# Ignition Designer cannot connect to Gateway (ERR\_CONNECTION\_REFUSED on 192.168.3.93:8088) **URL:** \ **Category:** Ignition\ **Created:** [March 29, 2026, 9:56pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/ignition-designer-cannot-connect-to-gateway-err-connection-refused-on-192-168-3-93-8088/114746 "2026-03-29T21:56:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Iggor78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ba9def/32.png) [@Iggor78](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Iggor78)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2026, 9:56pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/ignition-designer-cannot-connect-to-gateway-err-connection-refused-on-192-168-3-93-8088/114746/1 "2026-03-29T21:56:28Z")
I am trying to open Ignition Designer but it cannot connect to the Gateway. Gateway address: [http://192.168.3.93:8088](http://192.168.3.93:8088/) Issue: - Browser shows ERR\_CONNECTION\_REFUSED - Designer Launcher shows "Contacting Gateway" then fails - Status shows UNKNOWN What I tested: - Ping to 192.168.3.93 works (server is reachable) - Tried from different Windows users on the same laptop Environment: - Laptop IP: 192.168.3.165 - Using Ignition Designer Launcher Question: Is this likely caused by the Ignition Gateway service being stopped, or could it be a network/VPN issue? What should I check next? ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/original/3X/b/b/bb2c134d95bad7f4eb23b4fd535b1c0e5838eb9d.png) ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/original/3X/d/0/d03979459b041c0711341a48d0cfb738d28a1b47.png) ---
**Author:** ![Aizhigit\_Mussali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@Aizhigit\_Mussali](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Aizhigit_Mussali)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 12:18am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/ignition-designer-cannot-connect-to-gateway-err-connection-refused-on-192-168-3-93-8088/114746/2 "2026-03-30T00:18:30Z")
Check if port 8088 is open on your server's firewall ---
**Author:** ![a.alghannam](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/a.alghannam/32/75158_2.png) [@a.alghannam](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/a.alghannam)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 3:17am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/ignition-designer-cannot-connect-to-gateway-err-connection-refused-on-192-168-3-93-8088/114746/3 "2026-03-30T03:17:54Z")
I think it’s better to add your gateway with “localhost:8088” than using your PC IP. check with your browser if the gateway is online by browsing to [http://localhost:8088](http://localhost:8088). if it is not online you should go to installation directory(usually "C:\Program Files\Inductive Automation\Ignition\start-ignition.bat") and you will find an executable called “start-ignition” ---
**Author:** ![lane.duncan](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/lane.duncan/32/83700_2.png) [@lane.duncan](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/lane.duncan)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 6:50am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/ignition-designer-cannot-connect-to-gateway-err-connection-refused-on-192-168-3-93-8088/114746/4 "2026-03-30T06:50:41Z")
Assuming the server has a browser: connect to 3.93 via Remote Desktop, open a browser, and open the web page at [http://localhost:8088](http://localhost:8088). If that doesn’t work you may have an install issue and you probably need to look at the log files to find the issue. If it does work then you most likely have a network issue (firewall or vpn) with port 8088. Edit: Welcome to the community! ---
**Author:** ![Iggor78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ba9def/32.png) [@Iggor78](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Iggor78)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 9:47am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/ignition-designer-cannot-connect-to-gateway-err-connection-refused-on-192-168-3-93-8088/114746/5 "2026-03-30T09:47:04Z")
![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/original/3X/1/0/103461d846124709ceb34e01127326bd43f6f437.png) ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/original/3X/d/0/d0b881bcdd36a139050490db8d4dba33fcbe4e1b.png) I can access the Ignition Gateway using [http://localhost:8088](http://localhost:8088) after starting the Ignition service manually from the installation directory using start-ignition; however, there are no projects available on this Gateway. I believe my actual projects are located on another machine at [http://192.168.3.93:8088](http://192.168.3.93:8088), but I am unable to connect to this address as it shows a “connection refused” error. Previously, I used a workaround where I created a new Designer Launcher setup each time, which allowed me to connect to the Gateway at 192.168.3.93 and access my projects successfully, but this method is no longer working. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/original/2X/c/c985ea71ed53a8f212f3920ddf03fe05249170b8.png) [@system](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 10:01am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/ignition-designer-cannot-connect-to-gateway-err-connection-refused-on-192-168-3-93-8088/114746/6 "2026-03-30T10:01:39Z")
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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/original/2X/c/c985ea71ed53a8f212f3920ddf03fe05249170b8.png) [@system](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 1:07pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/ignition-designer-cannot-connect-to-gateway-err-connection-refused-on-192-168-3-93-8088/114746/7 "2026-03-30T13:07:49Z")
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**Author:** ![tgarrison](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/tgarrison/32/80965_2.png) [@tgarrison](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/tgarrison)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 8:24pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/ignition-designer-cannot-connect-to-gateway-err-connection-refused-on-192-168-3-93-8088/114746/8 "2026-03-30T20:24:51Z")
can you access the gateways webpage thru your browser? And what version is the gateway? ---
**Author:** ![lane.duncan](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/lane.duncan/32/83700_2.png) [@lane.duncan](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/lane.duncan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2026, 9:33am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/ignition-designer-cannot-connect-to-gateway-err-connection-refused-on-192-168-3-93-8088/114746/9 "2026-03-31T09:33:31Z")
> [@lane.duncan](#): > > If it does work then you most likely have a network issue (firewall or vpn) with port 8088. I also suspect that you have two gateways, one on your local machine, another on a remote machine, and you are getting them confused. > connect to 3.93 via Remote Desktop Did you connect to the remote gateway via RDP before trying localhost, or did you just connect to a Gateway on your local machine? The IP address of the machine you are connected to can be found on the status page.