Back to DocsTroubleshooting
Having issues? Find solutions to common problems below.
Preview Not Loading
Preview shows blank screen
Symptoms:
- White or black screen in the preview
- Loading spinner that never completes
Solutions:
- Check your internet connection
- Try refreshing the page (Cmd/Ctrl + R)
- Clear browser cache and try again
- Disable browser extensions that might block iframes
- Try a different browser (Chrome recommended)
Preview shows error
Symptoms:
- Red error message in preview
- Error boundary screen
Solutions:
- Click the "Ask AI to Fix It" button
- Check the error message and describe the issue to AI
- Use Undo (Cmd/Ctrl + Z) to revert to working code
- Look at the code editor for syntax errors
Preview updates are slow
Symptoms:
- Changes take a long time to appear
- Preview seems laggy
Solutions:
- This is normal - we debounce updates by 1 second
- For complex apps, preview may take 2-3 seconds
- Close other browser tabs to free memory
QR Code / Mobile Preview
QR code not scanning
Symptoms:
- Expo Go can't read the QR code
- Camera doesn't recognize QR
Solutions:
- Make sure Expo Go is installed on your phone
- Ensure your phone camera has permission to scan QR codes
- Try increasing screen brightness
- Move phone closer or further from screen
- Use the "Copy URL" button and paste in Expo Go
App doesn't load on phone
Symptoms:
- Expo Go shows loading but never connects
- Connection timeout
Solutions:
- Ensure phone and computer are on the same WiFi network
- Disable VPN on both devices
- Check if your firewall is blocking connections
- Try restarting Expo Go app
Chat / AI Generation
API key not working
Symptoms:
- Error: Invalid API key
- Authentication failed
Solutions:
- Verify your API key is correct (starts with "AIza")
- Check if you have billing enabled on Google Cloud
- Generate a new API key from Google AI Studio
- Make sure you're using a Gemini API key, not other Google APIs
AI response is incomplete
Symptoms:
- Code gets cut off
- Missing files in generation
Solutions:
- Ask the AI to "continue" or "complete the code"
- Request a simpler version of the app first
- Break down complex features into multiple requests
AI generates broken code
Symptoms:
- Syntax errors
- App crashes immediately
Solutions:
- Click "Ask AI to Fix It" button in the error boundary
- Describe the error to the AI and ask for a fix
- Use Undo to revert and try a different prompt
- Be more specific about what you want
Export / GitHub
GitHub connection failed
Symptoms:
- OAuth error
- Failed to connect to GitHub
Solutions:
- Try disconnecting and reconnecting GitHub in Settings
- Make sure pop-ups are allowed for GitHub OAuth
- Check if you've authorized the ShipMobile app on GitHub
- Try in an incognito window
Export failed
Symptoms:
- Error creating repository
- Export stuck
Solutions:
- Try a different repository name (must be unique)
- Check if you have permission to create repos in your account
- Ensure you're connected to the internet
- Wait a moment and try again
Repository is empty or incomplete
Symptoms:
- Missing files on GitHub
- No code in repository
Solutions:
- Check if the export completed successfully
- Try exporting again to a new repository
- Verify the files exist in NativeFlow before exporting
Still stuck?
If you're still experiencing issues, please contact us with:
- Description of the problem
- Steps to reproduce
- Browser and OS version
- Screenshots if applicable