Troubleshooting

Fix common issues: no calls coming in, SMS not delivering, calendar sync, and more.

• Error messages explainedWhen FrontDesk blocks something, it says why in a sentence you can search for here. Most messages fall into a few groups. Plan limits ("Your Pro plan includes 1 phone number") are lifted by upgrading under Settings → Billing. Billing problems ("Add a payment method in Settings → Billing", "Your card was declined") are fixed by updating the card. "Please verify your email address to use this feature" clears once you click the link in the verification email. Texting messages ("not yet registered for texting (A2P 10DLC)", "Texting is off") clear when your texting registration is approved. Client payment and invoice guards ("Use Refund and waive", "This invoice was voided, so it can't be paid") stop money being taken or kept twice. Each table lists the message, where it appears, what it means, and what to do.
  25 min
• Why did the AI transfer this call?Your AI transfers a call only when Transfer to a human is on and it has somewhere to send the call. Then it transfers when the caller asks for a person (always on), when a trigger you picked under "Transfer without being asked when…" matches (cost or price, already has an appointment, an urgent issue, or your own), when Transfer instead of booking is on and the caller wants to schedule, or when a caller asks for a specific doctor and that switch is on. All of it lives in Receptionist → AI Voice → Voice tab → Handing off to a person. To see why one call was transferred, open it in Call Logs: it carries a Transferred to human badge, and the AI summary and transcript show the moment.
  4 min
• The AI sounds robotic or too slowMost "sounds off" complaints come down to the voice, the speaking speed, the tone, or the greeting. All four are on Receptionist → AI Voice → Voice tab: pick a voice from the list (it saves as soon as you click it), move the Speaking speed slider (0.5x to 1.5x, default 1.0x), set Tone under How it answers, and edit the Greeting. Timing problems, like the AI cutting callers off, answering too fast or too slowly, or going quiet, are on the Advanced tab: Patience (Snappy, Balanced, Relaxed), Fine-tune the exact timing, and the interrupt and silence settings. Click Save Changes (Voice tab) or Save changes (Advanced tab), then place a test call.
  3 min
• The AI said something wrong on a callOpen the call in Call Logs and read the AI summary and transcript to find what it said. Mark the call in Receptionist → AI Voice → Review queue: choose Got it wrong or Partly right, tick a reason like Wrong information, and say what the AI should have done. Then fix the cause. Missing or wrong facts go in the Knowledge tab or in Anything else it should know on the Voice tab. Wrong hours or services get fixed in Settings → Locations or Settings → Services. A rule the AI must always follow goes in Clinical rules. Wording and tone are on the Voice tab. Changes apply from the next call.
  3 min
• My AI isn't answering callsStart by calling your own number (Settings → Phone & SMS → Calls → Test call). If a person or voicemail answers instead of the AI, check Who answers on the same tab: it must be AI receptionist (Paused: calls go to voicemail means the AI receptionist was paused; choose AI receptionist and save), and with Answer differently after hours on, the Nights, weekends, holidays card decides who answers outside your hours. If voicemail answers although Who answers is AI receptionist, the AI may be blocked on your account: AI minutes used up with overage off (on the Free plan, its 15 AI minutes for the month), a trial whose minutes ran out, or the account owner's email not verified. Callers can still leave a message then. Your Home page usually says which one. If no call shows in Call Logs at all, check the number and any old carrier forwarding.
  4 min
• A caller couldn't book an appointmentCommon causes: the requested time is outside the AI's booking window (by default no sooner than 4 hours from now and no more than 90 days out, set under Assistants → AI Voice and per service under Settings → Services → Booking window), your business hours or a holiday closure block it, the location's time zone is wrong, Google Calendar marked the provider busy, or the service is limited to providers who are off or fully booked. Each is a 1-minute fix.
  3 min
• SMS isn't sendingFirst check Settings → Phone & SMS → Texting: texts only go out once the card reads Texting is on. Texting registration pending means the carriers are still reviewing (usually 3 to 7 business days), and Texting registration rejected shows the reason with Fix & Resubmit. Texts are also refused on the Free plan, before the account owner's email is verified, once the month's texts are used up with overage off, for a client marked do-not-contact or who replied STOP, for a number that isn't valid or is outside the US and Canada (Puerto Rico counts as US), and for a blocked number. When the carrier says a number is a landline, not a mobile, not valid or not in service, automated texts to it (reminders, campaigns, forms, payment links) pause, and the client's Inbox conversation shows "Texts to this number aren't getting through" with the reason; you can still text it yourself from the Inbox, and a delivered text, a text from the client, or 90 days lifts the pause. A text reminder that failed shows in Tasks as a Delivery issue with the reason (Carrier didn't deliver, Texts to this number aren't getting through, Bad phone number, Patient opted out of texts, Texting to this number's region isn't turned on, Number is blocked, or Temporary send error) and the button that fixes it. Only Carrier didn't deliver and Temporary send error offer Retry.
