There is nothing more frustrating for a server owner than seeing ten players connect, only to have five of them timeout because they are stuck on the loading screen downloading resources. This "endless loading" loop is a common issue in FiveM, but it usually comes down to three specific problems. Here is how to fix them.
1. Unoptimized Server Assets
The most common reason players get stuck is simply that your server is too large. If you have 200 high-poly custom cars and 50 unoptimized MLOs (custom buildings), a new player might have to download 15GB of data just to connect.
- Check Texture Sizes: Open your
.ytdfiles in OpenIV. If you see 4K or 8K textures for a simple t-shirt or a car dashboard, compress them down to 1080p or 720p. - Use YouTube Embeds: Never use a massive local
.mp4file for your loading screen background. Using the ViceForge Builder to embed YouTube videos instead saves up to 100MB of immediate download time.
2. The "Clear Cache" Fix (For Players)
Sometimes, the server is fine, but the player's local cache has become corrupted, causing a download loop where the client constantly tries to redownload the same asset.
Instruct your players to:
- Close FiveM entirely.
- Right-click the FiveM icon and select "Open File Location".
- Open the
FiveM Application Datafolder. - Open the
datafolder. - Delete the
cache,server-cache, andserver-cache-privfolders. DO NOT delete thegame-storagefolder. - Restart FiveM and connect again.
3. Server Bandwidth Limits (For Hosts)
If you are hosting your server on a cheap VPS or a home internet connection, your upload speed is the bottleneck. If five players try to join simultaneously and you only have a 10Mbps upload speed, the data trickles to them so slowly that the FiveM client assumes the connection dropped and throws a "Timeout" error.
- Upgrade Hosting: Ensure your server host provides a minimum of 1Gbps uplink.
- Remove Unused Scripts: Go through your
server.cfgand stop ensuring resources that no one uses. Less data to send means faster connection times.
Make the Wait Bearable
Even on a highly optimized server, players will still need to wait a few minutes on their first connection.
You can drastically reduce the number of people who quit out of boredom by providing a high-quality, animated loading screen with a working progress bar and built-in music controls, easily generated using ViceForge.