Dashboard Errors
"No data" on SensorStat card
Cause: The sensor is not publishing readings to Firebase RTDB.
Fix: Check that the flow is deployed, the Pi is online, and the sensor is wired correctly. See Sensor Not Reporting.
"Device offline" indicator
Cause: The Pi has not sent a heartbeat to Firebase recently.
Fix: Check network connectivity and Pi power. See Device Offline.
"Command timeout" on ActuatorToggle
Cause: The Pi did not acknowledge the actuator command within the timeout window.
Fix: Check that the Pi is online and Node-RED is running. Click Retry to re-send the command.
Stale sensor readings (yellow dot)
Cause: The sensor reading has not updated within the expected polling interval.
Fix: This may be transient. If it persists, check the Pi's Node-RED logs for sensor read errors.
Configurator Errors
"Deploy failed" with no specific error
Cause: Generic deploy failure, usually a communication timeout.
Fix: Verify the Pi is online, wait 30 seconds, and retry. See Deploy Failures.
"Invalid configuration" on a part
Cause: A required field is missing (GPIO pin, I2C address, etc.).
Fix: Click the flagged part and fill in all required fields.
"Duplicate sensor ID" warning
Cause: Two sensors in the same room have the same identifier.
Fix: Rename one of the sensors or move it to a different room.
Account and Auth Errors
"Session expired" redirect to login
Cause: Your Firebase auth token expired and auto-refresh failed.
Fix: Sign in again. If this happens frequently, check for browser extensions blocking cookies.
"Permission denied" on save
Cause: Your role does not have write access to this resource.
Fix: Check your role (owner, editor, viewer) with the device owner. Viewers have read-only access.
"Device limit reached" when adding a device
Cause: You have reached the maximum devices for your subscription tier.
Fix: Upgrade your plan from Account Settings > Billing, or remove an unused device.
"Sensor slot limit reached" when adding parts
Cause: You have reached the sensor slot limit for your tier.
Fix: Upgrade your plan or remove unused sensors from your configuration.
Pi and Node-RED Errors
Node-RED will not start
Check logs:
sudo journalctl -u nodered --since '10 min ago'Common causes:
- Port 1880 already in use (another Node-RED instance running)
- Corrupted flow file
- Missing Node-RED nodes/packages
Fix: Restart Node-RED: sudo systemctl restart nodered. If the flow file is corrupted, redeploy from the Configurator.
Firebase connection errors in Pi logs
Cause: The Pi cannot authenticate with Firebase.
Fix: The agent refreshes tokens automatically. If errors persist, restart the agent: sudo systemctl restart loopstring-agent
"Cannot read sensor" errors
Cause: Hardware communication failure.
Fix: Check wiring, verify the correct GPIO/I2C/UART configuration, and ensure the sensor is powered.
Getting More Help
If your issue is not covered here:
- Check the LoopString community forum for solutions from other users
- Contact support at support@loopstring.io with your device ID and error details
- Billing and Payment Issues
- Permission and Access Errors