Help

Something not working? Check it here.

The check below tests the links ATC Relay depends on, from your own browser, and tells you which one is the problem. Then find the symptom you are seeing and follow the steps.

Connection check

It runs by itself when the page opens. Each line shows a word and an icon: Working, Check this, Problem, or Not checked.

CheckingRunning the check…
  • Page addressThe site address you are on
  • Your browserLive connection, sound, saved sign-in
  • Your device clockSign-in passes last only a minute or two
  • RelayCarries every room
  • Web session serviceStarts sessions without the simulator
  • Free demoThe Nashville guest session
  • Your sign-inThis site, this browser
  • A room codeOptional: test a code you were given
The check only talks to our own servers and sends nothing about you. The results are copied to your clipboard only when you press Copy, so you can paste them into a message to us.

Troubleshooting guide

Pick the symptom. Where the product shows a message, it is quoted exactly so you can match it.

Sign-in

It asks me to sign in, but I am already signed in
REFUSED: you are not signed in to this room. Open the room from navispherestudios.com (sign in there first if needed).

A room only knows who you are from the link the site gives you when you open it. A room link that was saved, reloaded after a long time, or opened in a second tab can lose that.

  1. Open the site at navispherestudios.com (not the www. address) and make sure you are signed in.
  2. Open the room again from the site, not from a saved link or an old tab. That gives it a fresh sign-in.
  3. If you are in two rooms, open each one from the site.
  4. Still refused? Run the check above and copy the results to us.

A room remembers you for up to 8 hours.

Start or demo does nothing useful, and the page looks normal
The session service could not be reached. Try again in a moment.

This wording appears for several different problems. The most common one we have seen: the page was opened at www.navispherestudios.com. The page loads, but the site only accepts button presses from navispherestudios.com, so the Start and demo buttons are refused.

  1. Check the first line of the connection check above. If it says Problem, use the link it gives you.
  2. Type navispherestudios.com into the address bar without www, sign in again, and try again.
  3. Try a private window with extensions off: some privacy tools remove what the site needs to confirm a button press came from its own page.
It says to verify my e-mail address
Verify your e-mail address to start a web session.
  1. Open the e-mail from us and use the link in it. Check your spam folder.
  2. Once verified, reload the page and start again.
  3. No e-mail? Sign in, open your account, and ask for a new one.
The ATC Relay Host app asks me to sign in
That sign-in request expired. Press Sign in to start a new one. This PC was signed out from the website. Press Sign in to link it again.
  1. Press Sign in in the app and finish the sign-in on the website promptly: each request expires.
  2. If you signed this PC out on the website, link it again the same way.
  3. The in-app update check also needs you to be signed in. If it says you must sign in, do that first.

Web sessions and the demo

No slot is free, or I started too many
Every web session slot is in use right now. Try again in a few minutes. You have started several sessions in the last hour. Try again a little later. Every demo engine is busy right now. Try again in a few minutes. You have used today's demos from this network. Try again tomorrow, or create a free account.

The server runs a limited number of sessions at a time, and the demo allows a few starts a day per network. Wait a few minutes, or try later. The connection check shows how many slots are in use.

I have used my free web sessions

Free accounts get a small number of web sessions each week. When they are used up, the page says when the next one arrives and offers passes. Joining a friend's room and hosting with your own simulator are not web sessions and are never counted.

The demo ended or froze

The demo is a timed guest session. When the time reaches zero the session pauses, and you can sign in or sign up to continue it or start a fresh one. If it never started, see the first items above and run the connection check.

Joining a room

"That session is not online"
That session is not online
  1. Check the six-character code with the host. Letters and numbers only, and it is easy to mix up 0 and O.
  2. The host's room closes when they stop the session or their connection drops. Ask the host to start it again and give you the new code.
  3. Use A room code in the check above to see whether the room is online and who is in it.
The radar is blank, frozen or says the host is reconnecting
REFUSED: host is reconnecting - try again

The room is kept by the host. If their connection drops, the room waits for them to come back. Wait a minute and try again. If it stays frozen, ask the host whether their simulator and the Host app are still running. Reloading the page is safe.

