v1.3.1

Troubleshooting

Step-by-step checks for TUN mode, DNS, subscriptions, the system proxy, performance and startup problems in Throne desktop.

Find your problem below and go through the checks in order. Each area ends with a link to the guide that explains the feature in detail. For Throne for Android, see Android Troubleshooting. If nothing helps, report a bug.

First checks

  1. Update Throne with Tools → Check For Update. If this item is greyed out, download the new version from the downloads page. Many problems are fixed in newer versions.
  2. Read the Logs tab at the bottom of the main window. Most errors are shown there.
  3. Test the profile: select it and press Ctrl+Shift+S (Url Test Selected). If the test fails, check the server and the profile before you change TUN or system proxy settings.
  4. Try the other mode. If a profile works with System Proxy but not with Tun Mode, the problem is in the TUN setup, not in the server.

TUN mode

TUN is on, but nothing loads

  1. Turn Tun Mode off and test the same profile with System Proxy. If that also fails, fix the profile or the server first.
  2. Open Settings → Tun Settings and set Stack to gvisor. If this works, you can keep gvisor, or look for what blocks the system stack, for example a firewall or an antivirus.
  3. Close other VPN apps. Other VPNs and virtual network adapters can take over the routes.

Windows:

  1. Allow ThroneCore through Windows Firewall. Windows asks the first time you use TUN mode. If you denied it, Windows blocks the core and does not ask again (#1433). Allow ThroneCore.exe in the firewall settings.
  2. Antivirus programs with network protection, for example Avast or ESET, can block the TUN adapter without any message (#1687, #1357). Add the Throne folder as an exception, or turn the network protection off for a test.
  3. Turn off Strict Route in Tun Settings for a test. Without it, DNS leaks are possible; see Windows DNS Leak Protection.

Linux:

  1. If you turned on DNS over TLS for the whole system in systemd-resolved, TUN mode stops working. Turn it off (#1146).
  2. Keep Auto Redirect on in Tun Settings. Newer kernels need it for the system and mixed stacks. If these stacks still pass no traffic, use gvisor.

TUN does not start

  • No rights: TUN mode needs administrator or root rights. Accept Throne's request, or see Why does TUN mode need administrator or root rights?. If Disable Privilege request is on, Throne does not ask, and you must give the rights yourself.
  • "Strict routing unavailable" (Windows): Windows could not turn on strict routing. Open Tun Settings, turn off Strict Route, and start the profile again.
  • "Tun device misbehaving": the virtual adapter is in a bad state, for example after Throne was force-closed. Click Reset in the message, or use Tun Settings → Troubleshooting → Reset, and start the profile again. If it still fails, restart the computer.
  • The start hangs, and Throne suggests restarting the software: on Windows, a very large HOSTS file can make the DNS cache flush hang (#1906). Keep the HOSTS file small.

TUN breaks other things

A mobile hotspot, virtual machines, Docker or a work VPN can stop working while TUN mode is on. See TUN Mode and Recipes.

Details: TUN Mode.

DNS

Sites do not open, or the log shows DNS errors

  1. Open Settings → Routing Settings → DNS. Remote DNS must be reachable through your proxy, and Direct DNS must work without it. Try one of the preset servers.
  2. On the Common tab, do not use ipv6_only in Default Domain Strategy or Resolve Domain Strategy if your network has no IPv6 (#1743). Leave them empty, or use prefer_ipv4.
  3. Linux: DNS over TLS for the whole system in systemd-resolved breaks TUN mode; see TUN is on, but nothing loads.

A leak test shows my ISP's DNS

  • Domains that match your direct rules are looked up with Direct DNS, which is usually your ISP's. This is expected; see DNS leak tests.
  • In system proxy mode, apps can do their own DNS lookups, which never reach Throne. Use TUN mode.
  • A WebRTC test that shows no IP address is not a leak. Only your real IP address is a leak (#1267).
  • Windows: see Windows DNS Leak Protection.

Details: DNS.

Subscriptions

The update fails

The log shows Requesting subscription … error: … with the reason.

  1. "Request with proxy but no profile started." Throne sends its own requests through its proxy when Use proxy is on (Basic Settings → Miscellaneous), and also whenever System Proxy is on. Start a profile first, or turn both off. If you turned on Disable Mixed Inbound, turn Use proxy off (#1689).
  2. The provider's site is blocked in your country: start a working profile, turn on Use proxy, and update again.
  3. The server answers 403, or sends nothing useful: many providers answer only apps they know. Set the User Agent that your provider expects: for all groups in Basic Settings → Subscription, or, since 1.3.1, for one group in Groups → Edit current Group → Advanced. By default, Throne sends Throne/<version>.
  4. "Device fingerprint required" or a similar message: the provider needs your HWID. Turn on HWID sending; see the FAQ.

The update finds no profiles

The log says "No profiles found in the subscription", and the group stays unchanged. The provider's answer contains nothing that Throne can read.

  1. Check that the link is a subscription URL, not a web page or an app link. Links that start with happ://crypt or v2raytun://crypt are encrypted for those apps, and Throne cannot read them. Ask your provider for a normal subscription URL.
  2. Try another User Agent. Providers often send a different format, or nothing, to apps they do not know.

