Troubleshooting

This chapter collects the problems people run into most often and how to solve them. Most sections start with the exact message the app shows, so you can search for it. If your problem isn't here, see Still stuck at the end.

Signing in and emails#

The setup or reset email didn't arrive#

1. Wait a few minutes. Emails can take a little while to arrive.
2. Check your spam or junk folder. Look for Set your droneshow.store password or Reset your droneshow.store password, sent by droneshow.store.
3. Check that you typed your email address correctly. For your privacy, the app shows the same confirmation whether or not an address is registered, so a typo doesn't produce an error.
4. Request a new link:
   • If you haven't set a password yet (a new account, or a team invitation), go to Sign up and submit the same email address again. You get a fresh setup link.
   • If you have set a password before, use Forgot password? on the Log in page.
5. If nothing arrives, write to contact@droneshow.store.

"This link is invalid or has expired. Request a new one."#

Setup and reset links are valid for one hour and work only once. If you see this message, request a new link as described above. If you requested several links, use the newest one: as soon as one link has been used, the others stop working.

If the Set your password page says "Missing token. Check the link in your email.", the page was opened without the code from the link: the link was cut off (some email apps break long links across lines), or the page was reloaded after it opened. Open the link from the email again, or copy the full link into your browser's address bar.

Password rules#

A password must be at least 8 characters long and contain both letters and digits, and the New password and Confirm fields must be identical. Until both are true, the Save & log in button stays grey. Click the eye icon to check what you typed.

"Invalid email or password."#

The email and password don't match an active account. For security, the message doesn't say which of the two is wrong.

• Check for typing mistakes, extra spaces or Caps Lock.
• If you signed up but never finished setting a password, you can't log in yet. Request a fresh setup link (see above).
• If you signed up with Google, use Sign in with Google.
• Otherwise, use Forgot password?

"Too many login attempts. Try again in a minute."#

You tried to sign in too often in a short time. Wait a minute and try again. Similar messages appear on the other forms: "Too many requests. Try again in a minute." and, for Google sign-in, "Too many attempts. Try again in a minute."

The bot check doesn't appear or the button stays grey#

When the form shows Quick check that you're not a bot:, the button stays disabled until the check is complete. If the check doesn't load:

• Turn off ad blockers and privacy extensions for this page and reload.
• Try another browser, or a private window.

If you see "Please complete the CAPTCHA challenge and try again.", the check is required now. Complete it and submit again.

Sign in with Google#

If the Google button doesn't show up, Google sign-in can't load at the moment, often because a browser extension blocks Google's sign-in service. If your account has a password, you can always sign in with email and password instead.

You were signed out#

Your session ends after a period of inactivity, when you set a new password (which signs you out on all your other devices), or when you log out. When that happens, the app takes you to Log in; after you sign in, you return to the page you were on. On some pages you first see "Your session has expired. Please sign in again." or Please sign in again.

In the Show Builder, a Session expired dialog explains that changes can't be saved to the server while you're signed out. Your show is kept in this browser: click Go to login (or wait a few seconds) and sign in, and your work syncs automatically.

"Account disabled."#

Your account has been switched off. Write to contact@droneshow.store.

"CSRF token missing or invalid."#

A security check on your browser session failed, usually in a tab left open for a long time, or after Safari on an iPhone or iPad cleared the site's data. Reload the page and repeat the action. If it keeps happening, sign out and back in.

Uploading shows#

Upload failed: you've reached a limit#

Your plan's limits are checked when you upload. If an upload would go over one of them, you see Upload failed with a message like:

• "You already have 10 of 10 shows. Delete an old one, or upgrade your plan for more."
• "You're using 1.00 GB of 1.00 GB. Free up space by deleting an old project or show, or upgrade your plan for more."

Creating a project can fail the same way: "You already have 5 of 5 projects. …" On Free and Core the window has a See plans button; on Premium and custom plans the message asks you to write to contact@droneshow.store instead.

To fix it:

• Delete shows or projects you no longer need. Failed shows still hold their uploaded file, so delete those first.
• Upgrade your plan on the Pricing page, or write to us.

Your existing projects keep working while you're at a limit. See When you reach a limit or your plan ends.

Upload failed: the file is too large#

"That file is too large to complete the request" means the upload is over the size limit. A single upload, including all the files of a multi-file upload together, can be up to 8 GB. Music files can be up to 256 MB.

