Workaround for World of Warcraft’s Trial Client “Failed to read information from the Internet” error.
I finally decided to check out World of Warcraft and find out what all the hype is all about. I registered my trial account and downloaded the TryWoW.exe. When I launched the TryWoW.exe client downloader and accepted the agreement I received this.
Failed to read information from the Internet.
Please close all applications and try again.
I opened the ports suggested by WoW’s Supoort Pages…
The Blizzard Downloader requires that TCP ports 3724 and 6112 be forwarded to your computer. It can also benefit from having ports 6881 through 6999 forwarded.
How to configure your firewall:
http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?articleId=21072
How to configure your router:
http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?articleId=21073
and still received the same message.
This solution has worked for most however not for everyone. It is worth going through the following steps because chances are that it will solve the problem. I would also suggest reading through the reader comments as they offer other ideas on how to fix the issues if the following solution does not work.
I have created a forum for the WoW to make it easier to find or share solutions to this issue. If you have a solution that has worked for you please share it with the rest of the WoW community.
Solution: (see note at the end of this post for updated info)
Update your HOSTS file with an IP Address that resolves to a WoW client server.
- Add this to your hosts file,
12.129.232.131 us.version.worldofwarcraft.com - If the above IP address does not work, find an IP address to use. Don’t forget to return to this step after you find an IP address.
- Try this IP for GB versions,
12.129.232.131 gb.version.wow-europe.com
This is how I did in Vista,
- Click the Start button
- Click All Programs
- Click on Accessories
- Right-Click Notepad and select Run as Administrator.
- Click File from the menu bar
- Click Open… and navigate to, C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc
- Select the file type to show All Files (*.*)
- Select hosts
- Click Open
- Enter,
12.129.232.131 us.version.worldofwarcraft.comin a new line. - Click File > Save, to save the file.
- Try the install again by clicking the TryWoW.exe and accepting the Agreement again.
When Notepad opens,
NOTES:
- This is a temporary workaround until WoW fixes the issue.
- This should also work for the Full Client Downloader.
UPDATES:
- Some have been able to fix the problem by flushing the DNS cache.
Run the Command Prompt as Administrator and type:
ipconfig /flushdns
You will see this when it has flushed successfully.
Windows IP ConfigurationSuccessfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.
- If the entry 12.129.232.131 us.version.worldofwarcraft.com does not work, remove it from the HOSTS file and try this one,12.129.232.127 us.version.worldofwarcraft.com
- How to find an IP address that might work.
Open a command prompt and type,
ping us.version.worldofwarcraft.com
and hit enter.You will get something similar to this,
Update the Hosts file using the IP address that is in the brackets [ ], it might not be the same as the one shown above.
- How to edit the HOSTS file in Mac OS X
Using OS X’s graphical interface:
1. Open Finder.
2. In the Go menu, select “Go to Folder”
3. Type /etc for the folder name.
4. In the list of files that appears, find the hosts file. Double click it to open it in a text editor.
5. Add a new entry using the same format as shown previously (ipaddress hostname)
On unix-based systems, as well as OS X’s terminal, you can find the hosts file at /etc/hosts. It’s a good idea to flush the dns cache after updating the hosts file so a simple reboot should do the trick.
Did you find this post usefull? Why not leave a comment below and let us know. Or, if you still need help, post it in our Forums.
Comments
Please guys, I got this problem too, but its on Wrath of the lich king.
Failed to read information from the Internet.
Please close all applications and try again.
The same messege.
Please, What do I need to do? And if is it a wow mistake?
thanks!
Hi kaifox,
Remove the entry listed in the post and try using this entry in the hosts file,
12.129.232.127 us.version.worldofwarcraft.com
I am seeing that us.version.worldofwarcraft.com resolves to this address now.
Let us know if it works.
@ kaifox
Hi .. sorry,
In the original post it says to add 12.129.232.131 us.version.worldofwarcraft.com to your hosts file. Instead of using 12.129.232.131 as the address use 12.129.232.127. So the entry that you add to your hosts file should be:
12.129.232.127 us.version.worldofwarcraft.com
I did, but unfortunately it didn’t work.
Im crazy to play the new expansion of WOW, but i don’t know what i need to do anymore.
I thought reinstall all my PC, but im afraid when try to install the WOW it doesn’t work anything.
But Thank you anyway Paulito75!
“Im sorry about my English”. Im brasilian.
I had the same problem with the Mac Install Wow client. Changed my host file according to your configuration and it worked like a charm.
Thanks a lot !!!
