MW4 DMZ Secure Slots: what survives death and disconnects?

What is protected on a failed extraction?

The official FOB guide says items inside Secure Slots are protected when you fail to exfil. Items outside those slots are lost. A backpack’s name does not make every slot secure.

Storage	Intended protection
Secure Slot	Its contents are protected on failed exfil
Ordinary backpack slot	Its contents can be lost on failed exfil
FOB Stash	Stores equipment left at the FOB for later use
Dedicated mission-item slot	Separate space for critical Story Mission and Dynamic Operation objects

A Medium Backpack includes Secure Slots. Compare other options in the armor and backpacks guide and check the actual slot layout before carrying valuable loot.

Before you take a valuable item into danger

Open your backpack and check which slot holds it. Recheck after rearranging loot. Leave equipment you do not need in the Stash before the next deployment.

Secure storage and completing an objective are separate matters. A protected item does not, by itself, prove that a task requiring a successful extraction has completed. Check the objective tracker and extraction result.

What if you disconnect?

Infinity Ward says reconnect should be possible while the same server remains running. If the game offers rejoin, try returning to that match. The developer answer gives no fixed reconnect timer or promise that every item and objective reward will be restored.

Players have reported losing secured items after disconnects. These are reported problems, not a confirmed change to normal Secure Slot protection. No verified restoration fix is available here.

If rejoin fails or items are missing, record the error, platform, approximate match time and affected items, then use Activision’s issue-reporting page. This information helps describe the problem; it does not guarantee reimbursement.

Death, MIA and Prestige are different

For Operator recovery after a failed run, see the MIA guide. Before choosing Operator Prestige, move valuable gear into the Stash: the official FOB guide warns that equipped loadout and backpack items are consumed by that choice. Secure Slot death protection is not a reason to skip that preparation.