My son recently invested in this game only to pop it into the Xbox to be greeted by the "delta 20010186" error.
tl:dr
- enable uPNP
- If you have a router behind your modem, put your modem in bridge mode
- Rerun the Xbox multiplayer network test (see the link below) - UBISoft requires this to test as 'open'
If you search on this you will find all kinds of guessed at solutions. From punching port forwarding rules in your firewall to putting your Xbox wide open for attack in a DMZ (seriously, these are the suggestions from UBISoft for Xbox connectivity)
Considering the number of folks that run into this issue, I really don't think UBIsoft understands it.
After thinking about this and spending hours troubleshooting, my conclusion is this: UBISoft blocks the game working if there is any reduction in the multi-player experience at all.
If you read the Xbox network descriptions, there should be grades in the experience where only certain features of the game don't function if the connectivity status is reduced from the full set. And I can only speculate that UBISoft chose to not follow this guideline (could be by choose or ignorance - the result is the same).
There is a mysterious black box type issue on the Xbox side that puts the pieces together.
It is rooted in the output of the Xbox multiplayer network test and the resulting "NAT type".
This is not a setting that any human can impact, nor any resetting, cryptic combinations of movement through the settings menus or anything else can reliably impact.
From what I can tell, there are a couple issues going on here.
1. There is an expectation that uPNP is enabled on your router.
The multiplayer mode requires communication back to your Xbox.
This is why there are port forwarding rules being suggested, and DMZ placement. If uPNP is not available or not working, this this would solve that issue.
Adding to this is claims that I uncovered that stated that Xbox historically had issues with properly making the uPNP router when it is set to 'InstantOn' power mode.
Again, uPNP not working for a different reason.
Wrap all of these together and you have a combination of things that all impact connectivity back and the Xbox test for multiplayer connectivity puts you in the Moderate or Severe NAT bucket.
2. Beware the double NAT
No matter the setting on your router, if you have put yourself into a double NAT configuration, you will never be tested as 'open' by Xbox.
What is this double NAT? It is when you hop through two IP address changes on your end of the network.
Frequently a double NAT happens in the IT world to isolate front end web servers or to further protect the corporate network by using two firewalls instead of one.
For the home network, the first NAT would be between your ISP (Comcast, ATT, etc.) and you - your cable modem (or FIOS modem, 'the modem'). The ISP network IP address range is converted once.
If you go straight from your modem to a switch, you are probably good.
The second NAT happens when you put a router behind your cable modem. Thus you end up traversing another IP address change. Thus a second IP change. The key here is that the public side of this second NAT is private behind the first firewall of the modem.
This looks like this:
The problem is that any modifications you make to your router get trapped in this container
Not even port forwarding or DMZ will work properly here unless your cable modem supports uPNP or does not offer a firewall at all ( most give a firewall and default you into this first NAT ).
The things here, simply put your model into 'bridge' mode.
What this does is turn off this first NAT, and your router gets the public side IP from your ISP instead of your cable modem getting it.
The impact here is that for most of us, this means only ONE device can plug into the modem. As you only get one IP of the ISP network.
If you cannot put your modem into bridge mode, put attach your Xbox directly to the modem (using a switch to go around your router).
I am always assuming that there is still some network protection here, at least a basic firewall. As just about anything can be hacked these days.
I always want folks to understand how things work, how things function and to tie as much as what I uncover together in a cohesive way. That is what I have attempted to do here.
I hope it helps some folks, or solves the problem for others.
It is very frustrating to bring a new game home ($80 - $100) only to have it not work (fail to load) at all. From the number of passed customers on the web, I am not alone.
