Fixing Bitaxe problems: the most common errors and their fixes

Your Bitaxe or NerdQaxe is acting up? Most problems have harmless causes and are solved quickly. Below are the common cases, in the order in which you should check them.

No WiFi or no access to the dashboard

The miners connect only on the 2.4 GHz band, not on 5 GHz, and this is a very common cause. Check the following:

• Is 2.4 GHz switched on in your router? With combined networks, a separate 2.4 GHz SSID sometimes helps.
• Are the network name and password exactly right? Special characters are a typical source of error.
• Are you on the same network as the miner, and not on the guest network?
• If nothing else works: reset the miner and connect to the setup hotspot again (see the setup guide).

No accepted shares

The miner runs, but the “Accepted” counter stays at zero? That is almost always a pool problem:

• Stratum URL or port mistyped: check them character by character.
• Bitcoin address mistyped or in the wrong format: copy it fresh from the wallet.
• Pool currently offline: try another pool to rule this out.
• Details are in Setting up a mining pool.

Hashrate too low

The hashrate is well below the expected value? Possible causes are a high temperature (the chip throttles), tuning values that are too conservative or simply wrong, or rejected shares because the voltage is too low. Reset the values to default first, make sure the cooling works and watch again. How to optimise properly afterwards is in AxeOS tuning.

Too hot or throttling

High temperatures cost hashrate and lifespan and can lead to crashes. Give the miner fresh air, keep it out of closed cabinets and check that the fan spins freely. If that is not enough, upgrade the cooling, for example with the ICE Tower Low Profile Kit, on a Bitaxe Gamma also with the AXP60 Copper Pro, and on the NerdQaxe ++ and NerdOctaxe with the AXP90 Copper Pro. Removing dust regularly helps as well.

Constant reboots

If the device keeps rebooting, the two usual causes are tuning that is too aggressive or a power supply that is too weak or poorly made.

• Reset frequency and voltage to the default values (see AxeOS tuning).
• Use a power supply of sufficient size and stable output, ideally the original one that came with the miner.
• Check that plugs and cables sit firmly.

Display stays dark or freezes

A frozen display does not necessarily mean that mining has stopped. Check in the dashboard first whether shares are still counting up. If a reboot does not help, a clean reinstall of the current firmware version (AxeOS or NerdOS) usually does. Current firmware also fixes many known small issues.

Keep the firmware up to date

Many sporadic problems disappear with a firmware update. The firmware can be updated directly in the dashboard. Read the release notes briefly beforehand and write down your pool settings in case a reset is needed.

Stuck? Write to us via the contact page; we usually reply within 24 hours. How to place the miner so it runs cool and stable is covered on the home mining page.