SOLVED: Internet/Server/Voice not connected.

[Hingle McCringleberry]

This is a problem that's seemingly plagued a lot of Onward peeps, so hopefully it's still relevant. Posting this info so others can search it and find it later. I run on a Quest 2 through SteamVR & VirtualDesktop.

If your internet, server, and voice connections are grayed out in the Onward lobby (when you look to the right) and the reconnect button is unresponsive, it's most likely a problem with your router/wifi settings.

DPI initially told me that it was because I was running Virtualdesktop (unsupported), nah, I've always ran that. Then they told me that maybe Onward doesn't have permission to connect online or to use my audio, not that either. I wasn't banned because I never received a message. All drivers were up to date and internet was stable enough. Tried it through airlink. Tried disabling the firewall. Tried uninstalling/reinstalling Onward, Virtualdesktop, etc..

Eventually I stumbled upon this comment on an old Steam thread, which talks about NAT issues, port issues, etc. After some research, I realize that my Google router (which uses a mesh network) is plugged into the ISP's modem, and the ISP's modem still has wifi enabled. Essentially, there are two wifi signals coming from the same source, and that can confuse the OnwardVR servers. I had to disable the wifi on the ISP's modem (aka enabling "bridge mode"), and that cleared it up immediately.

TLDR: If online connections are perpetually "Not connected" in your menu, look into your router/modem situation.