Reading the server check result

What Active, Dead and Unknown really mean, and what each one should make you do next.

How the check works

Check Server sends a request to the endpoint's player API through a proxy and reports what came back. It runs through a proxy because a browser cannot call an arbitrary HTTP host from an HTTPS page — the request would be blocked before it left your machine.

Active

The server answered and the credentials authenticated. This is the strongest signal available without actually playing a stream, but it is not a promise of good video: an authenticated account can still be out of connection slots or pointed at dead upstream sources.

Dead

The server did not answer, or it answered and rejected the credentials. Check the expiry date before assuming the endpoint is gone — an expired account on a healthy server reports exactly the same way. Either way, generate another set; there is nothing to repair here.

Unknown

The request timed out. The server may be slow, geographically distant, or throttling. This result is genuinely ambiguous: it is worth one retry, and if it times out twice, treat it as dead and move on.

What no result proves

A check confirms reachability and authentication at a single moment. Public endpoints change state constantly, and a credential that checked out an hour ago may not now. Check immediately before you use it, not the night before.