It made my day 
@ Angela
If you are editing the hosts file in Vista, make sure you are opening Notepad as an Administrator,
Click Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> right-click Notepad, and then click Run as administrator -> Enter administrator password if requested.
Editing the hosts file in Windows XP should allow you to save. If you are getting an error message, please let us know.
I hope this helps.
@ lilmday
I updated this post to include how to find an IP address that might work. The instructions are listed under UPDATES on this same page.
By pinging us.version.worldofwarcraft.com you can see what IP address you can use if the others I listed do not work.
Please let me know if this helps.
Hi. I’ve used both ip addresses and the ip address given in the command prompt. the weird thing about mine is, i was able to install it on my laptop but not my desktop. i have all the ports that need to be forwarded… anything you can think of?
@Anthony
I moved your issue to the forums for discussion.
Post: http://www.techsopa.com/forum/gaming/wow-client-install-works-on-laptop-but-not-on-desktop/#p38
@Cassidy & @Patrick,
Sorry to here that this didn’t work for you. Sometimes it not working has been as a result of some other factors.
I am more than happy to help you figure this out, start a new topic post in the forums (under Gaming) with what you have tried so far and any errors you have been getting.
@wally
I have not tried on a Mac but this is how you would find & edit the hosts file in OS X.
Using OS X’s graphical interface:
1. Open Finder.
2. In the Go menu, select “Go to Folder”
3. Type /etc for the folder name.
4. In the list of files that appears, find the hosts file. Double click it to open it in a text editor.
5. Add a new entry using the same format as shown previously (ipaddress hostname)
On unix-based systems, as well as OS X’s terminal, you can find the hosts file at /etc/hosts.
Please let us know if this works.
I am having the same problem! Whenever I try to load it, it always says:
Failed to read information from the Internet.
Please close all applications and try again.
I have no idea in heck on what I am suppose to do and I can’t figure the process above out I can’t figure out about the notepad part and the Router part so if anyone can help me with that I would really appreciate it! Thanks!
@Jamslam09
I started a thread here, so we can help.
wow, you guys are the best just copy and paste what you got there worked like a CHARM ill be able to help everyone that I know that has this problem now hehe thanks again!
If we want to download the GB version of WoW what would we replace
us.version.worldofwarcraft.com
with?
@Anonymous —
I was not able to find an EU server right away. I will do a little more research and post if I find anything.
sorry i didnt put my name previously there^^ i didnt even notice….i tried the bg version but i still cant get passed this issue! its driving me mental…dont know if eu would make a difference from gb
Still didn’t work. When I tried to ping us.version.worldofwarcraft.com it just says “Request timed out”. I’m trying to download the full version of WoW, not the trial.
wow guys ty so much for the information, i was about to be done with the game but you saved me alot of confusion
YOU FREAKING ROCK
Are you in Vista or XP?
You can try renaming the hosts file to something like hosts.old and create a new one. Make sure you save the file without a file extension like .txt. You can do that by using quotes in the Save As field., example: “hosts”. See it that works. If you need more assistance, we will be happy to help in the forums Gaming section.
thanks for this, and thanks to pete too for posting the GB version of this info, it got it over the ‘failed to read information from the internet’ error. which is at least the first hurdle. hopeful plain sailing from here on.
I tried everything and I still can’t get the installer to work. I did the firewall thing and I configured my router, and I still get “Failed to read information from the Internet.
Please close all applications and try again.”
I’m on a Mac Pro running 10.5.7 and I paid for 6 months! – LOL!
Also, I can’t save the host file – I went and changed permissions, and in the Get Info box it now says I can read and write, and yet it still won’t let me make any changes to it.
@Bill
Try this:
1. Open Terminal Window:
Either by start typing Terminal on the Spotlight, or by going into Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal.
2. Open the hosts file by typing the following in the open terminal window:
sudo nano /private/etc/hosts
3. Enter Password:
Type your user password when prompted.
I am not a Mac user but I believe that a password must be configured for this to work, in otherwords, you can not have a blank password for your user that has admin privileges. You could always configure a password, make the change, then remove the password. However, it is HIGHLY recommended to use passwords.
4. Save hosts file
Ok, I got as far as opening the host file, adding 12.129.232.127 us.version.worldofwarcraft.com at the bottom, but now I can’t save the file.
If I try and close it, it gives me a warning saying closing he window terminate the running process: login, bash, nano
If I just try and save, it asks me where to save the file, but it wants to name it “Terminal Saved Output” so I figured I should try and rename it “host”, but now I can’t find the private folder to save it into.