  6 min
• Video visit problemsMost video visit problems are one of five things. The link is outside its window: it opens 30 minutes before the start and closes 30 minutes after the end by default (Settings → Telehealth → Join links), and once you end the visit it stays ended. The client is in the waiting room and needs you to click Admit. The browser has not been allowed to use the camera or microphone. Video visits are switched off under Settings → Telehealth, or the plan does not include telehealth (Pro and above). Or the link never went out, because the client has no phone or email on file, texting is not allowed for them, or your email sender is not verified. Each has a quick fix below.
  4 min
• A client can't sign in to the portalA client signs in to the portal with the email address on their record: they type it, click Send login code, and enter the 6-digit code from the email. The code lasts 15 minutes and allows five tries, and only the newest code works. If the portal is switched off (Settings → Client Portal), the page says so. Otherwise it always says a code is on its way, even when no record matches, so check that the email on the client's record is exactly the one they typed. A client with no email on file, or the wrong one, can use Grant portal access (copy link) from the ⋯ menu on their profile: the link is valid for 7 days and lets them confirm an email to sign in with.
  3 min
• Autopay didn't charge a visitAutopay charges only when every link in the chain is in place: the location takes payments through Stripe, the location's autopay switch is on, the client has a card with autopay on, and there is something to charge. Check when the location charges (Settings → Billing → Payment methods). Nightly locations charge open invoices between midnight and 6am, so the visit must be on an invoice: turn on Daily invoicing, or the visit is never charged. Clients on a payment plan are skipped, and three declines in a row stop nightly autopay on that invoice until the client adds a new card. On-completion locations charge when the appointment is marked completed and the visit has a charge with a fee. For an insurance client the charge is the copay, so nothing is taken until a copay is on their profile. Closed or archived accounts and practices connected to athenahealth never autopay.
  5 min
• A client can't see a document in the portalA file shows in the client portal only when it was uploaded to the same client record that has portal access and the "Make this visible to the client" box was ticked. Check the Files tab (client profile → Documents → Files) for the "Visible to client" tag first, and that the Documents tab is switched on under Settings → Client Portal. An upload refused as an unsupported type is limited to images, PDF, Word and text up to 15MB. A portal page left open in another window refreshes when the client comes back to it. In the portal, View shows the file in place and Download saves it under its own name.
  2 min
• Smart Timing isn't applying (or looks wrong)Smart Timing waits until it is at least 90% sure a new schedule is better, and expects at least a 3% lift, before changing anything, so a Learning chip is usually correct rather than broken. Open Campaigns, open the campaign and click the Smart Timing card to expand it. The common reasons it has not applied are not enough calls yet, a pattern that is real but small, a narrow call window, Apply automatically when ready turned off (the chip then waits at Ready to apply for you to press Apply), and the one-week pause on automatic applying after any apply or Undo. Only AI-agent campaigns learn; staff-mode campaigns have no Smart Timing card. Settings live under the ⋮ menu → Campaign settings.
  5 min
• My domain isn't workingMost domain problems are one of five things, all checked on Online Booking → Domains. Registration usually takes a few minutes; the page checks by itself and Check status asks right away. A site that doesn't load at the new name is usually a domain that isn't connected yet (the card says Active instead of Connected to your website), DNS still propagating, or a security certificate being issued on the first visit. A domain that stops working usually means the Amazon Registrar verification email was never clicked; click Resend email or Edit contact on the card. A failed renewal is a card problem; update the card in Settings → Billing and turn Auto-renew back on. Email records not verifying is propagation; wait an hour, then click Check records in Settings → Email.
  4 min
• Get help from FrontDesk supportTo reach the FrontDesk team, click your name at the bottom of the left sidebar and choose Need Help?. Pick a category (for example AI Voice, Phone & SMS, Billing & Subscription or Report a Bug), click Next, describe the issue, and click Send Request. To follow up, choose Support requests from the same menu. Each request has a reference number like REQ-1234, a status (Waiting on support, Waiting on you, or Resolved), and one thread where you and the team reply to each other. When the team replies, you'll see "new support reply" on your Home page and under Needs attention in the sidebar. You can also email support@frontdesk.care.
  2 min