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🌐 Connecting to Your Server via DDNS

Our servers are hosted at home, not in a datacenter. This means we use Dynamic DNS (DDNS) to give you a consistent address even when the home IP changes.

What is DDNS?

DDNS (Dynamic Domain Name System) is a service that keeps a hostname (like zomboid.ddns.net) pointed at the current home IP address, even when that IP changes (as most home internet connections do). Services like No-IP and DuckDNS provide this for free.

Our hostname for all servers is: zomboid.ddns.net

Your Server Address

Each server gets a unique port number from our port pool (16261–16280). Your full server address is:

zomboid.ddns.net:YOUR_PORT

Find your specific port on your Dashboard or the server manage page. It looks like 16261, 16265, etc.

Connecting in Project Zomboid

  1. Open Project Zomboid.
  2. From the main menu ? Join Server.
  3. Click Add Server (or direct connect, depending on your game version).
  4. In the IP field enter: zomboid.ddns.net
  5. In the Port field enter your port number (e.g. 16261).
  6. Enter the server password if one is set.
  7. Click Join.

💡 Can't connect? Make sure your server shows Online status on the dashboard. On first boot it can take 60-90 seconds to fully initialise the world.

Sharing With Friends

Share this format with your friends:

Host: zomboid.ddns.net
Port: [your port from dashboard]
Password: [your server password or "none"]

They do not need an account on ZomboidHost - just Project Zomboid on Steam.

Port UDP vs TCP

Project Zomboid uses UDP on the game port. The server also uses the port immediately above for UDP game data (e.g., port 16261 and 16262). Both are automatically opened on our firewall.

Why Can't I Ping the Server?

ICMP ping is often blocked by home firewall/router configurations. This is normal. The server is still accessible - just use the in-game Join function. If the server shows Online in your dashboard, it's reachable.

What If the IP/Address Stops Working?

DDNS should update automatically within 5 minutes of any IP change. Occasionally DDNS providers have outages. If the address stops resolving, check back in 15 minutes. If it persists for more than an hour, it may be a temporary issue on our end - check back later and it should sort itself out.