I can’t believe all this work for a game I paid plenty for. This is so crazy. I feel like I should be getting paid instead – lol!
@Bill
I think I made a mistake with /private/etc/hosts please try it again using /etc/hosts as the path and file name.
The file name should be hosts
Location of file should be /etc
Good luck !
@john
How much of the instructions above have you tried? I will be happy to help you out. To make it easier, please post what you have tried so far in the forums, http://www.techsopa.com/forum/gaming/.
none of those ip addresses work can u plz help me step by step still have same prob is this a blizzards fail?
@Schmoopy, @nosta
I am happy to help. I only ask that we use the forums to figure out the issues. Please post what you have completed up to this point in the games forum.
FYI- I am still looking for a valid EU ip address.
ok i havedone all that ip adress thing tried a couple different ones i have also tried this was an email from the support team this didnt work either installing it or repairing files always comes up as Failed to read information from the Internet.
Please close all applications and try again.
email-Reverting the game to a previous version may also assist with the troubleshooting process. In order to revert the game to a previous version, please try the following steps:
1. Open your World of Warcraft directory (This is commonly located at C:\Program files\World of Warcraft or C:\Users\Public\Games\World of Warcraft for Vista users).
2. Open the folder called “Data”
3. Delete Patch.MPQ, Patch-2.MPQ, and any other file with the word “Patch” in it that ends with “MPQ”
4. Run the repair.exe utility found in the World of Warcraft directory
5. Click the button “Reset and Check Files”
6. The repair utility will say, “World of Warcraft is seriously damaged and will need to be reverted to an earlier version. After it has been reverted you may need to patch up to continue playing.”
7. Once the repair utility has completed, you will need to reapply the patch to enter the game.
i am also on oceanic realms if that makes any difference and it only started happening after i merged my account with battle.net for some reason
I’m having similar issues:
1) I’m running Vista (new laptop to me from Dell)
2) I’m trying to do a new install of WoW (via download, I have an active account)
3) I’ve tried all the rename host file fixes
I’m still getting the “failed to read information…” message once I get to the blizzard downloader page.
My problem is compounded by the fact that if I use a free public wireless connection, I can get it to work, but VERY SLOW download. I am trying to use a connection at a friends work, still wireless but with security enabled (i can access the web using this connection with no issues) but I CAN NOT get the blizzard downloader to get past this error message listed above.
Please any help would be appreciated, I’m out of ideas?
i got it working by installing and downloading on another comp then using portable hard drive and transfered files over now it waorks on my comp again
@John
What Operating system are you on?
For Windows XP you just need to be an administrator of the local machine. For Vista/7 you need to run Notepad as Administrator to be able to save your changes. The instructions were written using Vista.
If you are still having problems editing the HOSTS file, let us know and we will try to help you out in the forums.
Will Deleting every WoW file and starting over help at all… i just want a response before i go and try this please come back to me as soon as possible!
@mike
It is hard to say if it will help or not. But when all other options have been exhausted then it might be one to try. Just make sure you back up and UI mods and such. Just copying the files to a different location on local disk or to a thumbdrive is a good way to preserve your files just in case you need them again. After you have uninstalled, I would suggest running a registry cleaner like (ccleaner) to make sure it has been completely removed. Then perform the install again.
Good luck, I hope it works out!
I cant save it
“Cannot create the C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc/hosts file.
Make sure that the path and filename are correct.” How do i go around this
@ Baller
You must open notepad as Administrator (“Run As Administrator”). The first few steps in the instructions above covers how to that. Are you using Vista or Windows 7? If following steps 1-11 do not let you save the hosts file, please let us know.
I Tried all of this paul, none of it workerd, i flushed my DNS, used those IP’s, and tried the one with the ping, NONE OF IT works, can you please help me?
Okay, I couldn’t access my Itunes either, I was having a similar problem as with the installer and my solution for my Itunes and doing that got the installer to work.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1490 just follow this and it will work.
Holy cow, that actually worked, thanks John!
[Editor Comment: I think it was the suggestion of Durell A. that helped you out. Disabling the Automatic Proxy Detection as shown here, http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1490. Glad to hear it is working !! Thanks again Durell!]
I tried all of it, both IP’s and neither worked. This is the first time this problem has happened to me. I have been playing fine up until the last patch, and when I went to download the patch, it would not download. It suggested reinstalling, and now the installer gives me that message no matter what I do… Any other suggestions?
In case some Mac users still have a prob, this is what I did in Snow Leopard and it works great! I thought there was no answer.
