A simulator appears offline
Why a simulator becomes "Offline" in NEXUS, how to find the cause in a few checks, and when to call support.
A running simulator reports its status to NEXUS continuously, every few seconds. When NEXUS receives nothing for more than a minute, the simulator becomes Offline in Simulators and no command can reach it any more.
The symptom
- In Simulators, the simulator's Status is Offline and its buttons are grayed out. The Last seen column shows how long it has not been responding.
- NEXUS also sends the Simulator offline notification after 3 minutes of silence, unless the energy schedule explains this silence (see step 4).
Offline, Asleep, Powered off or License inactive?
Three other statuses designate a silent simulator, but not a broken-down one:
- Asleep: it went to sleep at the time scheduled in Settings › Energy, after notifying NEXUS. It wakes up on its own.
- Powered off: the energy schedule, in ⏻ Shut down mode, switched it off after notifying NEXUS. It does not switch back on by itself, unless the BIOS is set up to. See Schedule shutdown and wake-up.
- License inactive: the simulator is on and trying to reach Omnisim, but its license is deactivated or your subscription is no longer active. See step 5 below.
Like an Offline simulator, they receive no commands.
Possible causes
| Cause | What gives it away |
|---|---|
| The simulator is switched off or unplugged. | Black screen, silent machine. |
| IGNITION is not running. | The simulator shows the Windows desktop. |
| The center's internet connection is down. | The simulator shows "Internet connection lost". All the center's simulators are offline at the same time. |
| The simulator was switched off by the energy schedule, in ⏻ Shut down mode. | It is Powered off every night, then comes back in the morning if its BIOS switches it on. |
| The simulator did not wake up after a scheduled sleep. | It stays Offline in the morning, although it was Asleep the evening before. |
| The simulator's license is no longer active. | Its status is License inactive. The simulator shows the LICENSE ACTIVATION screen, or it appears Deactivated in Billing › Devices. |
Check, in order
See whether the problem affects one simulator or the whole center
In Simulators, filter on Offline. If all the center's simulators are offline at the same time, the cause is almost always the center's internet connection: check the modem or router before anything else.
Go and look at the simulator
| What you see at the simulator | What to do |
|---|---|
| Nothing, the machine is off. | Switch it back on. If the energy schedule switches it off every evening, see step 4. |
| The Windows desktop. | Start Omnisim Ignition from the Start menu, then see step 3. |
| The screensaver with "Internet connection lost". | The simulator can no longer reach Omnisim: check its network cable or its Wi-Fi. The message disappears by itself when the connection returns. |
| "Omnisim server unavailable" at startup. | Same cause: the simulator has no connection. IGNITION retries on its own. |
| The LICENSE ACTIVATION screen. | See step 5. |
| The normal screensaver, without a message. | Wait a minute: if the simulator stays Offline, contact support. |
Check that IGNITION starts with Windows
If the simulator showed the desktop after a restart, IGNITION does not start with Windows. On the simulator, tap ⚙, System tab, STARTUP PROGRAMS block, tick Start Omnisim Ignition with Windows, then Save.
Check the energy schedule
Open Settings › Energy and look at the Mode:
- ⏻ Shut down: the simulator switches off completely every evening. It is Powered off all night, which is normal: NEXUS does not send you an alert before the next scheduled shutdown, weekends included. For it to switch back on by itself, wake-up must be set in the machine's BIOS.
- 🌙 Sleep: the simulator goes to sleep and must wake up at the Wake time. If it stays Offline in the morning, automatic wake-up is not enabled in its BIOS ("Wake-on-RTC"). Switch it back on by hand, then have the BIOS set up. NEXUS alerts you if it has not come back 10 minutes after the wake time.
The status follows the schedule, as does the alert. In ⏻ Shut down mode, the simulator stays Powered off until the next scheduled shutdown: if nobody has switched it back on by then, it becomes Offline and the alert is sent. Omnisim cannot switch on a machine that is off: it is up to you to switch it back on every morning, or to set up its BIOS. In 🌙 Sleep mode, it stays Asleep until 10 minutes after the wake time, then becomes Offline if it has not come back. A schedule changed while the simulator is asleep only counts from the next shutdown.
Check the license
If the simulator is License inactive in Simulators, the cause is commercial, not technical. Open Billing › Devices. If the simulator is Deactivated there, click Reactivate. If NEXUS shows "All your seats are taken — increase your number of simulators to reactivate a device.", free a seat or increase your number of simulators. A simulator whose subscription is no longer active is also refused: see Manage your Omnisim billing.
Result
Less than a minute after the simulator comes back, its Status becomes Available again (or Racing, Maintenance…) and its buttons are enabled again. If the Simulator offline notification had been sent, NEXUS sends the Simulator back online notification.
Good to know
- A session in progress is not lost. If the connection drops during a race, the simulator lets the player finish, keeps their laps and sends them when the connection returns.
- Offline, the simulator refuses any new start. QR code scans and launches are refused until the connection is back: the player sees "Internet connection lost — try again in a moment.".
- The Restart button restarts the machine. The simulator becomes Offline during the restart. If IGNITION does not start with Windows, it stays that way.
- Standby does not make a simulator offline. A simulator put on standby from NEXUS stays reachable: its status is Standby. See Put a simulator on standby.
When to contact support
Contact Omnisim support if the simulator is on, on the screensaver, without an error message, connected to the internet, and it stays Offline for more than 5 minutes. Give its name as it appears in Simulators and the time it was Last seen.
See also
Show content on a center screen
Loop your videos, your images, the live leaderboard and the challenge calendar on a TV or monitor in the center.
"Incomplete selection" or "No content available" at the simulator
What the missing-content messages at the simulator mean, formerly "Configuration incomplète", and how to make cars and tracks playable.