"The relay is busy" or "too many commands"
REFUSED: the relay is busy - try again REFUSED: too many commands - slow down

Commands are limited per person each second, and the relay protects itself when many are waiting. Slow down a little and try again.

Seats and commands

I cannot take a seat, or I lost mine
REFUSED: <seat> is locked by <name> REFUSED: <seat> is being worked by <name> - ask them to release it
  • Locked or being worked: someone else holds it. Ask them to release it, or take a different seat.
  • Lost your seat: a seat goes back to automation after about 20 seconds without a connection from your page, for example when a browser tab goes to the background on a phone or sleeps. Open the radar again and claim it.
"Claim a position before giving APP/DEP instructions"
REFUSED: claim a position (STAFF) before giving APP/DEP instructions

You need to hold a seat before you can give instructions. Claim one in the radar first.

"Reload the radar page (no client id)"
REFUSED: reload the radar page (no client id)

The page lost its identity, usually after being open for a long time. Open the room again from the site.

Sound and screen

I hear nothing, or only some sounds
  1. Click anywhere on the radar page once: browsers keep sound off until you do.
  2. Open the sound menu and check that sound is on, the volume is not low, and the cue you want (New strip, Hand-off swipe, ATIS chime) is on. Switching a cue on plays it so you can hear it.
  3. Check the tab and the device are not muted.
  4. With two tabs open, each tab plays its own sounds.
The screen looks old or planes look wrong after an update
  1. Reload the page with the browser's hard refresh (Ctrl+F5, or Cmd+Shift+R).
  2. On the Host PC, close the Host app completely and open it again after an update.
  3. If it still looks old, see Updates below.

Host PC and the simulator

What the Host app's status boxes and checklist mean

The top of the Host app shows SIM, SERVICE, AIRPORT, ONLINE and TRAFFIC. The start-up checklist walks through the same links in order:

  1. Simulator running: start Microsoft Flight Simulator and load a flight first.
  2. Session link started: the Host app has opened its local service on your PC (port 8765).
  3. SimConnect connected: the two SimConnect files must be in the Service folder (see below).
  4. Host session found and Host traffic in your sim: the room is online and aircraft appear in your simulator.
SimConnect is not connected

ATC Relay talks to the simulator through two files from Microsoft's free SDK. They are not included in our download. The package has a note file in its Service folder, PUT THE TWO SIMCONNECT FILES HERE, that says exactly which two files to copy:

  • SimConnect.dll
  • Microsoft.FlightSimulator.SimConnect.dll

The User Guide (section 3) shows how to get the SDK from inside the simulator. The MSFS 2024 SDK is recommended.

ONLINE stays empty, or my friends cannot find my room
  1. Make sure you are signed in in the Host app (see Sign-in above).
  2. Check the Host app's status boxes in order: if SIM or SERVICE is not running, ONLINE cannot start.
  3. Check your internet connection, VPN and firewall. The Host app connects out to the relay; it does not need ports opened on your router.
  4. Run the connection check on this page from the same PC. If the relay line is a Problem, the cause is the network, not the Host app.
Antivirus removed a file, or the app will not start

Some antivirus programs quarantine new programs. Check the antivirus history, restore the file, and add the ATC Relay folder as an exception. Then start the Host app again. If it still will not start, send us the check results and your version number.

Updates and old versions

My version looks old and no update was offered
  1. The app checks for updates every few hours while you are signed in. Make sure you are signed in, then restart the app.
  2. If it still shows an old version, download the latest Setup from your account page and run it. It updates in place and keeps your settings.
  3. The version number is shown in the app. Include it when you contact us.

Still stuck

Send us the check results. Press Copy results for support in the connection check, then paste them into a message on the Contact page. Add what you were doing, what you saw (the exact message helps), and for the Host app your version number. That lets us find the problem without asking you many questions.