Staring at a login error in Fortnite is basically a rite of passage at this point. You’ve got your snacks ready, your squad is sitting in a Discord call, and then—bam. The "Servers Not Responding" message hits. It’s frustrating. We’ve all been there.
Honestly, the biggest question is always: when do the fortnite servers come back on so I can finally drop into the new season?
Right now, as of January 13, 2026, we are fresh off the heels of the v39.20 update. This was a big one. It brought the South Park crossover to Chapter 7 Season 1, and while the major maintenance from January 9 is technically over, the servers aren't always 100% stable. Just today, players have been reporting intermittent login and matchmaking issues.
Why the Servers Go Dark in the First Place
Epic Games doesn't just flip a switch for fun. Usually, when the game is down, it falls into one of two buckets: scheduled maintenance or emergency outages.
Scheduled maintenance is the "normal" kind. This happens for major patches, like the one we just saw with the v39.20 update. Epic usually takes the servers offline around 4 AM ET (9 AM UTC). They do this to roll out the new files, update the map, and make sure the "South Park" skins don't accidentally break the game physics.
Emergency outages are the ones that make everyone freak out on social media. These happen when too many people try to log in at once—like during a live event or a massive season launch—or when a server in a specific region just decides to quit. On January 13, we saw some of this "network jitter" where players were getting stuck on black screens or seeing "Matchmaking Error #1."
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The Typical Downtime Timeline
If you're waiting for a standard update, here is how the clock usually runs:
- 3:30 AM ET: Matchmaking gets disabled. You can finish your current match, but you can't start a new one.
- 4:00 AM ET: The servers go completely offline. Everyone gets booted.
- 6:00 AM - 8:00 AM ET: This is the "sweet spot." Most mid-season updates take about two to three hours.
But wait. If it’s a new Chapter launch? Forget it. You might be waiting 12 to 18 hours. When Chapter 7 started back in December, the downtime was brutal because of the massive mechanical overhauls.
When Do the Fortnite Servers Come Back On After an Update?
If you're looking at your screen right now and it's a patch day, the best thing to do is look at the version number. For v39.20, the maintenance was officially slated for two hours.
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However, "back on" doesn't always mean "playable."
Often, Epic will open the gates, but then you’re stuck in a login queue. This happened during the Winterfest event just a few weeks ago. You get a timer that says "10:00 remaining," then it jumps to "20:00." It's a way for Epic to let people in slowly so the servers don't explode again.
Checking the "Official" Word
Don't just trust a random person in a comment section. If you want the truth, go to the source:
- Fortnite Status on X: This is the gold standard. If they haven't posted that "Servers are back online!" tweet, you’re probably going to keep getting that error message.
- Epic Games Status Page: This is a bit more technical. It shows if the "Store," "Matchmaking," and "Logins" are operational. Sometimes the servers are "up," but the login service is "degraded."
- Community Hubs: Reddit's r/FortNiteBR is usually faster than official channels at spotting a localized crash. If you see 500 posts in five minutes saying "Is it down?", then yeah, it's down.
What to Do While You Wait
It's tempting to just keep clicking "Retry." Don't do that. It actually makes the problem worse for the servers.
Instead, use the time to download the update. Most platforms (PC, PS5, Xbox, and Android) allow you to start the patch download while the servers are still undergoing maintenance. The v39.20 update was several gigabytes. If you wait until the servers are "live" to start your download, you're going to be an hour behind everyone else who's already looting the Stick of Truth.
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Also, clear your cache if you're on Android. Today's specific issue (January 13) has been causing black screens for mobile players. A quick jump into your application settings to clear the data cache has been a lifesaver for most people getting back in.
Common Misconceptions About Downtime
People love a good conspiracy. "They're extending the downtime because they're adding a secret map!" or "The servers are down because of a hacker group!"
Usually, it's just boring technical stuff. A database didn't sync correctly. A skin is causing a crash on Nintendo Switch. Back in July 2025, Epic accidentally pushed the wrong version of an update, which forced them to extend downtime by nearly six hours while they rolled it back. It wasn't a secret event; it was just a human error.
Actionable Steps for Players
If you can't get in right now, follow this checklist:
- Verify the Update: Make sure your game client is on version v39.20. If you’re on an old version, the "Servers Not Responding" message is actually just your game being out of date.
- Watch the Clock: If it’s between 4 AM and 7 AM ET on a Tuesday or Friday, it’s probably just scheduled maintenance.
- Check the Queue: If you get into a login queue, stay in it. If you quit and restart, you go to the back of the line.
- Monitor Regional Status: Sometimes US-East is down while US-West is fine. You can occasionally bypass a local outage by changing your matchmaking region in the settings once you get to the main menu, though this will obviously tank your ping.
The current Chapter 7 Season 1 is scheduled to end on March 4, 2026. Until then, expect these Tuesday/Friday morning windows to be the most common times for the game to go dark. Keep an eye on the official status pages, get your download started early, and you'll be back to catching those dubs in no time.