How to fix “Inappropriate activity detected” bug in Elden Ring

When attempting to hop into Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree for the first time, you may be met with a strange message saying “Inappropriate activity detected”, so how can you fix this bug? We’ll explain how it may be happening and what you can do about it.

Elden Ring: How to fix “Inappropriate activity detected” bug

Upon launching Elden Ring, they’ll receive a message saying “Inappropriate activity detected. Unable to start in online mode” which is confusing and strange. For now, it seems like there’s no surefire way to fix this bug and FromSoftware is already issuing a hotfix to correct this problem.

While you may be discovering this message on PC, the majority of players experiencing this bug have noticed it appear on their Steam Deck.

Although players began to complain online about the “Inappropriate activity detected” message popping up, the Elden Ring Twitter/X account made a post about a different Steam Deck-related issue that was being worked on. Many replies have complained about the message popping up on their Steam Deck, making it seem like a Steam Deck issue as well.

The post said that leaving your Steam Deck inactive for more than five minutes could stop the game from accepting inputs. Unfortunately, it made no mention of the message that’s barring fans from playing their own saves and assuming they’re cheating.

But I assume that since these two issues are both common on the Steam Deck, FromSoftware is working on a hotfix to help with both issues. This isn’t the only issue with the Shadow of the Erdtree launch either, as many players are having issues starting SotE with a cocoon error.

Until this is fixed, you can always try some solutions to see if they work. Here are some things I recommend you test out if you can’t wait for a hotfix:

• Verify integrity of game files: Perhaps Elden Ring is detecting something strange going on with your files. Even if it may not be the cause of the issue, there’s no harm in attempting to verify file integrity. You can do this by selecting Elden Ring in your Library, then selecting Properties, and under Installed Files selecting “Verify integrity of game files.”
• Check your internet connection: Even if this issue may not have to do with a poor internet connection, the message is still trying to stop you from playing online. You could always try restarting your router by unplugging it and plugging it back in, giving your internet a fresh start.
• Uninstall and reinstall Elden Ring: This should be a last-resort solution, but if you have the time to try it, try reinstalling Elden Ring. Since it’s a pretty large game it’ll probably take a while, but if there’s no way to play Shadow of the Erdtree right now there’s nothing wrong with attempting to fix it this way.

The good news is that even if all these solutions don’t work, FromSoftware is hard at work on a hotfix. Until then, you should figure out where to go first in Shadow of the Erdtree once you’re able to play it.