Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting

Most problems with ARROW have a short, well-understood fix. This guide walks through the common ones, grouped by where they show up, so you can get back to work quickly.

Start here if a device is offline

The single most common cause of connectivity trouble is a network firewall blocking VPN traffic. If a device shows “offline” or will not connect, check the dedicated guide first: VPN Connection Troubleshooting. It covers the NetBird ports, firewall requirements, and diagnostic steps in full.

A quick check before you dig in

Before chasing a specific issue, a thirty-second sanity check clears up a surprising number of them:

• Are you online, both on the internet and, if needed, the VPN?
• Are you signed in with the right account?
• Does the problem still happen in a different browser or an incognito window?
• Is the device powered on and connected?
• Did anything change recently in your setup?

Signing in

You cannot log in

Work through these in order:

1. Confirm you are using the right email address.
2. Check that Caps Lock is off.
3. Reset your password through your identity provider.
4. Clear your browser cache and cookies.
5. Try a different browser or an incognito window.
6. If it still fails, contact support.

MFA codes are not accepted

Almost always a clock or a stale-code problem:

1. Make sure your device’s time is synchronized.
2. Use the most recent code, not one that is about to expire.
3. Try a backup authentication method if you have one.
4. Ask support to reset your MFA if needed.

You cannot reach a feature you expect

This is usually a role or license matter, not a bug:

1. Confirm your role with your organization administrator.
2. Check the feature is included in your organization’s license.
3. Log out and back in to refresh your permissions.
4. Ask your administrator to adjust your role if needed.

Devices

A device is not showing up in the console

Give it a moment first, then check the basics: registration can take a few minutes after a device comes online.

1. Confirm the device is powered on and on the network.
2. Confirm ARROW Manager is running on it.
3. Confirm its VPN connection is up.
4. Wait a few minutes for it to register.
5. Restart ARROW Manager on the device if it still does not appear.

A device shows offline

1. Confirm the device has internet.
2. Check the VPN status on the device.
3. Restart the Netbird service on the device.
4. Confirm nobody has powered it off.

If it stays offline, the firewall guide is the next stop, since blocked VPN ports are the usual culprit: VPN Connection Troubleshooting.

Device details look incomplete

Data fills in on a collection cycle, so a fresh device may look sparse at first.

1. Wait for the next collection cycle, typically within 15 minutes.
2. Confirm ARROW Manager has the permissions it needs.
3. Restart ARROW Manager to trigger a fresh collection.

VPN

For anything beyond the quick fixes below, the VPN Connection Troubleshooting guide goes deep on ports, firewalls, and diagnostics.

The VPN will not connect

1. Confirm your internet is working.
2. Check that your VPN credentials are current.
3. Disconnect and reconnect.
4. Restart the Netbird client.
5. Confirm your account has VPN access enabled.

The VPN is slow

1. Check your own internet speed.
2. Try a different network.
3. Close bandwidth-heavy applications.
4. Contact support if it stays slow.

The VPN keeps dropping

1. Check your network stability.
2. Make sure power-saving features are not putting the network adapter to sleep.
3. Update your Netbird client.
4. Try a wired connection instead of WiFi.

Reaching a VM

You cannot connect to a newly provisioned VM

New VMs need a minute to finish initializing, so give it a moment before assuming something is wrong.

1. Confirm the build completed successfully in the console.
2. Confirm your VPN is active.
3. Wait a few minutes for the VM to finish booting.
4. Confirm you are assigned as a consultant on the device request.
5. Try pinging the VM’s VPN address.

SSH connection refused

1. Confirm the VM is powered on.
2. Confirm your VPN is active.
3. Double-check your connection details.
4. Contact support if the SSH service may need a restart.

You cannot reach a VM you should have access to

This is almost always an assignment or a stale-permissions issue:

1. Confirm you are listed as a consultant on the device request.
2. Confirm your VPN is active.
3. Log out and back into the console to refresh permissions.
4. Ask your project manager to verify your assignment.

A VM is running slowly

1. Check whether the VM is under heavy load.
2. Check your VPN connection quality.
3. Close anything unnecessary running on the VM.
4. Ask your project manager if it needs more resources.

Builds and provisioning

A build failed

The build logs are your best friend here: they usually name the exact problem.

1. Open the build logs in the console and read the error.
2. Confirm your build configuration is correct.
3. Retry the build after a few minutes.
4. Contact support if it keeps failing.

You cannot see the build logs

1. Confirm you have permission to view the device request.
2. Wait for the build to move past its initial stages.
3. Refresh the page.
4. Contact support if the logs stay inaccessible.

Common build errors

Error	What it means	What to do
image_download_timeout	A network hiccup during setup	Retry the build
ansible_task_failed	A configuration error	Check the logs, then contact support
build_timeout_exceeded	The build ran too long	Retry the build
disk_space_insufficient	A storage problem	Contact support

The console

A page will not load or shows blank

1. Hard refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R or Cmd+Shift+R).
2. Clear your browser cache.
3. Try a different browser.
4. Disable browser extensions temporarily.
5. Try an incognito window.