I am in EU too, it looks like it needs access to the US servers during install regardless of whether you intend to play in US or EU.
1) Got to utilities and open Terminal
2) Type this without the quotes “sudo /etc/hosts”
3) Enter your main password and the text file should open
4) Use your arrow keys to move to the bottom line after maybes the last line containing localhost.
5) type this “12.129.232.131 us.version.worldofwarcraft.com” again without the quotes
6) hold ctrl+X then type Y hit enter and hey presto it works!
TY TY TY TY!
The first ip address you listed worked perfectly for me. I was at the end of my rope. Funnily enough, pinging the url gave me a different ip address that didn’t work, and I had tried that first.
1) Got to utilities and open Terminal
2) Type this without the quotes “sudo /etc/hosts”
3) Enter your main password and the text file should open
4) Use your arrow keys to move to the bottom line after maybes the last line containing localhost.
5) type this “12.129.232.131 us.version.worldofwarcraft.com” again without the quotes
6) hold ctrl+X then type Y hit enter and hey presto it works!
Worked like a charm on a fresh install with the full donwloader
Im running on a VISTA btw.
Hmmmmkey,
Ive tried anything thats been told here on this forum.
Tried the:
-12.129.232.131 us.version.worldofwarcraft.com
-12.129.232.127 us.version.worldofwarcraft.com
-12.129.232.131 gb.version.wow-europe.com
-12.129.232.127 gb.version.wow-europe.com
-12.129.232.131 eu.version.wow-europe.com
-12.129.232.127 eu.version.wow-europe.com
-12.129.232.131 eu.version.worldofwarcraft.com
-12.129.232.127 eu.version.worldofwarcraft.com
Cuz i live in Europa (Holland / Netherlands)
-Ive also tried ”ping us.version.worldofwarcraft.com”
In COMMAND PROMPT like 5 times, enterd those ip’s in HOSTS file but it still gives the same problem:
”Failed to read information from the internet”
”Please close all applications and try again”
Ive also tried the extra apply NOSTA added:
1. Open your World of Warcraft directory (This is commonly located at C:\Program files\World of Warcraft or C:\Users\Public\Games\World of Warcraft for Vista users).
2. Open the folder called “Data”
3. Delete Patch.MPQ, Patch-2.MPQ, and any other file with the word “Patch” in it that ends with “MPQ”
4. Run the repair.exe utility found in the World of Warcraft directory
5. Click the button “Reset and Check Files”
6. The repair utility will say, “World of Warcraft is seriously damaged and will need to be reverted to an earlier version. After it has been reverted you may need to patch up to continue playing.”
7. Once the repair utility has completed, you will need to reapply the patch to enter the game.
But then i get the message:
‘”Cannot connext to the server to download repair information. Please try again later”
Wow installer and others still give the first error.
Deleted also all PATCH MPQ files in World of Warcraft\Data\enGB
Still got the same error.
Ive got wow already on my computer thats why i find this extra annoying.
Got
WoW-2.4.2-enGB-downloader
WoW-2.4.2-enGB-patch
all the way to
WoW-3.3.0.11159-to-3.3.2.11403-enGB-downloader
WoW-3.3.0.11159-to-3.3.2.11403-enGB-patch
10 patches in total in my
C:\Mijn Documenten\Games\World of Warcraft
Maybe i have to delete those also?
Owyeah and iff i hit ”Configuration Screen” -> then ”Programs” -> Click WoW -> Uninstall ….
It keeps coming with this
“Uninstall.xml” could not be read.”
I havent been playing for maybe a half year now, and now i wanna get back to it and it keeps coming with the same issues.
Can you pls help me a.s.a.p. pls ?
So i can go back RAIDING!!!
Contact me here or by e-mail.
-12.129.232.131 eu.version.worldofwarcraft.com
-12.129.232.127 eu.version.worldofwarcraft.com
should be
-12.129.232.131 nl.version.worldofwarcraft.com
-12.129.232.127 nl.version.worldofwarcraft.com
Cuz i live in Holland
Hi I used to play WoW on my old laptop, but now that i’ve switched to a mac, im having a problem downloading the game this time. i’ve been trying all these things, the thing that is bothering me right now is when i type “sudo /etc/hosts” it says that “command not found”. please help me 
i wanna raid soon tooooo (
in Control Panel, in Internet Options?
Go to the Connections tab.
