What's a Photon auth token?

Short-lived token from your authentication endpoint (or Photon Cloud’s default), used to verify the client’s right to connect. Tokens typically expire in 30–60 minutes.

Why does my session disconnect?

On long matches or after AFK, the token expires. Photon disconnects with token-expired error. Client must re-authenticate and reconnect.

How to auto-reconnect?

On Photon Disconnected event with reason ‘token expired’: call your auth endpoint, get fresh token, set on Photon plugin, reconnect. Resume previous room ID if possible.

Fix: Construct 3 Multiplayer Photon Token Expired

Quick answer: Listen for Photon’s Disconnected event. Detect token-expired reason. Fetch a fresh token from your auth endpoint, set on the Photon plugin, reconnect.

A co-op puzzle game using Photon Cloud has long matches. Players disconnect after ~45 minutes. Photon returns “token expired”. Sessions break mid-puzzle.

Detect Disconnect Reason

On Photon Disconnected:
    System.Compare(Photon.LastReason, "TokenExpired")
        → RefreshAndReconnect

Check the reason. Auto-reconnect only for expected expirations; for “server unavailable” etc., show user a different message.

Refresh Auth Token

AJAX → Request POST "https://yourapi/auth/refresh"
On AJAX Completed:
    Photon → Set Auth Token AJAX.LastData
    Photon → Connect

Fetch new token from your auth endpoint, set on Photon, reconnect. Resume previous room if you stored room ID.

Pre-Expiry Refresh

Optional: refresh before expiry. Photon tokens typically last 30 min; refresh at 25 min:

Every 1500 seconds:   // 25 min
    Photon connected? → RefreshToken

Avoids disconnect entirely. Cost: extra HTTP request per 25 min, negligible.

Server-Side Auth

If Photon uses your custom auth server (vs Photon Cloud default), the server endpoint must mint tokens validly. Check server uptime; expired token can also mean server returned a stale cached value.

Rejoin Room

Photon → Connect
On Connected:
    Photon → Rejoin Room (last_room_id)

Photon supports rejoin if the room still exists and your previous slot is held. Players resume mid-puzzle without re-matching.

Verifying

Force token expiry (set short TTL for test). Game auto-reconnects cleanly; UI shows brief “Reconnecting...” toast. Puzzle state preserved.

“Tokens expire. Catch, refresh, rejoin — one event handler keeps long sessions alive.”

For competitive games where mid-match disconnects matter, also implement game-state-resync on rejoin — player should pick up exactly where they left off.