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World desk8 min

ARK Kicked While Playing: Causes and Fixes for Server Admins

A server-admin guide to ARK kick and ban behavior, player-ID formats, console commands, BattlEye disconnects, unofficial-server policy and stale account sessions.
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If ARK disconnects a player and they can immediately reconnect, an administrator probably used KickPlayer. If the player is refused every time they try to return, check the ban list first: a previous BanPlayer action is the most likely explanation. Other possibilities include a mismatched player-ID format, unofficial-server policy, BattlEye enforcement, or a stale session that still appears connected.

What “kicked” means in ARK

ARK uses “kicked” loosely in player reports. A deliberate kick and a ban have different effects, so identify which one occurred before changing settings or reinstalling anything.

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Action Immediate effect Can the player return? How an admin reverses it
Kick The named player is disconnected immediately. Yes, provided no other restriction blocks the connection. No reversal command is needed; the player can reconnect.
Ban The player is disconnected and added to the server’s banned list. No. Reconnection attempts are refused while the ban remains. Run UnBanPlayer with the correct player ID.

Therefore, a player who says “I was kicked” but cannot rejoin is probably banned rather than merely kicked. That can happen when an administrator banned the account earlier, when a moderation tool applied a ban, or when the player is using a different ID format than the administrator expects.

Most likely causes, in troubleshooting order

1. An administrator or moderation tool issued a kick or ban

This is the best-supported explanation for a named player being removed. KickPlayer disconnects one player; BanPlayer places that player on the banned list. A later connection attempt can look like another kick even though the original action was a persistent ban.

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Ask the affected player what happens after selecting the server again. A successful return points toward a kick. A refusal on every attempt points toward a ban or another connection restriction. Check your server’s moderation records and banned-player list before changing anti-cheat or network settings.

2. The command used the wrong player-ID format

Sources disagree about the identifier accepted by KickPlayer and BanPlayer. Some administration guides use a Steam64 identifier. Another guide distinguishes a 17-digit Steam ID, a 19-digit Epic ID and a 32-character EOS ID. The server build, platform and command implementation determine which form is valid.

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A common symptom is that the command appears to run but has no effect and returns no useful error. Before assuming the command or server is broken, obtain the player’s ID from the server console and confirm that its type matches the platform and build your server expects.

Identifier described by guides Length or shape How to treat it
Steam64 Typically a 17-digit Steam identifier Use only when the server’s command implementation expects Steam64.
Steam (as listed by one guide) 17 digits Confirm that this is the same representation shown by your server tools.
Epic (as listed by one guide) 19 digits Use for the Epic representation only if your server build supports it.
EOS (as listed by one guide) 32 characters Use when the server and account are operating through EOS and the command accepts that ID.

These formats are not interchangeable. Do not add punctuation, truncate digits or substitute an account name. If a kick does nothing, ID-format verification is the first administrative check.

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3. An unofficial server’s policy or host moderation

Community reports from unofficial servers describe players being removed or prevented from returning because the server administrator chose to do so. In that situation, the game may be operating normally; the relevant decision is the server’s policy. The practical route for a player is to contact that server’s administrator through its stated support or community channel.

Administrators should publish a clear rule for kicks, bans, appeals and mistaken identities. Keep a record of the ID used for the action, the reason, and whether the action was temporary or permanent. That prevents a routine kick from being confused with an unresolved ban.

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4. BattlEye disconnects after joining

A hosting-provider troubleshooting summary identifies BattlEye as a plausible cause when a player connects, plays for a few seconds, and is then dropped with an anti-cheat message. This explanation is not confirmed here against BattlEye’s own documentation, and no dated, verified fix was established, so treat the following as troubleshooting rather than a guaranteed patch.

First distinguish an anti-cheat message from an administrative kick. If the disconnect text names BattlEye or another anti-cheat failure, ask the player to repair the local installation:

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  1. Close ARK and the game launcher.
  2. Open the ARK installation folder and run the BattlEye installer or repair option supplied with the game files.
  3. In Steam, open the ARK properties, select the installed-files area, and run the option to verify the integrity of the game files.
  4. Restart the launcher and test the connection again.

If verification and BattlEye repair do not change the result, record the exact disconnect text, platform, server version and time. Do not label the player as cheating solely because a generic anti-cheat disconnect occurred; the available evidence supports BattlEye as a possibility, not proof of misconduct.

5. A stale session: “Already a player with this account connected”

Players report seeing “Already a player with this account connected” after a disconnect, particularly on official servers. This is a community-reported session problem, not a confirmed official diagnosis. The account can remain represented by a session after the client has disappeared.

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  • Official server: wait for the session timeout and try again. There is no administrator on that server for you to ask to remove the stale entry.
  • Private server: ask the administrator to locate and kick the stale session. The administrator can then confirm whether the account is still present in the player list.

Repeatedly reconnecting in rapid succession can make it harder to tell a stale-session timeout from a real ban. Capture the exact message before escalating.

6. The disputed Pegomastax anecdote

One Steam user claimed that taming a Pegomastax caused kick and ban commands to stop working and that removing the creature fixed the issue. Another commenter reported that the commands still failed for them. This is a single, disputed anecdote, not an established cause or a dependable fix. Do not delete creatures, roll back a save or alter player data on that basis alone.

