Why am I getting an error message 'cannot connect to p2p network'?

Everything about the 'cannot connect to p2p network' error message.

If you are getting this error for DASH specifically, please upgrade to the latest version of Exodus to fix it.

In this article:

Why might I be getting this error message?

If you use Exodus in a network with a firewall or tightened network security, you may see an error message "Exodus cannot connect to p2p networks."

Typically this happens when Exodus is used in an environment that has network restrictions - many times these P2P connections are blocked outside of your computer.

Exodus connects to individual digital asset networks via P2P (peer-to-peer) and many shared networks block these types of connections. The following ports are what Exodus uses on each P2P network:

  • Bitcoin: 8333
  • Litecoin: 9333

What are a few things I can try to fix this?

1
Use Exodus on a home network or a network you have full control over. This easy fix seems to solve the problem for most users.
2
If you are running Exodus on a computer with VPN, try to relaunch Exodus with the VPN turned off - some VPN providers block the P2P ports above.
3
If you have a firewall or network restrictions on your computer or router, remove the restrictions on the services and ports above. (for both UDP and TCP)
4
Change your DNS settings to use a less restrictive DNS provider. Changing DNS providers is free for anyone and choosing the right DNS provider also typically speeds up your internet! Exodus recommends OpenDNS. OpenDNS uses the following name-servers:
  • 208.67.222.222
  • 208.67.220.220

You can also read this step-by-step setup guide for using OpenDNS.

5
Quit and restart Exodus. When Exodus starts up the first time, it uses a standard web page internet connection to check outside services for any assets that were sent to you. This is a one-time check on startup so it typically catches anything Exodus missed while it was closed. Keep in mind that although this may work to verify deposits quickly, it is a one-time shot after it catches the deposits; if you have not fixed your network issues, you will have to quit and restart again in order for Exodus to catch new payments.
6
If you place the mouse cursor over the asset icon above the balance of each wallet, the icon will turn into a refresh button and it will allow you to click it to manually refresh your wallet to re-sync with the network. This is a hidden manual process and not ideal. However, if you cannot connect to the P2P networks, this will work in a pinch to refresh your individual assets.

How can I check my router settings?

Exodus connects to multiple (dozens, if not hundreds) of P2P nodes from each digital asset network (Blockchain). This behaviour could appear to your router as a DoS (Denial of Service) attack since there are data streams coming in from multiple outside sources.

If set up to do so, your router could start rejecting or throttling these connections. This could cause the 'Cannot connect to the P2P Network' error or you may notice that while Exodus is running, your browser and email clients (or any other app connecting to an outside source on the net) are either very slow to or unable to connect to a destination on the network.

As a temporary workaround, you can disable your router's DoS checking. On Netgear Routers, this is on the Advanced Tab Menu under Setup -> WAN (See image below) Check the box for 'Disable Port Scan and DoS Protection' as it's enabled by default. Look for something similar on other Routers to disable any DoS protection. This might clear up your P2P Connection issue in Exodus.

Visit Netgear's website to read more on the Netgear DoS protection.

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