If something goes wrong
Viewer tells you what it is doing at the top of the screen. This page explains what each message means and what to do about it — usually nothing.
When everything is working you will see no message at all — just the words. A message appears only when Viewer has something to tell you.
While you are following along
”Connecting…”
Viewer is joining the service. This normally takes a moment. If it stays there, check that your phone has a signal or is on the church’s wifi.
”Loading lyrics…”
Viewer has connected and is fetching the words. It will move on by itself.
”Waiting for the next song…”
Not a problem. There is nothing to show at the moment — usually between songs, or during a talk or a video. Your phone is still connected and the words will reappear on their own.
”Offline — reconnecting…”
Your phone has lost its connection. Viewer keeps trying, and picks up again on its own when the signal returns — there is nothing to tap and no need to rejoin.
Church wifi can be busy on a Sunday. If it happens repeatedly, turning wifi off and using mobile data can be more reliable.
”Connection problem — trying again…”
Something interrupted the connection to the service. Viewer is retrying by itself.
”Reconnecting…”
Viewer is renewing its connection in the background. This usually passes too quickly to notice, and needs nothing from you.
”Couldn’t load the words for this song.”
The words for this one song did not download. Other songs are unaffected — when the service moves on, you should see words again.
”This session has ended.”
The service has finished and the church has stopped sharing. Nothing is wrong. You can close the tab.
If you cannot join
Viewer shows one of these instead of the words. Each has a button to get you moving again.
”We couldn’t find that session.”
The code may have a typo, or the service may not have started yet.
This is the one you are most likely to see. Viewer cannot tell the difference between a code that was mistyped and a service that has not started yet — or has finished and been packed away — so it does not guess.
Worth checking, in order:
- Has the service started sharing? A code shown on a slide before anyone has pressed start will not connect yet. Waiting a moment often fixes it.
- Is the code current? A new session means a new code.
- Then re-check what you typed using the tips below.
”We couldn’t connect.”
Check your internet connection, then reload the page.
”We couldn’t read this service.”
Reloading the page usually fixes this.
”This app can’t connect right now.”
Try reloading the page. If it keeps happening, let your church know.
Typing the code
Session codes are 6 characters long.
They never contain the letter O, the letter I, the digit 0, or the digit 1. Those four are deliberately left out because they are so easy to confuse across a room. If you think you are looking at an O, it is a zero-shaped letter that is not there — check the code again.
You do not have to be careful about formatting. Capitals, spaces, dashes and dots are all ignored, so K7Q-2MX, k7q 2mx and K7Q2MX are the same code.
While you type, Viewer may point out that something cannot be part of a code. Those notes never stop you — the Join button stays available, and a half-typed code is not treated as a mistake. Viewer will not silently change what you typed either, so if a character looks wrong, it is worth re-reading the screen rather than trying again with the same code.
The QR code will not scan
- Hold the phone steady and a little further back.
- If your camera does not offer to open a link, use the web address printed under the QR code and type the short code instead.
- Ask the person beside you to share the session with you directly — often the fastest fix.
If you are using Viewer’s own scanner, you may see “Preparing camera…” while it starts up, or “Camera access is needed to scan a session QR code.” if your browser has not been given permission. Allow camera access, or type the code instead.
The words are behind the screen at the front
A small delay is normal. If your phone is a long way behind, your connection is likely struggling — see Offline — reconnecting… above.
If your phone is showing something completely different, you may have moved around the song yourself. Look for ↩ Return to live at the top and tap it. See Reading ahead or looking back.
My phone keeps going to sleep
Viewer asks your phone to stay awake while you are following along, but some power-saving settings override that. Turning off battery saver, or nudging the screen occasionally, is the usual fix.
Still stuck?
Ask whoever is running the service. They can see who has joined and can restart the sharing if something has genuinely gone wrong at their end.