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Admin command workflow

Use this sequence on a server you administer. Exact console access varies by platform and hosting panel, but the command order described by administration guides is consistent.

  1. Enable administrator mode. Enter enablecheats [ServerAdminPassword], replacing the bracketed value with the server administrator password. Keep the password private; anyone who can authenticate as an administrator can affect players and the world.
  2. Open the console and identify the player. Sources describe ShowMyAdminManager or ListPlayers for displaying connected players and their identifiers. Copy the complete ID exactly as shown.
  3. Choose the least permanent action. For a temporary removal, run admincheat KickPlayer [SteamID]. For a persistent ban, run admincheat BanPlayer [SteamID]. Replace [SteamID] with the identifier your server expects; the label is used by the command syntax even when the underlying account is represented by Epic or EOS.
  4. Reverse a ban when appropriate. Run admincheat UnBanPlayer [SteamID] with the same account identifier format used for the ban.
  5. Verify the result. Have the player attempt one clean reconnection. If a kick has no visible effect, stop repeating the command and recheck the ID format, account platform and displayed player entry.

The command forms are:

  • enablecheats [ServerAdminPassword]
  • admincheat KickPlayer [SteamID]
  • admincheat BanPlayer [SteamID]
  • admincheat UnBanPlayer [SteamID]

Use the admincheat prefix when issuing the player-management commands on the server. A command that silently does nothing is more consistent with an invalid identifier or unsupported representation than with a successful kick.

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Diagnose the symptom before changing anything

Observed symptom Most useful first check What the result suggests
Player disappears immediately after an admin selects them, then reconnects normally Review whether KickPlayer was used. Normal kick behavior.
Player is removed and every later connection is refused Check the banned list and reverse with UnBanPlayer if appropriate. Existing ban is more likely than a simple kick.
Admin command produces no visible effect Compare the copied ID with the format expected by the server. ID mismatch or unsupported platform representation.
Connection lasts a few seconds and an anti-cheat message appears Ask the player to repair BattlEye and verify Steam files. Possible BattlEye disconnect; not proof of cheating.
“Already a player with this account connected” appears Wait for an official-server timeout, or ask a private-server admin to remove the stale session. Possible stale session reported by the community.
Only one unofficial server refuses the player Contact that server’s administrator and review its rules. Server policy or a local ban is more likely than a global game fault.

Fixes that should not be combined or guessed

Do not treat a ban as a network failure

Reinstalling the game will not remove a server-side ban. Confirm the banned status and use UnBanPlayer with the correct ID. If the player still cannot return afterward, investigate the ID representation and any separate anti-cheat or session message.

Do not assume every “kick” is BattlEye

A clean administrative kick normally has no anti-cheat message. BattlEye troubleshooting is appropriate only when the disconnect includes anti-cheat wording or follows the short connect-then-drop pattern. Applying it to every removal can obscure a straightforward ban or policy decision.

Do not issue a permanent ban while testing an ID

If you are unsure whether the copied identifier is valid, verify it with the player-list command first. A failed kick does not establish that the player is cheating, and a mistaken ban creates an avoidable appeal and recovery task.

Official and unofficial servers require different escalation paths

Official servers

There is no private administrator who can remove a stale session or explain a local policy decision. For “already connected” messages, wait for the reported timeout behavior. For an apparent anti-cheat disconnect, preserve the message and complete local BattlEye and file-integrity checks. A persistent refusal without a ban message may require the game operator’s support process, but the available evidence does not establish a specific response time or guaranteed remedy.

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Unofficial and hosted servers

The server owner or host controls the administrative commands and the server’s rules. Ask for the exact ID used, whether the action was a kick or ban, and the reason recorded. Administrators should distinguish a temporary removal from a persistent ban and should be able to run UnBanPlayer when an appeal is upheld.

A practical record-keeping checklist for administrators

  • Record the player name and the complete identifier returned by ShowMyAdminManager or ListPlayers.
  • Record whether the action was KickPlayer or BanPlayer.
  • Note the platform representation used: Steam, Epic or EOS, where applicable.
  • Save the exact error or disconnect message instead of paraphrasing it as “kicked.”
  • For BattlEye reports, note whether the player was dropped immediately or after a few seconds.
  • For stale-session reports, note the time of the last disconnect and whether the player was on an official or unofficial server.
  • When reversing a ban, run UnBanPlayer against the same identifier format used for the original action.

What is and is not established

Administrative kick and ban behavior, the need for the admincheat prefix, and the possibility of an ID-format mismatch are the strongest practical findings. Unofficial-server policy and stale-session behavior come from community reports. BattlEye is a plausible cause when an anti-cheat message appears, but the available hosting guidance was not verified against BattlEye’s documentation and has no confirmed dated fix. The Pegomastax claim remains disputed and should not guide server recovery.

No confirmed 2026 patch note addressing unexpected kicks was identified, and the available guides do not provide a quantitative rate for any cause. Use the symptom, message, server type and command record to narrow the diagnosis rather than treating every disconnect as the same problem.

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