Troubleshooting

Most OpenNOW problems fall into one of four layers: authentication, the GeForce NOW session, the local native stream path, or input. Start with the quick checks below, then use the section that matches what you see.

Five-minute check#

Choose the symptom#

Sign-in and account#

Launch, queue, and session#

Do not repeatedly relaunch while an earlier CloudMatch session is still being released. Stop the session once, wait briefly, then make one clean attempt.

Stream quality and video#

Start with H.264 · 1920×1080 · 60 FPS and a bitrate your connection can sustain. Prefer 8-bit, YUV 4:2:0 color quality. The Settings UI labels 4:4:4 profiles as Coming soon; they do not work yet. H.265, AV1, 10-bit 4:2:0, high frame rates, and ultrawide profiles still require compatible subscription profiles plus local GPU, driver, and display support. Codec Auto may select AV1 only when the probed platform/stream limits allow it.

On desktop, Check for updates is on Settings → Updates, not under About & support.

Input, controller, and microphone#

• Mouse does not control the game: click the stream to acquire pointer lock. Use the configured release shortcut (default F8) before interacting with OpenNOW again.
• Keyboard mapping is wrong: set Settings → Controls → Keyboard layout to match your physical keyboard, then start a new session. The layout applies to the next session, not to an active stream. Linux gameplay keys follow physical positions (including German/Swedish OEM fixes); see Input.
• Controller is not detected: connect it before launching, verify the operating system sees it, then restart OpenNOW. Close remapping software temporarily if it creates duplicate virtual controllers. An exclusive controller selection is preserved across disconnects when possible; the Settings label shows Selected controller disconnected until that pad returns.
• Console mode is hard to leave or keeps starting: move the mouse or press a key; Settings → Console mode → Leave console mode on keyboard or mouse input (leaveConsoleOnPointer) is on by default. Turn off Start in console mode and Enter console mode when a gamepad is the only input if the app keeps opening in console mode. Console mode changes the browsing UI but does not change NVIDIA account state.
• Clipboard paste does nothing: turn on Settings → Controls → Clipboard paste (default off), make sure keyboard input is active in the stream, then press Ctrl+V (Command+V on macOS). Each paste sends up to 64 KiB of text. There is no automatic clipboard sync.
• Microphone is silent: grant microphone permission to OpenNOW at the operating-system level, set Settings → Audio → Microphone to Open microphone (default Disabled), and reconnect the stream so capture is negotiated again. If Settings says microphone capture is unavailable in this build, that build cannot capture audio.

See Input and Controls for shortcuts, pointer behavior, and microphone modes.

Native stream path#

The Qt desktop app streams through the in-process native streamer over NVST. There is no browser streamer to fall back to.

To isolate a transport problem, set Settings → Network → WebRTC compatibility mode to NVST or WebRTC and start a new session. Automatic uses WebRTC for signed-in alliance-partner accounts and NVST for NVIDIA accounts. WebRTC needs direct UDP connectivity and has no microphone or clipboard text.

1. Keep the video backend on Auto unless isolating a specific API.
2. Restart the stream after changing codec, resolution, color quality, or backend.
3. On black-screen reports, distinguish an entirely black application window from a stream-only black video surface.
4. Use Settings → About & support → Copy diagnostics → Export. OpenNOW saves a redacted opennow-diagnostics-<timestamp>.txt file in its diagnostics directory and opens it. The report includes the current and previous run logs and bounded tails of native-streamer.log and qt-native.log. Secrets, URLs, tokens, e-mail addresses, and local user paths are redacted.
5. Include GPU, driver version, platform package name (OpenNOW-Qt-…), and whether the same account/game works in the official GeForce NOW client.

Use Native Streamer for packaging, GPU presentation, and protocol details.

Reset local state#

Local settings and authentication are separate. Close OpenNOW before moving or deleting either.

• Move settings.json aside to reset preferences without deleting the saved sign-in.
• Move auth/session files aside to reset the account session without resetting stream preferences.
• Back up files before destructive troubleshooting if you need to inspect or restore them later.
• Screenshots and recordings live in their own media directories; resetting settings or authentication does not require deleting captures.

Collect a useful report#

On desktop, prefer Settings → About & support → Copy diagnostics → Export. When showSessionReport is on (default), the Session report after a stream shows the transport, media backend, first-frame time, recoveries, and drop counts; Open diagnostics on that report shows the redacted recovery timeline.

If you file outside the app, include the following in a GitHub issue or the OpenNOW Discord:

• OpenNOW version and whether it is a stable, nightly, or source build (OpenNOW-Qt-… package name when applicable)
• Operating system, architecture, GPU, and GPU-driver version
• Provider, GeForce NOW membership tier, selected region, and game/storefront when relevant
• Codec, resolution, FPS, bitrate, color quality, and native video backend preference
• Exact error text and a short, repeatable sequence of steps
• Whether the same account and game work in the official GeForce NOW client
• A diagnostics export, screenshot, or session summary with tokens, email addresses, device codes, and other personal data removed

Switch-specific crashes, installation failures, and decoder problems belong in the OpenNOW-Switch issue tracker. Include whether Homebrew Menu was opened in applet mode or full-memory application mode.