• Pack per-drone files (PATH3, CSV) into a .zip or .tar.gz archive. Blender files often shrink a lot in a .zip.
• For very large Blender scenes, export per-drone CSV files (for example with Skybrush Studio) and upload those as an archive instead.
• If your shows are regularly bigger, write to contact@droneshow.store.

The file type isn't accepted#

• "expected a show file (…)" lists the extensions the viewer accepts. The upload window's file picker offers only these; the message usually appears when you drag in a different kind of file.
• "Multi-file upload only supports per-drone bundles (.path3 or .csv) of a single type." You can select several files at once only for per-drone PATH3 or CSV files, and all of them must have the same extension. To upload several different shows, upload them one at a time.
• For music: "unsupported audio format; expected one of .aac, .flac, .m4a, .mp3, .oga, .ogg, .wav".

The upload stops or fails with a network error#

Uploads run in your browser, so the window has to stay open until the upload finishes ("Keep this window open until it finishes").

• If you try to close the browser tab during an upload, the browser asks you to confirm. If you go to another page inside the app, the upload is cancelled.
• Cancel upload asks "Cancel the upload?". Choose Keep uploading to continue, or Cancel upload to stop. Nothing is added to the project.
• If your connection drops, upload the file again. For big files, use a wired or stable connection and pack the files into an archive.
• When the progress shows "Finishing on the server…", the file is already uploaded and is being stored. Wait a moment.

If a banner says "You appear to be offline. Attempting to connect...", your device has lost its connection, or our servers can't be reached at the moment. The banner disappears by itself when the connection is back.

A show takes a long time to convert#

After the upload, each show is converted on our servers. The progress bar on its card shows how far it has got. You can close the tab: the conversion continues without you.

• The bar stays empty: only a few shows are converted at the same time, so your show waits in the queue for its turn. It starts automatically.
• The bar starts again from the beginning: the conversion was interrupted by maintenance and has been put back in the queue. You don't need to do anything.
• Long conversions: small shows usually take a minute or less. Large Blender scenes take much longer, because the whole scene has to be computed. Per-drone CSV files exported from Blender convert much faster.

If a show seems stuck for a very long time without any progress, use Report a problem in the footer and include the project's address.

A show failed to convert#

A failed show has a red card with an error message and a Try again button.

Try again asks "Re-queue this show?" and sends the show through the conversion again, without uploading it again. This often fixes temporary problems. If the same error comes back, the file itself needs fixing:

Other messages that start with "Conversion failed:" come straight from the file reader. For PATH3 and CSV archives, check that the archive contains only the per-drone files, with consistent file names.

Watching shows#

There's no sound#

1. The viewer always starts muted, because browsers block sound until you interact with the page. Click the Sound is off - tap to enable pill, or the speaker button in the viewer.
2. The pill disappears after a few seconds and doesn't come back during the session. Use the speaker button instead.
3. Check that the project has music: on the project page, the Music section shows the track, or a + Add music button if there's none.
4. Check your device's volume and that the browser tab isn't muted.

The music is out of sync#

Each project has one music track, and each show has its own start offset. On the project page, every show card has an offset field in seconds:

• A positive value delays the music. For example, 2.5 starts the music 2.5 s after the show.
• A negative value starts the music early. For example, -1.2 means the music is already 1.2 s in when the show begins.

Values can be up to 300 s either way. Press Enter or click outside the field to save. Visitors of your share link hear the saved value. See Set the music offset, or set it by ear in the viewer: Adjust the sync offset.

The 3D view is slow, blank or crashes#

The viewer draws the show with your device's graphics chip (WebGL), so it depends on your browser and hardware.

• Use an up-to-date desktop browser such as Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
• Turn on hardware acceleration in your browser's settings. Without it, the graphics chip isn't used and the 3D view is very slow or stays blank.
• Close other heavy tabs and apps, especially other 3D pages.
• On laptops, plug in the power: battery-saving modes slow the graphics chip down.
• On phones, playback runs at a lower frame rate to save power and some effects are simplified. Large shows play more smoothly on a computer.

On slower devices, the viewer automatically lowers its drawing resolution to keep playback smooth, so the picture may look slightly softer. It sharpens again when the device can keep up.

If the page shows "Something went wrong while rendering the viewer.", click Reload page. If it happens again, copy the message shown under it and send it to us with Report a problem or by email.

