Screen messages about data and the server
Prices come from a server, and sometimes the road to it is blocked. The ticker narrates that rather than freezing: it says which step failed, what it measured, and when it will try again. None of these screens asks you to do anything, and every one of them tells whoever is helping you where the fault sits.
While it is starting up
On the way up, the ticker walks through the chain in order and shows each step: the router, then the name lookup, then the internet, then its own server. A step that passes says so and moves on.
A step that fails names the part that failed and what it tried, which is the whole point of walking the chain in the open:
| It says | The step that failed |
|---|---|
This network's DNS service isn't working. with the resolver’s address |
the network’s name lookup |
I can't look up my server. with the server’s name |
the name lookup for our name in particular |
I can't reach the internet from here. with the addresses it tried |
anything beyond the router |
I found my server but it can't answer yet. |
the server refused the connection |
My server isn't answering right now. |
the server took the connection and said nothing |
No answer yet. I'll keep trying. with an error number |
the request itself failed |
The start screen’s wait box
Before the first prices, the ticker asks its server for a go-ahead. A box at the bottom of the start screen names what it is waiting on, with a try counter such as Try 3 of 10. or Try 12 every 20s.
| The box says | Meaning |
|---|---|
My server says: wait. |
the server answered and has not said go yet |
My server's having trouble., and from the sixth try Not your fault. Retrying... |
the server answered with an error |
Rejoining your Wi-Fi... |
the link to the router dropped |
Waiting for an address... |
joined, but the router has not handed out an address |
Something here blocks me. / I can't get past this network. / Use home Wi-Fi or a hotspot. |
something on the network answers in the server’s place, which is what a sign-in page does |
My server's down right now., Your Wi-Fi is fine - my end., I'll keep trying. |
the fault is ours, and it is saying so |
Weak Wi-Fi signal. alternating with I'll keep trying. |
the radio link is the weak part |
Reaching my server..., Wi-Fi OK, no internet yet., No internet yet. |
nothing past the router is answering |
When the answer arrives, the box shows The server says: and the server’s own words, with the round trip under it, for example round trip 318ms.
The verdict line
Several of these boxes carry one short line stating what the ticker measured rather than what it guesses. The full set:
Wi-Fi down. / No IP address from router. / DNS is flaky here. / My name fails, others work. / DNS 192.168.1.1:53 unreachable (net OK) / DNS 192.168.1.1:53 silent (weak wifi) / DNS 192.168.1.1:53 unreachable, no answer / something answers for my server / 443 fails here, 80 works. / Connection is flaky here. / Server up, API refused. / Answered, then silence. / No reply, internet looks down. / Connected, no reply yet. / Server down (internet OK). / Can't reach the internet. / No internet.
The outage loop
When fetches keep failing while the ticker is running, it settles into one rhythm: three retries carrying only a small pill, then one box you can actually read, then back to the coins.
The pill is Retry 1 of 3 over the chart, for about three seconds. The box is headed I can't see my server and runs one flowing line: the verdict, then | OK 4m ago for when the last good data arrived, | restart 43m for when a restart is scheduled, and | Try 7. Under that, the addresses it could and could not reach, in green and red, and Trying again in ~8s with a draining bar. It holds for about nine seconds.
After the box, the signal card may take a turn with its bottom line naming the layer at fault. The power card takes a turn only when the supply is in the danger band. In place of the verdict you may see Tidying my memory, which means the ticker paused fetching to free some.
The error box
One failed fetch posts a box over the coin for about eight seconds: a code line such as -1: Connection failed, -11: Timeout reading data, 503: Service Unavailable or 500: Internal Server Err, the verdict line where the code is a negative one, then Trying again shortly...
429: Heavy Server Load is the exception: no retry line, and it holds for ten seconds while the ticker deliberately backs off.
Under a missing price
When a coin’s price cannot be shown, the price reads -.-- with a dim note under it saying why: Too fast or Easing off when the ticker held its own fetch back, No reply, Updating... (202) when the server is still preparing that coin, Busy (429), Updating... (200), or the code’s own name and number, such as Connection failed (-1).