create or join a party with one or more friends in Fortnite.
Ensure everyone enters a Matchmaking Portal that connects to the same UEFN map (same Island code and version).
Important: Using a different UEFN map may not trigger the bug.
Ready up as a group to enter matchmaking through the portal.
The group will be kicked with a “Duplicate Connections Established” error.
Try to use any party features afterward (invite friends, create party, etc.).
All members that was in the party will be in their own bugged party too.
Expected Result
Players should be able to use the Matchmaking Portal Device to enter the same UEFN session without errors. All party features should continue to work after matchmaking.
Observed Result
All players are kicked with a “Duplicate Connections Established” error.
After this, party functionality is entirely broken:
Can’t invite friends.
Can’t join or create private parties.
Only temporary fixes:
Join someone who is already in a public party.
Restart the game (inconvenient and slow).
Platform(s)
ALL PLATFORMS.
Additional Notes
This bug happens frequently on UEFN islands with low player activity.
Likely tied to how the Matchmaking Portal Device handles session IDs when multiple players connect.
Bug state persists until reset by joining a public party or restarting the client.
Has been affecting gameplay and social features for over a year.
Strongly recommend Epic investigate matchmaking handling for UEFN maps using the portal device.