When players with the right mods are refused or kicked from your PlayNHost DayZ server, the most likely cause is a missing key: each mod's .bikey file must be in the server's keys folder. With Verify Signatures on 2, the default, the server refuses mod files it has no key for and mod files that do not match the server's.
What does the kick message mean?
DayZ shows the reason with the kick. Bohemia's list of DayZ error codes (last edited 13 January 2025) names these mod errors:
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
Client is missing a mod which is on Server | The player installs every mod in Mods |
Client has a mod which is not on Server | The player turns off the extra mod, or you add it to the server |
Extra PBO most likely because Client has a newer version of mod or Client has a more recent version. | Upload the updated mod folder to the server (below) |
Extra PBO most likely because Server has a newer version of mod or Server has a more recent version. | The player updates the mod |
Client has a PBO which is missing a .bisign | A file of a mod on the player's PC has no signature file: the player reinstalls that mod |
Check the keys
- Open your server in the panel and click the Files tab.
- Open the
keysfolder. It must hold one.bikeyfor every mod in Mods on the Workshop tab. - If one is missing, upload it from the mod's own
keysfolder, which you find inside the mod's folder in!Workshopon your PC. - Restart the server and let the player try again.
The Console helps at every start: [pnh-dayz] Copied <key> from <mod> into keys/. means the panel found and copied a key, and [pnh-dayz] <mod> has no .bikey file, so players who have it may be refused. means the mod folder has none. Some mods ship their key separately: copy it into keys by hand.
Check the mod versions
Players get mod updates from the Steam Workshop on their PC. Your server keeps the folder you uploaded until you upload a new one. When a mod updates, players and server no longer match:
- Make sure DayZ on your PC has the new version of the mod in
!Workshop. - Stop the server, delete the old mod folder in Files, and upload the new one the same way as the first time: How to add mods to your DayZ server.
- Upload its
.bikeyintokeysagain, in case the author changed it. - Start the server.
Check that everyone has the same mods
Every player needs every mod in Mods, at the same version as the server. Mods in Server-side mods are the only ones players do not need.
Verify Signatures
Verify Signatures under Settings, Game Settings, has two values:
- 2 checks that players' mod files exactly match the server's. It is the default and the setting to keep.
- 0 turns the check off. Use it only for a short test, to find out whether a key is the problem, because it lets players connect with altered mod files. Set it back to 2 afterwards. Bohemia's server configuration page says 2 is the only supported value.