Click on LAN Settings
Make sure these are Unchecked:
Use automatic configuration script
Use a proxy server for your LAN
oh my jeez oh
it was my mums proxy blocking it the whole time!
how did i not see that.
thanks alot @pesteni
i have this problem nothings working WTF WOW! I COPIED MY MOTHERS GAME FILES, AND IT WORKS. but wont patch for these last 2 weeks
the one from apple worked!
mby its all those methods combined, but i finally got by the ‘cant read internet’ msg!
tnx ppl!
^^
I erased the entry entirely and then it worked for me, so if all these suggestions fail simply delete everything below the last “..1 localhost”, but leave that line and everything above it in tact, and be sure to save before closing the notepad file. Hope this helps someone who stubles upon this =).
i tried all of that but still getting the error message i had it downloaded before but i uninstalled WoW thought it would help when i was getting that error message while trying to download the WOTLK expansion. anything else i should try
i tried all of that and still got the same message, i had it installed once before but uninstalled it cause i was trying to upgrade to the WOTLK expansion pack but was getting that message, now i cant reinstall it, any other tricks i could use to install the whole thing again plz
After attempting everything on this page and it still not working, I decided to delete everything in the host file, save it, and now wow is starting to install. Only took me 8 hours! woohooo!!?!?!?!
Anyone that is still having this problem after using the proxy server solution should go to the hosts folder and remove the WoW IP.
Worked for me.
Cant get this to work no how. I have put in the new host info i pinged and got a new number as indicated on how to. got that number put in in exactly as shown in the host folder in system32 drivers etc host
I use my wow.exe from my 2nd drive where my wow is installed. I also changed the host thing on the 2nd drive too.
I logged in with my old acct and the patcher pops up and starts to look for patch that is when the message appears fail to read
I tried a new acct on my regular C drive wow.exe and same thing happens so no patcher will allow me to access the info.
I am at a loss for how to get it to work. I have been having an issue since i found some spyware with malbytes that was deleted.
now i try have to force launch Aion launchpad i get a similiar error about fail to read but not the exact same box. as it pops up with aion box and force to launch which allows me to enter that game (but it hasnt had to have patch yet so im a bit worried on that)
But as for World of Warcraft I cant get my old version to get past this fail to read
Is there anything else i can do ? i did not try to reset my IP for my net connections at all. Husband has to do that I dont remember how to do it.
Sorry, but this is simply way too much work involved for a well known company. This is what THEY get paid for. If they can’t fix it, then they can suck it. Not worth it at all.
Ok so i’ve been playing WoW for about 4 years now. Just Recently my WoW crashed and wouldn’t open back up, i got this message: “Failed to read information from the internet, Close all applications and try again”. After trying everything from the WoW forums and contacting Blizzard i FINALLY came up with a solution that might work for you all. This is for windows xp and other windows versions. First go to “Control Panel”, then go to “Network and Internet Connections”, click “Internet Options”, then click “Connections”, click “LAN Settings”… THEN DESELECT “Use a proxy server for your LAN” click ok and then ok again and then run your WoW installer. It worked for me and hopefully will work for you guys too. GOOD LUCK and see you in WoW!!!
well, i did every step on this page to no avail. then, i bypassed my router by plugging directly into my cable modem. still didn’t work. i reset internet explorer to default states. didn’t work. then, last thing I did was I went back to my hosts file and deleted the world of warcraft line that i put into it.
It’s working now! i don’t know what fixed it, but it may be one of the many steps above. also, i am still not plugged back into my router, i am plugged directly into my modem, where i will leave it til its patched and updated.
good luck to anyone else troubleshooting all this.
OMFG THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR THE ANSWER TO THIS ISSUE FOR 2 YEARS! IT HAS BEEN IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO FIX IT, THANK YOU SO MUCH DUDE! YOUR THE BEST! XD
still wont work, i tried everything on this page and from the comments, i had wow installed but when the patch today wouldnt download it told me to reinstall, and when i tried to, this crap happened. does anyone know anything else i can do to fix it?
GUYS, i`m about to cry.
I`ve been the last three days trying to fix this same problem. I have tryied all those options and i noticed that my Repair program is experiencing a similar problem, wich is, he cant connect with the internet server to download the repair informations. Its the first time that i`m playing WOW, and now i`m thinking; how the heel such a world famous game gets so them hard for someone to play???
If anyone have another solution please tell me.
(sorry for any english mistakes –> Brazil Rules)
Buah!!
I’m from spain, i don’t speak english very good but thanksssssssssss!!
Muchisimas gracias, me a servido de mucha ayuda, estaba subiendome por las paredes ya.
Worked… Thanks !!