Solving Connection Problems to Beacon or Nitrado

Connection problems can present themselves as "unable to download user details" errors at login or "failed to establish secure connection" errors while importing from Nitrado.

While these issues can happen on macOS, they are nearly exclusive to Windows for a variety of reasons.

First, try Windows Update

Both Beacon and Nitrado's servers require TLS 1.2 at the time of this writing. In some versions of Windows, these security protocols are disabled by default. Windows Update KB3140245 enables support for these protocols. Follow the instructions in the linked article to either run Windows Update or install the update directly. If installing the update manually, make sure to choose the version appropriate for your computer. Most users are running a 64-bit version of Windows, so should choose an option for x64-based systems.

Even though the linked support article is specific to Windows 7, try Windows Update anyway. The KB3140245 update will not apply to Windows 8 systems, but Windows Update often fixes the issue anyway.

If that doesn't solve the problem

Some Antivirus software can be particularly aggressive and block Beacon's connection to servers outside the user's country. Check your antivirus software for notices. Try whitelisting Beacon so your antivirus software will not interfere. For instructions, do a web search for "whitelist name of your antivirus" and it will hopefully be the top result.

As a last ditch effort

If it isn't your antivirus software, the most likely cause is simply a bad internet connection. But if the internet is working fine otherwise, it's possible the computer's root certificates are outdated or corrupt. Follow these instructions to restore your root certificates.