path: root/help/C/problems-connecting.page

<page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/"
  type="guide"
  id="problems-connecting">

<info>
  <link type="guide" xref="index#problems"/>
  <desc>Diagnose common problems with connecting to an instant messaging service.</desc>
  <revision version="3.0" date="2009-06-14" status="stub"/>

  <credit type="author">
    <name>Phil Bull</name>
    <email>philbull@gmail.com</email>
  </credit>
  <copyright>
    <year>2009</year>
    <name>GNOME Documentation Project</name>
  </copyright>

    <license>Creative Commons Share Alike</license>

  <include href="legal.xml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude" />
</info>

<title>I have a problem connecting to an instant messaging service</title>

<comment>
    <cite date="2009-06-14"><name>Phil Bull</name></cite>
    <p>This is a stub. We should identify the most common causes for a user not 
    being able to connect and document those.</p>
</comment>

<section>
    <title>I get a message that says "Authentication failed"</title>
    <p>
    If you try to connect and an error message appears in the main Empathy 
    window saying that <gui>Authentication failed</gui>, your instant messaging 
    service is not allowing you to connect because it does not recognize your 
    username or password for some reason.
    </p>
    <list>
        <item>
        <p>
        Make sure that you have registered for an account with the service you 
        are trying to connect to. If you do not have an account, most services 
        will not allow you to connect.
        </p>
        </item>
        <item>
        <p>
        Click the <gui>Edit Account</gui> button in the error message. Type 
        your username and password again to make sure that they are correct. 
        Uncheck the <gui>Enabled</gui> box next to the name of your account and 
        then check it again to try to connect to the service again.
        </p>
       </item>
   </list>
</section>

<section>
    <title>I get a message that says "Network error"</title>
    <p>
    If you try to connect and an error message appears in the main Empathy 
    window which says <gui>Network error</gui>, Empathy cannot communicate with 
    the instant messaging service for some reason.
    </p>
    <list>
        <item>
        <p>
        Check that you are connected to the Internet or network.
        </p>
        </item>
        <item>
        <p>
        Click the <gui>Edit Account</gui> button in the error message. Expand 
        the <gui>Advanced</gui> section and make sure that the details such as 
        server address and port are correct. You should be able to find these 
        details from the website of the messaging service. Uncheck the 
        <gui>Enabled</gui> box next to the name of your account and then check 
        it again to try to connect to the service again.
        </p>
       </item>
   </list>
</section>

<section>
    <title>My account is not enabled</title>
    <p>
    If the instant messaging account that you want to use is not enabled in the 
    drop-down account list when you try to start a new conversation or join a 
    chat, your account details may not be correct.
    </p>
    <list>
        <item>
        <p>
        Click <guiseq><gui>Edit</gui><gui>Accounts</gui></guiseq> and make sure 
        that the <gui>Enabled</gui> checkbox is checked.
        </p>
        </item>
        <item>
        <p>
        Make sure that your username and password are correct.
        </p>
        </item>
        <item>
        <p>
        Expand the <gui>Advanced</gui> section of the <app>Accounts</app> 
        window and make sure that all of the server settings are correct.
        </p>
        </item>
    </list>
</section>

</page>