Can't connect to a device

Symptom

You enter the 9-digit ID in the operator app, but no connection is made and an error window appears. Its title and message show the cause; the most common ones are listed below. The messages are shown in the console's interface language.

Device offline

Window: Device offline — "This device is not online right now. Try again once the other side opens the Polpo Desk app."

Likely causes: the Polpo Desk client isn't open on the remote computer, the computer is off or asleep, it has no internet connection, or the client can't reach the server.

1. Ask the other person to open the Polpo Desk client.
2. Have them check that the connection ID is shown as digits and that the status line says Ready to connect.
3. If the ID is shown as dashes (— — —), follow the steps in The client is stuck on "Connecting…".
4. Make sure you typed the ID correctly. The ID always has 9 digits; otherwise you see Please enter a 9-digit device ID.

Wrong password

Window: Connection failed — "Wrong password. Attempts left: 2" (the number shows your remaining attempts).

Likely causes:

• The one-time password has changed: the session password is generated again every time the client opens and every time it reconnects to the server. If the other person clicked Renew Password, the old password became invalid immediately.
• The password was typed incorrectly or passed on incompletely.
• If you use a permanent password, it may have been changed on the remote computer.

Fix:

1. Ask the other person to send you the current session password shown in their client, type it into the Password field in the window and click Try Again.
2. If you don't know the password, connect with the password field left empty. A confirmation window then opens on the other side, and the person can accept the connection with Allow Connection.
3. If a remembered permanent password is no longer valid (it was changed on the remote computer or unattended access was turned off), the console forgets it and automatically sends an approval request instead. The connecting window then shows Saved password invalid — enter it again. See Set up unattended access.

Too many failed password attempts

Message: "Too many failed password attempts. Please try again in 15 minutes."

To protect against brute-force attacks, the server limits wrong password attempts:

• If 5 wrong attempts within 15 minutes are made for a device, connecting to that device with a password is locked for 15 minutes and the device's one-time password is renewed automatically.
• If an operator makes 20 wrong attempts within 15 minutes, that operator's password attempts are locked for 15 minutes.
• A single connection request awaiting approval allows at most 3 password attempts; after that the request is closed.

Fix: wait 15 minutes. The lock only affects connecting with a password; if you need to connect without waiting, leave the password field empty and connect with the other person's approval. Because the password is renewed after a lock, ask the other person for the new one.

The other side rejected the request

Message: "The other side rejected the request."

The person at the remote computer clicked Reject in the approval window. Contact them, confirm the request comes from you and try again. To make sure your name and company appear correctly in the approval window, complete your operator profile: Profile, display name, photo, password and language.

Limit reached

Window title: Limit reached. This is not a password error, so no password field is shown; the message tells you which limit was reached:

• "Your concurrent connection limit has been reached (3). Upgrade your plan.": your organization already has as many sessions open as your plan allows (the number is your limit). Close unused sessions or buy extra connections.
• "Your daily connection time is used up (60 min). Upgrade your plan.": your plan has a daily time limit and you've used it. You can connect again the next day or upgrade your plan.
• "Your plan's user seats are full (your subscription may have expired). Only the account administrator can sign in right now; please contact your administrator.": the subscription may have expired and the organization dropped to the Free plan. Contact your administrator.

For limits and extra connections, see Plans and limits.

Email address not verified

Message: "You can't connect until you verify your email address. You can resend the verification email from the panel." (shown in the Limit reached window)

On new accounts, you need to verify your email address within 3 days of signing up; once this period has passed, you can't start remote connections until you verify it. The web panel also shows the warning "You can't start remote connections until you verify your email address."

1. Find the verification email in your inbox (and spam folder) and click the link.
2. If you can't find the email, click Resend verification email in the warning in the Panel.
3. Connect again after verifying.

See Creating an account, verifying your email and signing in for details.

The connection could not be established

Message: "The connection could not be established." (in the Connection failed window), even though the password was correct or the request was approved

The video connection between the two devices couldn't be established. This is usually caused by a firewall on one side's network or a dropped connection. Try again; if it continues, check both sides' internet connections and see the network steps in Slow connection and lag.

If the message is "Could not reach the server.", your own computer can't reach the Polpo Desk server. Check your internet connection and try again.

When to contact support

If the error persists, contact us with the device ID, the exact message and the time of the attempt. To open a support request, see Creating and tracking a support request.