The group does not update

  • Update a group by right-clicking its tab → Update subscription, or with Groups → Update subscription (Ctrl+U).
  • Profiles imported with Add profiles to this group were added once, without a subscription URL. To get updates, paste the URL again with Ctrl+V and choose Create new subscription group.
  • Automatic updates need Basic Settings → Subscription → Subscription auto update, which is off by default. Groups with Skip automatic update are not updated automatically.

Profiles changed or disappeared after an update? See Why did my profile stop, or keep running, after a subscription update?

Details: Subscriptions & Groups.

System proxy

Some apps ignore the system proxy

Apps may follow the system proxy or ignore it. Terminals such as PowerShell, Windows Store apps, Discord and Telegram calls usually ignore it (#370, #1631). Routing rules apply only to traffic that reaches Throne, so use Tun Mode for these apps. See Which mode to use

The system proxy is not set

  1. Start a profile. Throne sets the system proxy only while a profile runs.
  2. Turn off Disable Mixed Inbound in Basic Settings → Common. While it is on, Throne shows "Cannot set system proxy when mixed inbound is disabled."
  3. Linux: Throne can set the system proxy only on GNOME and KDE. On other desktops, enter the address from the status bar (Mixed: …) in your system settings, or use TUN mode. Run Throne as your normal user, not as root (#864).
  4. Windows: if an app needs another proxy address format, change Proxy Format in Basic Settings → Common.

No internet after Throne was closed

If Throne was force-closed while System Proxy was on, the system proxy still points at Throne. See the FAQ.

Details: System Proxy, TUN & LAN sharing.

Performance and crashes

High CPU or memory use

  1. Keep the number of profiles low, for example below 10,000 in total. Many thousands of profiles make Throne slow and use a lot of memory. After a URL test, remove dead profiles with Groups → Remove Unavailable, or let each group clean up after updates in its Advanced settings (Run URL test, then Remove unavailable profiles).
  2. Torrent clients open very many connections. With Multiplex on, this can use a lot of CPU (#1090). Multiplex is off by default. If you turned it on, turn it off in the profile, or turn off Default On in Settings → Preset Settings → Multiplex.
  3. Untick Basic Settings → Style → Connection statistics → Enable. Throne then stops looking up the program behind each connection, which saves CPU when there are many connections. The Connections tab stays empty while it is off.
  4. Windows: Enable Tun Routing with large rule-sets can cause very high CPU use. Turn it off in Tun Settings.

Throne or the core crashes

  1. When the core stops, Throne restarts it together with your profile. If the core stops again within 10 seconds, Throne gives up and logs "Core exits too frequently, stop automatic restart this profile."
  2. After Throne itself crashes, the next start shows "Throne did not shut down cleanly last time" in the log. The log of the crashed session is kept as logs/crashed-<date>-<time>.log in the config folder. On Windows, Throne also saves a crash report (a .txt and a .dmp file) in the crashes folder.
  3. Test with a fresh configuration: exit Throne, rename the config folder (Settings → Open Config Folder shows it), and start Throne. It creates a new, empty configuration. Add one profile and test again. If the crash stops, your old configuration causes it. To go back, exit Throne, delete the new config folder and rename the old one back. See Command Line, Files & Logs.
  4. Report the crash and attach these files: Reporting a Bug.

Startup and desktop problems

Throne does not start on Linux

Start Throne from a terminal to see the error. For the .deb and .rpm packages:

/opt/Throne/Throne -appdata

For a ZIP copy, run ./Throne in its folder. Then check the message:

  • Could not load the Qt platform plugin "xcb", with a note that libxcb-cursor0 is needed: install libxcb-cursor0 (Debian, Ubuntu) or xcb-util-cursor (Fedora) (#1096).
  • This Qt build requires the following features: sse4.2 popcnt: install the system-qt package instead (FAQ).
  • Other Qt errors: try the system-qt package, which uses the Qt of your distribution.

Do not start Throne with sudo. Only the core needs root rights (FAQ).

No tray icon on GNOME

GNOME does not show tray icons unless an AppIndicator extension is installed and enabled. Install one to see Throne's tray icon. If the Throne window is hidden, start Throne again: the running copy shows its window. You can also turn on Basic Settings → Style → Disable tray, so that closing the window exits Throne.

macOS says Throne cannot be opened

Throne is not signed with an Apple certificate, so macOS blocks the downloaded app.

  1. Move Throne.app to /Applications.

  2. Remove the quarantine flag in Terminal:

    xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Throne.app

  3. Open Throne again.

Throne does not reconnect after a restart

Turn on Program → Remember last profile. At the next start, Throne starts the last profile again, and turns System Proxy and Tun Mode back on if they were on when you quit. To start Throne together with the system, turn on Program → Start with system.

Windows: after Throne has run as administrator once, it asks for administrator rights at every start. Start with system uses a Task Scheduler task that starts Throne with these rights without asking. To start without administrator rights, turn on Basic Settings → Security → Always Start as Standard User.

  • Windows: ZIP copies do not register throne:// links by default. Turn on Basic Settings → Common → Register throne:// links at startup, or click Install next to it.
  • More checks: Deep Links.