Troubleshooting

Quick fixes for the most common issues. If you are setting up or running the Partner backend, that is a separate operator topic and is not covered here.

The host shows as "offline"

Partner stays reachable through an outbound connection, so the host needs working internet access. If you lose the network, Partner keeps its identity and retries automatically with backoff — it does not invent a new identity.

• Check the machine has internet access.
• Check Partner is running: its icon should be in the tray. If you turned on unattended access, confirm the service instead:
  • Linux: systemctl status partnerd
  • Windows: Get-Service partnerd
• It will return to "reachable" on its own once connectivity is restored.

"Connection code expired" or it stopped working

The connection code is intentionally short-lived: it rotates on host restart and after use, and times out after a few minutes of being idle. Just get a fresh one:

partnerd status   # shows the current code
partnerd rotate   # force a new code

"This machine is already owned"

A host can belong to only one account at a time. If claiming fails because the machine is already owned, the current owner must revoke it first; then you can claim it.

No missing-DLL / missing-library errors — by design

Partner downloads are self-contained. On Windows there are no Visual C++ redistributables, .NET, or other runtimes to install. On Linux, Partner ships its own codec and capture libraries, and the package manager installs your desktop's GTK and tray libraries for you. If you see a missing-library or missing-DLL error anyway, you most likely have a corrupted or unofficial download: get it again from the download page and check its checksum.

On Linux, this should print nothing:

ldd /opt/partner/bin/partnerd | grep "not found"

The service did not start at boot

Installing Partner does not start its background service. That happens when you turn on unattended access in the Partner app. If you did and the service is still not running:

• Linux: sudo systemctl enable --now partnerd
• Windows, from an elevated PowerShell: Set-Service partnerd -StartupType Automatic; Start-Service partnerd

The downloads that run without installing (PartnerPortable.exe and the AppImage) never register a service, so they do not start at boot. Use PartnerSetup.exe or a Linux package for a machine you want to reach at any time.

After a reboot the machine ID changed

This should not happen — Partner derives a stable machine ID from the operating system and persists its identity. The one expected exception is the cloned-disk case (see the FAQ). If you see a changed ID without cloning a disk, capture the host logs and report it:

• Linux: journalctl -u partnerd
• Windows: Event Viewer / the Partner log file
• macOS: /var/log/partnerd.log

Still stuck?

Collect the host logs (above) and your Partner version (partnerd --version where available) when asking for help.