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If your Synth Riders personal best updates but the global leaderboard does not, the run probably saved locally while its network upload failed—or you are looking at a different leaderboard filter. Check the song, difficulty, mode, modifiers, and Play Profile first; then verify Steam or Meta authentication, allow services.synthriders.net through every firewall and DNS filter, update the game, and inspect ErrorLog.txt. A finished song is not proof that a global submission succeeded.
Why a Synth Riders score can be saved but absent online
Synth Riders handles a local result and a global submission as separate states. The center-panel personal best or Local scoreboard can change immediately when a song ends. Uploading that result to the network leaderboard requires the game to reach its online service at that moment. If the connection drops, a DNS filter blocks the service, or authentication is stale, the local score can remain while the global board keeps an older result or shows nothing.
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Developer Wirrel describes the partial-upload symptom this way: “if you have some scores submitted and some not, then it usually means the internet connectivity was a problem when you finished the song and the leaderboards were not accessible.” This is why replaying a song and seeing a new personal best does not, by itself, prove that the new score is visible to other players.
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First check: are you viewing the correct leaderboard?
Before changing network settings, reproduce the exact result in the exact view where it should appear. A score can be present but hidden because the selected board uses a different mode, difficulty, profile, or modifier set.
Combined versus Modified
| View | What it represents | Why a score may appear missing |
|---|---|---|
| Combined | The highest score for the selected song, difficulty, and mode, regardless of modifiers. | Your run may be ranked here even if the currently selected modifiers differ. |
| Modified | The highest score for the exact modifiers currently selected. | A score earned with another modifier combination is not shown in this filtered board. |
| Local | A scoreboard stored on the local device. | It can contain a new personal result even when network submission failed. |
Open the song’s leaderboard after the run and inspect both SELF → Combined and SELF → Modified. Confirm the same song, difficulty, mode, and modifier or Play Profile combination. Official Play Profiles have filterable leaderboards, so switching profiles can change the result displayed without deleting any score.
Modes and maps that do not share one board
- Experiences, Party Mode, and Challenges can use distinct scoring behavior or boards.
- Custom maps may not follow the same submission rules as standard songs.
- Special modifiers can move a result into a different filtered view.
- A multiplayer result may be handled differently from a solo run.
For a clean eligibility test, use the same official song, difficulty, mode, and settings, then compare Combined and Modified. Record the exact configuration before contacting support.
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Step-by-step troubleshooting sequence
1. Capture the result before leaving the song
- Finish the song and note the final score and timestamp.
- Take a screenshot of the final-score screen.
- Open the song’s leaderboard and capture SELF → Combined.
- Switch to SELF → Modified with the same modifiers and capture that view.
- Write down the song, difficulty, mode, Play Profile, modifiers, and whether the run was solo, multiplayer, Challenge, Experience, Party, or custom.
These details distinguish a filtering issue from a failed upload. Do not rely only on the personal-best number in the center panel.
2. Take Steam out of Offline Mode and update Synth Riders
- Exit Steam Offline Mode and confirm the client shows you as online.
- Fully restart Steam, not just the game.
- Open Synth Riders’ Steam installation page and install any pending update.
- Record the exact game version and Steam branch before testing again.
- Run one short, repeatable song and check the leaderboard immediately after completion.
The Steam support listing describes the title as Steam PCVR software with OpenXR support, online multiplayer, Steam Cloud, and 3 GB of displayed available-storage requirements. Steam Cloud is not the same thing as leaderboard submission: cloud storage can preserve local game data while the online score service remains unreachable.
Recent official release notes include fixes for score-summary stalls after network drops, incorrect Steam Frame leaderboard display, and multiplayer scores appearing as zero. If the problem started after an update, test the current stable branch and note the version. Release notes are the authoritative place to see whether a known score or leaderboard defect has been addressed; do not assume an update repaired every historical result.
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3. Allow the leaderboard service through your network
Wirrel’s direct instruction is: “You need to whitelist services.synthriders.net through your home firewall and have good internet connectivity where you are playing in order to have access to the global boards.” Apply that allow-list to every layer that can block the request:
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- DNS filtering, ad-blocking, or sinkhole services.
- Endpoint security software on the PC running Steam.
- Headset or network profiles that restrict game traffic.
- Managed or guest Wi-Fi that prevents game-service connections.
Eero-style filtering and Cloudflare/DNS policies have been reported in the developer discussion as possible causes of failed access. The hostname may be blocked even while Steam reports that you are online, because Steam connectivity and Synth Riders’ service connectivity are separate tests.
