Big Walk black screen or stuck connecting: check the firewall first
Black screen when you host, nothing when you enter a Join Code, or an endless connecting screen. Players who fixed it found the firewall was blocking the game — and reinstalling was not the answer.
House House has published nothing about connection failures, and 1.4.8 was a voice patch. The steps below come from players who resolved it, and are labelled as such.
Do this first
Check whether your firewall is blocking Big Walk before you try anything else. Players hitting a black screen on hosting and a dead join code found that Windows Firewall had never been granted permission — restarting the machine made the permission prompt appear, and allowing it fixed both symptoms. Verifying files, reinstalling, changing graphics settings, running as administrator and compatibility mode were all reported as not helping.
Is this your problem?
- You get a black screen when you try to host a lobby
- Entering a Join Code does nothing at all — no error, no movement
- The connecting screen never finishes
- It happens on a machine that runs the game fine otherwise
The firewall check that actually worked
Big Walk is online-only, so a blocked network permission does not stop the game launching — it stops the part that needs the network. That is why the symptom is a black lobby screen rather than a crash or an error message.
The player who resolved this reported that restarting the computer caused Windows Firewall to prompt for permission, which had never appeared before. Allowing it fixed both hosting and joining.
If no prompt appears, check the firewall's allowed-applications list directly and confirm Big Walk is permitted on the network you are actually using. A permission granted for a private network does nothing on a public one, which catches people on laptops that moved between home and elsewhere.
What players tried that did not help
This is worth stating plainly, because the usual advice sends people through hours of it. In the reported case, none of the following changed anything.
- Verifying the integrity of the game files
- Uninstalling and reinstalling the game
- Changing graphics settings or switching GPU
- Running the game as administrator
- Compatibility mode
If the firewall was not it
Work through the ordinary join causes next, since they produce a similar-looking stall. A Join Code belongs to one session: if the host restarted or backed out, the old code is dead and you need a fresh one.
The host also has to be fully loaded into the world before anyone enters a code, and every player should be on the same game version — the version number is on the main menu, and a platform that has not applied the latest update is a common cause in the weeks after a patch.
If one specific person cannot join while everyone else can, the problem is on their machine or their network rather than in the session. Have them try hosting instead: a host that also black-screens points back at the firewall.
What this page is not about
If you can join fine but cannot hear anyone, that is an audio problem, not a connection one. If the world you join looks empty and unsolved, that is usually a different host's save rather than a fault.
And there is no matchmaking in Big Walk, so a session you were never given a code for is not one you are failing to connect to.
Frequently asked
Why is Big Walk showing a black screen when I host?
The reported cause is the firewall never having been granted network permission. The game launches, but the part that needs the network cannot start, so you get a black lobby rather than an error.
I entered a Join Code and nothing happened. Why?
Either the code has expired with its session, the host is not fully loaded in yet, or your machine cannot reach the network at all. Check the firewall before assuming the code was wrong.
Should I reinstall Big Walk to fix connection problems?
Players who hit this reported that reinstalling did not help, along with file verification, admin mode and compatibility mode. Check the firewall first — it costs a minute.
Is there an official fix for Big Walk connection errors?
No. House House has published nothing about connection failures, and the only post-release patch, 1.4.8, addressed voice volume.
Only one of us cannot connect. Where is the problem?
On that person's machine or network. Have them try hosting a session of their own — if that also black-screens, it points at their firewall rather than at your group's session.