v1.4.2

Troubleshooting

Fixes for TUN mode, DNS, subscription, system proxy, performance and startup problems in Throne desktop.

Find your problem and go through the checks in order. Settings named here may be hidden in Simple mode: press Ctrl+K and type the name (Simple and Advanced mode). For Android, see Android Troubleshooting. If nothing helps, report a bug.

First checks

  1. Update Throne with Program → Check For Update, or from the downloads page if that item is greyed out.
  2. Read the Logs tab at the bottom of the main window.
  3. Test the profile with Url Test Selected (Ctrl+Shift+S). If the test fails, fix the server or the profile first.
  4. If a profile works with System Proxy but not with Tun Mode, the problem is in the TUN setup.

TUN mode

TUN is on, but nothing loads

  1. Close other VPN apps. They can take over the routes.
  2. Windows: allow ThroneCore.exe in Windows Firewall. If you denied it when Windows asked, Windows keeps blocking it without asking again (#1433).
  3. Windows: antivirus network protection, for example Avast or ESET, can block the TUN adapter without any message (#1687, #1357). Add the Throne folder as an exception.
  4. Windows: turn off Strict Route in Tun Settings for a test. Without it, DNS can leak; see Windows DNS Leak Protection.
  5. Linux: turn off DNS over TLS for the whole system in systemd-resolved (#1146), and keep Auto Redirect on in Tun Settings.

TUN does not start

  • No rights: accept Throne's request for administrator or root rights (FAQ). With Disable Privilege request on, you must give the rights yourself.
  • "Strict routing unavailable" (Windows): turn off Strict Route in Tun Settings and start the profile again.
  • "Tun device misbehaving": click Reset in the message, or Restart Core in Tun Settings, and start the profile again. If it still fails, restart the computer.
  • The start hangs (Windows): a very large HOSTS file can make the DNS cache flush hang (#1906). Keep it small.
  • "A background Throne (PID …) owns Tun on this computer; stop it or use thronectl." See Throne is running in the background.

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.

DNS

Sites do not open, or the log shows DNS errors

  1. In 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. If your network has no IPv6, do not use ipv6_only in Default Domain Strategy or Resolve Domain Strategy on the Common tab (#1743). Leave them empty, or use prefer_ipv4.

A leak test shows my ISP's DNS

This is usually expected; see the FAQ.

Subscriptions

The update fails

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

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

The update finds no profiles

The log says "No profiles found in the subscription". Check that the link is a subscription URL, not a web page or an app link: happ://crypt and v2raytun://crypt links are encrypted for those apps, and Throne cannot read them. Also try another User Agent.

The group does not update

  • Profiles added with Add profiles to this group have no subscription URL. 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, and skip groups with Skip automatic update.

Profiles changed or disappeared after an update? See the FAQ and Subscriptions & Groups.

System proxy

Some apps ignore the system proxy

Terminals such as PowerShell, Windows Store apps, and Discord and Telegram calls usually ignore it (#370, #1631). Use Tun Mode for them; 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. "Cannot set system proxy when mixed inbound is disabled." Turn off Disable Mixed Inbound in Basic Settings → Common.
  3. Linux: Throne sets the system proxy only on GNOME and KDE. On other desktops, enter the Mixed: … address from the status bar in your system settings, or use TUN mode. Do not run Throne as root (#864).

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.

Performance and crashes

High CPU or memory use

  1. Keep fewer than about 10,000 profiles in total. After a URL test, remove dead ones with Groups → Clean up → Remove Unavailable.
  2. Torrent clients with Multiplex on 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. The Connections tab then stays empty.
  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

  • "Core exits too frequently, stop automatic restart this profile." The core keeps crashing, so Throne stopped restarting it with your profile.
  • "Throne did not shut down cleanly last time" at the next start: Throne crashed. The log of that session is kept as logs/crashed-<date>-<time>.log in the config folder; on Windows, a crash report is also saved in the crashes folder.
  • To rule out your configuration, exit Throne, rename the config folder and start Throne again; see Command Line, Files & Logs.
  • Report the crash with these files: Reporting a Bug.

Startup and desktop problems

Throne does not start

  • "Incompatible processor. This Qt build requires the following features: sse4.2 popcnt": use windowslegacy64.zip on Windows, or a -system-qt package on Linux (FAQ).

  • Linux: Could not load the Qt platform plugin "xcb": with a Throne that uses the Qt of your system, install libxcb-cursor0 (Debian, Ubuntu) or xcb-util-cursor (Fedora, RHEL) (#1096). If the ZIP or a normal package shows it, use a -system-qt package, which also helps with other Qt errors.

  • macOS: "Throne is damaged and can't be opened": Throne is not signed with an Apple certificate. Move Throne.app to /Applications, remove the quarantine flag in Terminal, and open Throne again:

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

On Linux, start Throne from a terminal to see the error: /opt/Throne/Throne -appdata for the packages, or ./Throne in a ZIP copy. Do not use sudo; only the core needs root rights (FAQ).

No tray icon on GNOME

Install and enable an AppIndicator extension. If the window is hidden, start Throne again to show it, or turn on Basic Settings → Style → Disable tray so that closing the window exits Throne.

Throne does not reconnect after a restart

Turn on Program → Remember last profile. At the next start, Throne starts the profile that was running when you quit, with System Proxy and Tun Mode as they were. Program → Start with system starts Throne when you log in; on Windows, it also gets administrator rights without asking if Throne runs as administrator (FAQ).

On Windows and Linux, 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.

Throne is running in the background

A headless Throne, for example a systemd service, can run on the same computer as the Throne window:

  • "Throne is running in the background (PID …). Stop the service or use thronectl." and the window does not open: the headless Throne uses the same data folder. Stop it (for example systemctl --user stop throne) and start Throne again, or manage it with thronectl.
  • "A background Throne (PID …) is running on this computer": a headless Throne with another data folder runs. The window works, but without TUN mode.
  • "A background Throne (PID …) owns Tun on this computer; stop it or use thronectl." The window cannot use TUN mode while any headless Throne runs, even one without TUN. Stop the headless Throne.
  • "Update is unavailable while a background Throne (PID …) runs from this installation; stop it first." Stop it, update, and start it again.
  • "Another Throne instance (PID …) is using this data directory": another Throne holds the data folder but does not answer. Quit it, or end that process, and start Throne again.