How to solve "Login failed due to timing of auto-updates."

Übersicht: 

When you use certain versions of the Trader Workstation (TWS), you may receive the error message "Login failed due to timing of auto-updates." When this occurs, the platform will not start up and will not display the login window.

In this article we will outline the possible causes of this error along with the resolution steps.

 

Background: 

We provide two TWS installation types:  the TWS and the Offline TWS

  • The TWS automatically updates itself each time a new platform release is available.

  • The Offline TWS does not update itself automatically. Should you want to update the offline TWS, you would have to download and run the newly released Offline TWS installer from our website.

 

 
What can cause this error?

A. Another TWS session is running on your computer

B. A program is blocking the platform auto-update process

C. Your firewall is blocking the platform auto-update process

D. You have not launched the TWS for an extended period of time

 

A. Another TWS session is running on your computer

If another TWS session is running on your computer (either visibly or in the background), the updater process will not be able to update the application core files since they are in use. In this case, please follow the steps below:

If you are able to locate the TWS window on your Desktop or on the tray bar, bring it to the foreground and use the TWS top menu File -> Exit to close it. Then launch the TWS again and wait for the automatic update to complete. You should then see the TWS login window where you can enter your credentials.

If you are unable to locate the TWS window, please consider that the TWS process may still be running. This usually happens when the TWS was not properly closed or unresponsive. In this case you can use the task manager to terminate the process. According to your operating system, please follow the steps below:

Windows

1. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL on your keyboard and select Task Manager

2. Under the tab "Processes", please check if there is a process named TWS.exe or update.exe running. If you find any, click on it to highlight it and click on the button "End task"  or "Force Quit" on the bottom right corner of the Task Manager window

3. If for some reason, you are unable to terminate the process through the Task Manager, restart your computer

Mac

          1. Press CMD+OPT+ESC on your keyboard

          2. Select the "Trader Workstation" process and click on "Force Quit"

          3. If for some reason, you are unable to terminate the process, restart your computer

 

B. A program is blocking the platform auto-update process

A program on your computer, such as an antivirus, may erroneously interpret the behavior of the TWS updater process as suspicious or threatening and prevent it from running or from connecting to the TWS repository server. If this occurs please refer to IBKB 3424 for further recommendations and steps.

 

C. Your firewall is blocking the platform auto-update process

Your firewall may be set to block the network communication between the TWS updater process and the TWS repository server. 

If this occurs, you may modify your firewall configuration for allowing outgoing network connections towards the following hosts on port TCP 443:

download2.interactivebrokers.com

download.interactivebrokers.com

For more details on the Hosts and Ports used by the TWS please refer to the section "DESKTOP TWS " of IBKB 2816.


D. You have not launched the TWS for an extended period of time

In this case, the auto-update process may be unable to bridge the gap between the TWS generation that you are running and the current one. If this occurs, please download and run the current TWS installer for the same TWS channel you are using:

Once you have performed the installation, double-click on the shortcut "Trader Workstation" already on your Desktop to launch the platform.