Troubleshooting

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“This installation has not been activated” / “…license has expired” at PADS4 login

The product license needs attention. Sign in as an administrator and check License & Activation.

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Forced to change the admin password and can’t remember the original

The login page has no self-service reset for the local administrator account. Resetting it requires direct server or database access. Contact whoever deployed the instance.

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PADS4 user can’t sign in (“Not authorized” / claims error)

The account needs Management / All in its PADS4 claims. You set this in PADS4 itself, not in this plugin.

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Dashboard/Distribution/Synchronization show nothing or fail to load

These pages call PADS4 live. As an administrator, check the PADS4 connection in Settings using Test PADS4 connection. Then confirm that the service account credentials haven’t expired or been locked out in PADS4.

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History / CMS 2.0 / Proof of Play show little or no data

Background monitors populate these pages, not live calls. In Settings, confirm that you’ve configured the relevant monitor:

• History/CMS: the PADS4 connection.
• Proof of Play: the Proof of play section.

Then give the monitor time. A fresh install backfills history gradually rather than all at once. Proof of Play shows a progress banner while this happens.

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”The last sync/collection failed” banners

The background monitor’s most recent attempt hit an error. You’re still viewing the last good snapshot, and the monitor retries automatically on the next interval. If the error persists across several intervals, re-check the PADS4 connection in Settings.

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Reports preview says “Select at least one device” and won’t proceed

This happens when you select individual devices in the “Fine-tune individual devices” panel and then clear the selection back to zero. The app treats this as an incomplete scope rather than silently falling back to “all devices.” To fix it, either select devices again or click Clear device selection. Clearing the selection exits device-picker mode and returns you to group/brand scope.

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Scheduled reports aren’t arriving

Check the following:

• SMTP is configured and tested in Settings.
• The schedule is toggled Enabled.
• The recipient addresses on the schedule row are correct.

Schedule changes apply immediately, so a new or re-enabled schedule doesn’t need a restart. It sends at the next cadence tick.

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CSV opens with garbled characters, or a cell shows a leading apostrophe

The leading apostrophe on some cells is intentional. It stops spreadsheet apps from treating PADS4-sourced text, such as device or content names, as a formula. It has no effect on the underlying data.