STUCK AT GREY SMOKE SCREEN BEFORE AND AFTER MATCHES!

[TheGrandReaper]

98% of the time when I load the game it will go through all the loading videos and then just go to a grey screen with smoke coming from the bottom and all I can do is try to hold escape and exit to desktop or Alt+F4.

I have been able to go into Steam and delete the downloads cache and then launch the game and I have been able to get in.

My graphics card is RTX3060 and I am running 16 GB of RAM and the game is installed on a Samsung M2 NVMe.

Two nights ago, I was able to play with a buddy and then I had to step away from an hour, when I came back, I couldn't get passed the grey screen, so I gave up.

SECONDLY, in the event I do get in a match, the following happens:

Solo match: Will not take me back to the lobby, just sits at the grey screen
Duo match: Will take me back to the lobby with my teammate

I am kind of at a loss, as I feel I have tried everything that I can think of:

Verified internet speeds and connection (hardwired and 500 Mbps up and down)
Rebooted Netgear Nighthawk router, Fiber modem and PC
Uninstalled and reinstalled Steam
Uninstalled and reinstalled PUBG
I tried various different resolutions on my monitor.
Verified graphics drivers were up-to-date.
I tried the idea of deleting the intro videos from the TsiGame folder (didn't work)
I have verified the install files countless times
I tried running in compatibility mode
I tried making sure to run the game as Administrator as well as making sure Steam was running as administrator
I also allowed PUBG through the firewall

It is VERY infuriating as I can play any of game on my PC without issue including games like Forza, iRacing, RUST, CoD ect .....

I finally find a game I truly enjoy and it seems like it is doing everything capable to keep me from playing it.

Please help.

[Alpha]

same

[TheGrandReaper]

I got it figured out I believe. It has to do with your internet connection. I took my Netgear router out and got a brand new router from my ISP and I have not had the issue one time since.

[CharlesfromX_com]

Same issue, 14900k windows 11, 2080ti, DDR 5 6k.

[prahinjo69]

If you turn off Windows defender for Public networks, it should work. This is no viable alternative, because of security, but if you just play the game and then turn it on afterward it should be alright. However, I would also like to resolve this issue permanently.

[Wazzup]

Try this: I had similar problem a while back and this sorted it for me

it could be your AV, if so try this first:
Try turning off deep guard in your AV first, if that works then do this

I contacted F secure, (my AV) or contact your own provider, but this was their fix.
Based on your previous enquiry on chat session, if you are sure that this game application is safe, you can fix this issue by preventing the software from being scanned. To exclude the game from the Real-time Scanning, follow the steps below:
1. Open the F-Secure application's user interface
2. Click on the menu (three lines) in the upper left corner
3. Select Viruses & Threats
4. Click on App and file control
5. Select the Excluded tab
6. Click Add new
7. Select the folder or file that you want to exclude
8. Click OK