The console feels slow

1. Check your internet connection.
2. Clear cache and cookies.
3. Close unused tabs.
4. Try a different browser.
5. Disable browser extensions.

Live updates or streaming logs are not working

These rely on WebSockets, so the fix is usually to unblock them:

1. Confirm your network allows WebSocket connections.
2. Disable any VPN or proxy that might block WebSockets.
3. Refresh the page.
4. Try a different browser.

File uploads fail or stall

1. Confirm the file is within the size limit.
2. Check your connection is stable.
3. Try a small test file to isolate the problem.
4. Use a wired connection for large uploads.
5. Keep the browser tab active while it uploads.

You keep getting logged out

1. Confirm your browser allows cookies.
2. Confirm your identity provider session is still valid.
3. Re-authenticate through your identity provider.
4. Contact support if the timeouts are excessive.

Supported browsers

ARROW works best on a current browser. If something looks broken, updating is often the fix.

Browser	Minimum version	Notes
Chrome	90+	Recommended
Firefox	88+	Full support
Safari	14+	Full support
Edge	90+	Chromium-based

Error messages

Error	What it means	What to do
401	Not authorized	Log in again
403	Access denied	Check your permissions
404	Not found	Check the URL or that the resource exists
Connection timeout	A network issue	Check your internet connection
Authentication failed	A login problem	Verify your credentials and try again

ARROW Manager

It will not start

1. Confirm the device has enough disk space and memory.
2. Confirm the required services are running.
3. Review the system logs for startup errors.
4. Restart the device if needed.

It cannot reach the backend

1. Confirm internet connectivity.
2. Check the VPN status.
3. Confirm DNS resolution is working.
4. Contact support if it persists.

Software updates keep failing

1. Confirm internet connectivity.
2. Check available disk space.
3. Retry the update.
4. Contact support if updates keep failing.

For more, see ARROW Manager Overview.

ARROW Control

You cannot reach the web interface at https://vm-ip:20443

1. Confirm your VPN is active and connected.
2. Confirm the VM is powered on and running.
3. Confirm you are using the correct IP from the console.
4. Confirm port 20443 is not blocked by a firewall.
5. Try a different browser or an incognito window.
6. Confirm your system clock is synchronized, since that affects certificate validation.

Login fails

The most common trip-up here is credentials: ARROW Control uses the VM’s own system account, not your console login.

1. Use your system credentials, not your ARROW console credentials.
2. Confirm your account exists on the VM.
3. Check that Caps Lock is off.
4. Ask your project manager to confirm your account was provisioned.
5. Check the ARROW Manager logs for authentication errors.

File uploads or downloads misbehave

1. Confirm the VM has enough disk space.
2. Watch for size limits, since large files can time out.
3. Keep the VPN stable during the transfer.
4. Try a small file to test.
5. Check the browser console for JavaScript errors.
6. Disable extensions that might interfere.

The terminal will not connect

The web terminal relies on WebSockets, so blocked WebSockets are a frequent cause.

1. Confirm the ARROW Control service is running on the VM.
2. Check your VPN connectivity and latency.
3. Refresh the page.
4. Try a different browser.
5. Confirm WebSocket connections are allowed through your firewall.
6. Check the VM’s system logs for terminal service errors.

The VNC desktop will not load

1. Confirm a desktop environment is installed on the VM.
2. Confirm the VNC server is running.
3. Keep the VPN stable and low-latency.
4. Refresh the page.
5. Check the browser console for connection errors.
6. Confirm the WebSocket and VNC ports are reachable.

Installing an application fails

1. Confirm the VM has internet.
2. Check available disk space.
3. Confirm the package repositories are reachable.
4. Read the installation logs for the specific error.
5. Try installing the tool manually from the terminal.
6. Contact support if repository access is blocked.

Monitoring shows no data

1. Refresh the page.
2. Confirm the ARROW Control service is running.
3. Confirm the monitoring agents are installed on the VM.
4. Give data collection a few minutes to start.
5. Check the browser console for API errors.

The interface is slow or unresponsive

1. Check your VPN quality and latency.
2. Confirm the VM is not under heavy load (see system monitoring).
3. Close unused browser tabs.
4. Try a different browser.
5. Ask your project manager if the VM needs more resources.
6. Disable extensions temporarily.

For more, see ARROW Control Overview.

Getting help

Before you contact support

A little detail up front turns a slow back-and-forth into a fast fix. Have this ready:

• A clear description of the problem
• How to reproduce it
• Version information (the console version is in the sidebar footer, plus the ARROW Manager version if relevant)
• What you are using to access ARROW (browser and device)
• Screenshots, if they help

Contacting support

1. Submit a support ticket through the console if you can reach it.
2. Include the details above.
3. Include any error messages you saw.

Related Documentation

• ARROW Manager Troubleshooting - Device-specific troubleshooting
• VPN Management - VPN configuration and management