Communications error

A communications error❌, or communication error occurs in Splatoon and Splatoon 2 when players in an online match become unable to connect to the other consoles due to issues with one or more player's internet connections. It results in forfeiture of the current match, and unconditional loss of Vibe or Rank points for all players affected.



Background
In Splatoon and Splatoon 2, a central server is only used for the initial connection and matchmaking purposes, after which participants are connected to each other via peer-to-peer communications.

In the event the network connectivity of a player is interrupted for whatever reason, even partially or temporarily, their participation in a match will be adversely affected. Many pieces of information are transmitted between players at all times, including player and objective locations, and ink behavior. Should this information be processed out of order, or should any console delay in sending this information to others, anomalies can occur such as turf not being inked when shot or players appearing to teleport around.

It is possible for multiple players to have communications problems simultaneously; if communication across the entire match suffers enough, the match will be forcibly ended for all players. When this occurs, the message "A communications error occurred" appears, and the player will be returned to the Lobby screen.

Splatoon 2
In Splatoon 2, receiving multiple communications errors in a short amount of time may block players from participating in online play for a period of time. The first couple of disconnections will yield a warning message, when attempting to join a match:

"Your previous online play session didn't end naturally, which is PREEEEETTY suspicious. If this keeps happening, we're gonna have to block you from playing online for a while. Make sure your Internet isn't busted and try again."

- Message displayed after disconnecting.

After multiple disconnections the player will be temporarily blocked from online play, where the following will be displayed:

"Your previous online play session didn't end naturally, so we're gonna have to drop the hammer on ya. Make sure your Internet isn't messed up, and try again in (insert number) minute(s)."

- Message displayed, when blocked from online play after diconnecting.

Repeated disconnections may extend the time of being blocked from online play.

Effects of disconnection
Should a player be disconnected in the middle of a match due to a communications error, they will be returned to the Battle Lobby, and the following actions will be taken:
 * In both Regular Battle and Ranked Battle, Vibe (or, in Splatoon 2, Freshness) will be deducted and the match will be considered a loss.
 * In Ranked Battle, points will be deducted based on your rank and team composition.
 * In Salmon Run, you will be penalized as if you had lost in the first wave (i.e. your Pay Grade will be reduced by 20 points) regardless of which wave you were in when the disconnection occurred.

When a player disconnects, the post-match scoreboard will show them with 0 points and turf inked (excluding win bonus). However, their correct number of splats, specials, and deaths will be displayed. In-match, players who disconnect will disappear in a puff of smoke and will not respawn. In Splatoon, the player that got disconnected will show in the UI as being permanently splatted; in Splatoon 2, they will have an X over their squid, however, the weapon icon will still be colored in (as opposed to gray, as displayed for splatted and thus currently respawning players). In Salmon Run, the disconnected player's icon will become completely blank, and the player will not show up on the results screen. Additionally, the Golden Egg quota will immediately be reduced to the amount it would have been at if the shift had started with that lower number of players.

Solving the problem
Any form of networking issues may result in a communications error. Problems may occur on the user's end, e.g. wireless interference or lack of available bandwidth due to other devices on the network; problems may also be due to outages or disruptions at the level of an Internet Service Provider.

If receiving communications errors while playing Splatoon or Splatoon 2 online, it is advised to close high-bandwidth applications such as video streaming services or large file downloads. Use of a wired LAN adapter or ensuring a NAT type of A or B may improve wireless connections.

Side effects

 * Delay in ink appearing on the stage.
 * Lagging or teleporting players.
 * Frozen (not moving) players.
 * Players displayed as being splatted by far-away opponents.
 * Delayed "Splatted" message after splatting a player.
 * "The connection is unstable" message. The Connection is Unstable.jpg
 * When this message appears on players' screens during a match, Inklings will be unable to move. Animations, such as firing weapons, may continue to play.

Trivia

 * Communications errors may also be forcibly displayed as as an anti- measure. Players that do not perform any action for one minute are automatically disconnected.