How to Fix Fortnite Error ESP-DIST-001 When Bitdefender is Installed

When launching Fortnite, you may see this message:

An error occurred while connecting to Epic servers. Please try again later.
ESP-DIST-001

Fortnite error

This means Fortnite cannot complete its connection to Epic Games services. If Bitdefender is installed on your computer, the Bitdefender firewall may be blocking or restricting one of Fortnite’s game or anti-cheat components.

The fix is to create Bitdefender firewall rules that explicitly allow Fortnite and, if needed, its related anti-cheat files to communicate with Epic servers.

Step 1: Add a Firewall rule for Fortnite

  1. In Bitdefender, go to Protection on the left side menu.
  2. Under Firewall, click Settings.Firewall settings
  3. Open the Rules tab, then click Add rule.Add rule
  4. Browse to this file:
C:\Program Files\Epic Games\Fortnite\FortniteGame\Binaries\Win64\FortniteClient-Win64-Shipping.exe
  1. Configure the rule exactly like this:
    • Permission: Allow
    • Network Type: Any network
    • Protocol: Any
    • Direction: Both
  1. Save the rule.

Create rule for FortniteClient-Win64-Shipping.exe to solve the Fortnite error

This rule allows Fortnite’s main game executable to send and receive traffic through Bitdefender firewall.

Step 2: Launch Fortnite again

After saving the rule, reopen Fortnite.

In most cases, the error should disappear immediately, and the game should continue loading normally.

Step 3: Add additional rules only if the Fortnite error persists

If Fortnite still shows the same error, add rules for the following files as well:

C:\Program Files\Epic Games\Fortnite\FortniteGame\Binaries\Win64\FortniteLauncher.exe

C:\Program Files\Epic Games\Fortnite\FortniteGame\Binaries\Win64\FortniteClient-Win64-Shipping_EAC.exe

C:\Program Files (x86)\EasyAntiCheat_EOS\EasyAntiCheat_EOS.exe

Once the correct Bitdefender Firewall rules are in place, Fortnite should be able to connect to Epic servers and start normally.

Looking ahead

Bitdefender is working on a permanent solution that will allow Fortnite to connect to Epic Games servers without requiring manual firewall exceptions. This improvement will be delivered automatically through a future Bitdefender product update. No additional action will be needed once the update is installed.

Until then, adding the firewall rules described in this article is the recommended workaround. Once the rules are in place, the Fortnite connection error should disappear immediately, and the game should launch and connect to Epic services normally.