How to fix Modern Warfare 2 ‘Connection Failed Puget-Altus’ error

Get your connection back up and running.
A few soldiers preparing for battle in Warzone.
Image via Activision

Call of Duty games are always quite popular, especially in comparison to other games in the genre year in and year out, so their servers are consistently under strain at peak times.

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This is a good problem to have for any developer because it means that your game is successful to a rare degree. But it could also cause problems for players who are trying to connect and enjoy some games online.

Such is the case for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Infinity Ward’s newest entry into the CoD franchise. The game was released in October 2022 and has been incredibly popular, especially when factoring in the battle royale mode of Warzone 2 and the extraction mode DMZ.

With so many players all trying to access the game and play at the same time, it’s natural to see an error code pop up every now and again. One that’s been frustrating players is a message labeled “PUGET-ALTUS.” If you see this code up on your screen, you won’t be able to play, so being able to fix it is key.

If you’ve run into this error code and want to troubleshoot, check out the guide below for best practices on how to resolve the issue and get back into MW2.

Fixing the Puget-Altus error code in Modern Warfare 2

Puget-Altus is a connection error code, which means there could be two different problems that you’re dealing with: client-side issues, which you can usually remedy yourself, and the dreaded server-side issue, which is completely out of your control.

If your Puget-Altus code is a client-side issue, that usually means there’s an issue with the internet connection on your PC or console. The most tried and true method here is to simply make sure that you don’t have a lot of heavy bandwidth-consuming programs running at the same time you’re trying to play MW2. And if you’re still having connection problems, restart your internet modem.

On rare occasions, you might find that it’s a hardware issue, and resetting your console or PC by turning the power off and back on may also resolve the Puget-Altus error code.

If the problem ends up being server-side, there’s not much you can actually do about it until the server problems are resolved on Activision’s side of things. You can always go to its Online Services page to see if there are any reported issues for all platforms.

As always, you should stay tuned to Call of Duty’s social pages as well to see if there are any current problems, and you can check the game’s Trello board to see if the issue is known about.


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Author
Adam Snavely
Associate Editor and Apex Legends Lead. From getting into fights over Madden and FIFA with his brothers to interviewing some of the best esports figures in the world, Adam has always been drawn to games with a competitive nature. You'll usually find him on Apex Legends (World's Edge is the best map, no he's not arguing with you about it), but he also dabbles in VALORANT, Super Smash Bros. Melee, CS:GO, Pokemon, and more. Ping an R-301.
Author
Scott Duwe
Staff Writer & Call of Duty lead. Professional writer for over 10 years. Lover of all things Marvel, Destiny 2, Metal Gear, Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, and more. Previous bylines include PC Gamer, Red Bull Esports, Fanbyte, and Esports Nation. DogDad to Yogi the Corgi, sports fan (NY Yankees, NY Jets, NY Rangers, NY Knicks), Paramore fanatic, cardio enthusiast.