"Project unavailable"#

The project has been deleted, it belongs to another account, or you were removed from the team it's shared with. Go back to your projects. Other messages on the same screen:

• Please sign in again: your session has expired. Sign in to continue.
• Service is having a moment or Can't load this project right now: a temporary problem on our side or with your connection. Wait a moment and reload.

If the Projects page shows Can't load right now, click Retry. This usually clears up within a minute.

Share links#

Your client sees "Show not found"#

"The share link may have expired or been deleted. Ask the studio for a fresh one."

• Check that the full link arrived. Chat apps sometimes cut long links or add punctuation at the end. Copy it again from the project page with Share link, or with Copy share link in the project's ⋯ menu on the Projects page.
• Renaming a project doesn't break its link. Deleting the project does.
• If you deleted a project and created it again, the new project has a new link.

"The show didn't load"#

A temporary problem, for example a dropped connection or a short server restart. The page tries again by itself after a few seconds (after a minute if there were too many requests), or your client can click Try again.

The link opens but there's nothing to play#

If the project has no public shows, the share page has nothing to play, and its settings drawer reads No shows yet: "The studio hasn't published anything to this link yet." Either the project has no shows yet, or all of them are hidden. On the project page, make sure the eye button on each show you want to share is open, not crossed out. See Hide a show from the link.

Payments and plans#

The payment form doesn't open#

When you click Subscribe and the form doesn't open, you see Couldn't open the checkout with one of these messages:

You paid but your plan didn't change#

It can take a moment for the payment to reach your account. The Account page shows "Payment received. Switching your plan on - this can take a minute." and checks again by itself. If your plan hasn't changed after a few minutes, reload the Account page. If it still hasn't changed, write to contact@droneshow.store with the email address on your Paddle receipt.

A payment failed or a card was declined#

• Renewal failed: the Plan & billing section shows Payment failed. Your plan keeps working while Paddle retries. Click Update payment method and enter a new card. See Failed payments.
• Upgrade declined: "Changing the plan didn't go through:" followed by Paddle's reason. Your plan stays as it was. Check the card, or update it under Manage billing, then try again.

Other billing messages#

For refunds, see Receipts and refunds.

Show Builder#

"… drones is over your limit"#

"Your account allows … drones per show. Core allows 500 and Premium 5,000 drones per show."

You asked for more drones than your account allows. The Builder sets the number to your limit and tells you so. The limit comes with your account: 300 drones per show on Free, 500 on Core and 5000 on Premium. See plans in the dialog opens the Pricing page; above Premium, write to contact@droneshow.store.

• If the message says the limit couldn't be checked, the Builder couldn't reach the server and used a default limit. Reload the page once you're back online.
• "… drones is over the maximum" means you asked for more than 10,000 drones per show. That's the system maximum, not an account limit, and it can't be raised.

The show is read-only#

A bar reads "🔒 read-only — editing: name". A teammate is editing the show, and your changes aren't being saved. Wait until they're done, or click Take over. See Editing a show together.

The simulation failed#

The simulation runs on our servers. If it doesn't finish, the simulation panel shows one of these messages:

See Run the collision simulation for how the simulation works.

Teams#

A teammate can't see the team or its projects#

• Check that they're listed under Members on the team page. If their row is greyed out and says "Invited — joins once they accept", they haven't accepted yet: they need to click Accept in the banner on their Projects page. See Accept an invitation.
• If they had no account, they first need to set a password with the link in their invitation email. The link is valid for one hour. If it has expired, they can go to Sign up and enter the same email address to get a fresh link.
• Team projects appear on their Projects page with a team chip. Shared Builder shows are under Show Builder.
• A project only becomes visible to the team once its owner chooses the team under shared with on the project page.

"cannot remove the last member with 'manage'"#

A team always needs at least one member with the manage permission. Give it to someone else first, then leave or remove the member. Taking the permission away from the last manager shows "a team must keep at least one member with 'manage'".

"Team not found"#

The team has been deleted, or you're no longer a member. Click Back to your projects.

Common error messages#

Many actions show a short message when something goes wrong. The … stands for what you were doing, for example "save the show".

Still stuck#

• Use Report a problem in the page footer, for example on your Projects page or a project page. Describe what you did and what happened. We see which page you were on.
• Or email contact@droneshow.store. We answer within one business day. Include what you were trying to do, the address of the project or show from your browser's address bar, and a screenshot if possible.