If you are experiencing issues accessing or using FastX, try the following basic troubleshooting steps:

1. Check your internet connection and make sure you are connected to the campus vpn or a campus network.

• Wireless internet can sometimes cause issues especially when using a laptop and not staying in one place. If you are experiencing a lot of issues connecting to FastX using a wired internet connection may help
• Being on a campus network or connected to the campus vpn is required in order to access FastX. If you encounter issues with FastX while connected to the VPN, try using the "tunnel_all" option when you connect to campus VPN instead of "split_tunnel".
  
  

2. Log out of existing FastX sessions properly. Always log out of FastX  by clicking on your NetID in the top right corner and selecting "Log out". Do not just close the window, as this can leave sessions hanging and cause login issues later.
   
   

3. Follow the correct login procedure

• When logging into FastX via the web browser or desktop client, make sure to follow the instructions at https://answers.uillinois.edu/illinois.engineering/page.php?id=81727
• If you are using a web browser and having trouble try using the desktop client to see if that resolves the issue. Often web browsers have configuration settings that can affect fastx and using the desktop client can be a good way around the issue.
• Make sure you are using the most recent version of the desktop client. We are currently using fastx3 and you need to be on the same version in order to connect to fastx. 

4. Use a compatible web browser

• If accessing FastX through a web browser, use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge for the best compatibility.
• If you are having trouble logging into fastx try clearing your browser cache or using an incognito window to avoid issues with stored credentials or cached sessions. Instructions for clearing your browser cache can be found here: https://answers.uillinois.edu/illinois.engineering/12384
• If you prefer not to clear your entire browser cache sometimes clearing cookie and site information for the fastx url is enough. (see clearing site data steps below)

6. Avoid using third-party software to access FastX

• Log into FastX directly rather than using third-party software like VSCode to SSH into FastX. While it's okay to use VSCode inside a FastX session, using it to SSH into FastX can sometimes cause access issues.

7. Use the correct login credentials

• Log in using your NetID and NetID password. Do not use your email address, as this can cause issues starting sessions. Often fastx will let you log in with your email address but then give you an error when you try and start a session, logging in with your email address is most likely the cause.

8. Make sure you aren't over quota

• Your EWS home directory has a quota limit of 25GB shared between Windows and Linux, if you are over your quota it can cause login issues with fastx. To check if you are over quota and for instructions on how to fix over quota issues see this article: https://go.illinois.edu/EWSQuota

Resetting FastX/SSH Profile Configurations:

If you need to reset your FastX configuration, follow these steps:

1. ssh to linux.ews.illinois.edu
2. In the terminal, enter the command: rm -rf .fastx_server

This will delete the .fastx_server directory from your Linux home directory, resetting your FastX configuration.

Resetting your home directory dot files

How your dot files are configured can affect your ability to log in and use fastx. One example is making edits to your .bashrc and then you can't log into fastx. To fix this you can reset your dot files back to their default state however it's important to keep in mind that any changes you made to those dot files will get removed when you do this. To reset your dot files follow these steps:

1. Log into an EWS workstation
2. Open the terminal to access the command line
3. In the terminal, enter the command: ews-reset-bash-dotfiles
4. Try starting a fastx session again

If you are unable to run these steps yourself please contact us at the link below and we can run them for you.

Clearing Site Data

1. Click on the site information icon next to the fastx url
   
   
   
   
2. Choose Cookies and site data in the menu
   
   
   
   
3. Then choose manage on device site data
   
   
   
   
4. Click the trash can icon next to all the sites that show in the menu then click done
   
   
   
   
5. Try logging into fastx again

If these troubleshooting steps do not resolve your issue, please fill out this form https://go.illinois.edu/ewshelp to contact Engineering IT for assistance.

In the form please include the following details:

• How you are accessing FastX (web browser, desktop client, SSH)
• Operating system and make/model of your computer
• Exact error messages or screenshots of the issue when possible
• Steps you have already tried to resolve the problem

Including these details help us investigate your issue further so we can assist you in resolving the issue quickly.