4. Use a hotspot only as a diagnostic comparison
- Connect the PC or headset to a phone hotspot for one controlled test.
- Run the same song and settings.
- Check Combined and Modified immediately after the result.
- Return to your normal network and repeat if needed.
If the score submits on the hotspot but not on home Wi-Fi, the evidence points to the home router, DNS policy, firewall, or ISP path rather than your game account. A hotspot is a test, not a permanent recommendation; it may have latency, data, or stability limits.
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5. Inspect ErrorLog.txt after a fresh failure
The developer identifies ErrorLog.txt in the Synth Riders installation folder as the useful place to inspect upload failures. Make the test reproducible first:
- Close unrelated games and record the current time.
- Play one song with known settings.
- Check the leaderboard as soon as the result screen appears.
- Close the game only after capturing the score and board.
- Open
ErrorLog.txtand copy lines matching that session’s timestamp or network error.
Do not edit or overwrite the log before copying it. A log from the same session is more useful than an old generic error, especially when only some songs fail to submit.
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On Steam, sign out and back in if the game appears to have a stale authentication session, then confirm that the intended Steam account is active. On Quest, verify that the intended Meta account is signed in on the headset. The EULA states that some features require third-party platform accounts and that a stable internet connection may be required for online leaderboards and multiplayer.
Kluge manages the game service, not third-party account security, ownership, or access. If the issue involves a compromised credential, account lock, incorrect Steam identity, Meta account access, or platform-level friendship settings, use the relevant platform’s account support. Reinstalling Synth Riders will not repair a blocked platform account.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the account and service boundaries mean
Steam and Meta authenticate the platform session; Synth Riders uses that session to provide online features. This arrangement explains several confusing outcomes:
- Steam can say “online” while
services.synthriders.netis blocked. - A local personal best can update without a successful global upload.
- Steam Cloud can synchronize files without placing a score on the leaderboard.
- Changing platform accounts can make an expected score appear absent because you are no longer using the identity that earned it.
- Online boards and multiplayer depend on service availability outside the local device.
Kluge’s 2025 EULA and privacy materials also reserve the ability for online-service availability to change with platform support. A separate historical notice warned that continued networked-service availability could not be guaranteed after Meta ended platform support for Quest 1. That warning is specific to Quest 1 and should not be generalized to Steam PCVR.
How to tell which failure you have
| Symptom | Most likely branch | Next check |
|---|---|---|
| Personal best changes, but neither global view changes | Upload or service reachability failed. | Allow-list services.synthriders.net, test another connection, then inspect ErrorLog.txt. |
| Score appears in Combined but not Modified | Modifier or Play Profile mismatch. | Match the exact modifiers and profile used for the run. |
| Score appears in Modified but not Combined | Different mode or board selection. | Confirm song, difficulty, and mode, then reload the leaderboard. |
| Only multiplayer scores show as zero | Known behavior addressed by an official release fix, or a session-specific failure. | Update to the current build, reproduce once, and save the log. |
| Steam is online but all global boards fail | Game-service, DNS, firewall, or authentication path. | Run the hotspot comparison and verify the active Steam account. |
| Issue began immediately after an update | Version-specific regression or changed service behavior. | Record the build and check the official release notes before changing accounts. |
Prepare a support ticket that can be acted on
Support can investigate a reproducible submission failure much faster than a report that only says “my score is missing.” Include one test session’s complete evidence package:
- Platform and headset, such as Steam PCVR, Quest, or PSVR2.
- Synth Riders version and Steam branch.
- Song, difficulty, mode, modifiers, and Play Profile.
- Whether the run was solo, multiplayer, Challenge, Experience, Party, or custom.
- Final-score screenshot.
- SELF → Combined and SELF → Modified screenshots.
- The relevant
ErrorLog.txtlines from the same session. - Whether
services.synthriders.netwas blocked or allow-listed. - Whether a hotspot test worked.
- Whether other online features worked at the same time.
- The approximate time in UTC and your platform account name or ID, if support requests it through a secure channel.
The developer specifically asks for song, difficulty, mode, and modifier details, final-score and leaderboard screenshots, and relevant error-log entries. Use Synth Riders’ official contact form or the support communities listed by Kluge when submitting this package. Avoid posting credentials, authentication tokens, or private account data publicly.
Practical order of operations
For most players, the fastest path is: verify Combined and Modified with the exact settings; restart Steam and update the game; allow-list services.synthriders.net; run one hotspot comparison; refresh the intended Steam or Meta session; and collect a timestamped ErrorLog.txt if the upload still fails. This sequence separates a hidden score from a failed submission without destroying local records or changing accounts unnecessarily.
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