A PlayNHost Satisfactory server updates itself: with Automatic Updates on (the default), every start checks for a newer Satisfactory version and installs it before the world loads. To update right now, restart the server. A Daily restart schedule also restarts it early every morning, so new patches arrive without you.
Update now
- Open your server in the panel.
- Click Restart. The game is saved first, then the server stops.
- Watch the Console: the update downloads, if there is one, before the game starts.
- Wait for
[PlayNHost] Ready.before players join.
Players need the same game version as the server. Steam and the Epic Games Store update the game on their PCs, so after a patch the server is usually the one that has to catch up: restart it.
The Daily restart
New servers come with a schedule named Daily restart. It restarts the server between 06:30 and 07:00 panel time while it is running, so it picks up the latest update; the game is saved before it stops. Find it under Schedules on Quick Tasks. Switch it off or delete it if you would rather restart yourself. See How to restart your Satisfactory server on a schedule.
Updates and mods
When the game updates, the next start moves every mod to its newest release for the new game build. If a mod has no release for the new build yet, the server starts with the mods it had, the Mods page shows The last start could not apply the mods, and players may not be able to join until the mod catches up or you remove it.
You can switch Automatic Updates off in Settings, Game Settings to keep the server on the version it has. Know the trade-off: your players' games still update, and a player on a newer game version than the server cannot join it. Switch it back on as soon as your mods support the new version. See How to update or remove mods on your Satisfactory server.
Repair the game files
If the server misbehaves after an update or a crash:
- In Settings, Game Settings, switch on Validate Server Files. Automatic Updates must be on too.
- Restart. Every game file is checked and repaired, which adds several minutes to that one start.
- Switch Validate Server Files off again afterwards, so later starts stay fast.
Your saves and mods are not touched by a validation.
Experimental versions
The Game Branch setting picks the public release or Experimental: How to switch your Satisfactory server to the experimental branch.
If a save you upload was made by a newer game version than the server runs, the Upload a save window warns you. Restart with Automatic Updates on to update the server first.
