Grok Bot not responding: find the cause, then fix it in the right order

When a Grok Bot goes quiet, the cause is one of four things: it is waiting on you, your shared computer is unhealthy, the service is degraded, or your usage ran out. They look identical from the chat, so diagnose before you click anything, and never start with Reset.

At a glance#

Triage in 60 seconds#

1. Open the computer view#

The official troubleshooting steps start here: check the sidebar and conversation status, watch the computer, and look for a question, approval, login page, CAPTCHA or secret request. If you find one, deal with it and you are done.

2. Check the status page#

Look at status.x.ai and the forum's grok-bot tag. If several Bots died together and an incident is open, stop here and wait. Our status guide lists every incident since September with UTC times.

3. Check usage#

A Bot can look stuck when weekly usage is gone and on-demand has hit its limit. Since 0.63.0 that shows as a usage limit notice. See usage limits.

4. Check your app version#

Open Settings → Updates → Check for Updates. The app and the Bot's computer update separately, and updating the desktop app does not reset the cloud computer.

Update first: what recent versions fixed#

These fixes come from the release notes. We have not tested them, and forum posts show some symptoms still appearing on some accounts.

Error message → fix#

"Bot failed to respond" on every Bot → Shared computer stuck or service degraded. Check status first. After the October 3 and 6 incidents, staff said to resend rather than reset. Otherwise use the recovery order.

"Bot failed to respond" on one Bot only, even after a reset → Staff traced October cases to the model provider's safety filter refusing that Bot's history, such as security or biology research content. Use another or a new Bot. Do not ask other Bots to read that chat, and do not delete the stuck Bot.

"Failed to send" → Seen during the September 16 to 18 incidents and after long tool waits. Restart the app, send "Stop now" to the stuck Bot, and check status before any reset.

Can't reach your computer → The cloud computer is temporarily unreachable. Retry, restart, then Recover computer; if Recover is not offered, use Settings → Computer → Update Bot's Computer.

"Starting your computer" or "Updating your computer" never finishes → Setup or an image update can take several minutes. Wait while progress moves. If it freezes, Retry, restart, update the app, then Update Bot's Computer.

Update stuck at 43 percent on "Transferring your data" → Staff said some computers failed to fully rehydrate during recreation; a second thread showed the stall recurring past September 21. Do not reset. Post your version and time in the forum; staff cleared accounts by hand, once within about 20 minutes.

"Your computer is asleep" → An idle computer. On 0.71.2 or later, click the preview to wake it. Do not Recover or Reset.

"Grok Bot is having trouble connecting", and Recover and Reset fail → On October 8 staff found one case was an ended trial shown as a connection error. Update the app and check your plan: on The X Subscription, Premium, Super and Ultra include Grok Bot, Plus and Free do not.

"Reset failed" with a partial-state warning → During the October 8 incidents staff said the error was on Cursor's side and would clear. Do not retry the reset.

Bots missing, or "plan does not include Grok Bot", after switching to The X Subscription → Staff said on October 21 the switch can leave Bots on one account and the plan on another; the Bots are not deleted. Do not reset, delete anything or buy a second subscription.

A turn says the model is not available in your region → Since the October 11 release the turn stops with an explanation and Bots fall back to Grok. Resend. It is not a computer problem.

Error mentioning Legacy Privacy Mode → Your Cursor data mode does not allow Grok Bot's storage. Change it, or ask your admin.

The recovery order#

From the official troubleshooting page. Stop the moment Bots reply.

1. Retry, or reopen the conversation.
2. Restart the app, then check Settings → Updates → Check for Updates.
3. Recover computer when the unreachable state offers it (the dialog calls it Recover Grok Bot's Computer). Wait for it to finish.
4. Update Bot's Computer in Settings → Computer, under Bot's computer, if Recover is not available. On iPhone and Android the page only names Reset Computer under Settings → Bot → Bot Computer.
5. Reset Bot's Computer, last. It restores the last saved snapshot and can lose recent or unsynced work. Recover and Update keep durable files and logins.

The exception: when status.x.ai shows an open incident, or staff are already handling a server-side fault on your account, skip steps 3 to 5. In October those actions did not clear server-side problems and could make a half-finished recreate worse. For background on why every Bot fails together, see the shared-computer guide.

Edge cases the standard order will not fix#

Every Shell command times out, but file reads work#

An October 20 forum thread described every Shell command, even echo ok, failing with "The Shell tool call timed out after 840 seconds" across all 11 Bots on an account, while Gmail and Calendar connectors worked. A staff member explained on October 21 that every Shell command starts a login shell, so a startup file that waits on something hangs everything. Ask a Bot to open /home/box/.bashrc, /home/box/.profile and /home/box/.bash_profile with its file reading tool, not Shell, and look for recent lines near the end. Hold off on Reset, which restores the same files.

Mail, database, SSH or FTP connections time out#

Since October 1 some computers allow only outbound HTTPS. Staff called it unintended; resetting does not help. Use HTTPS endpoints or clone git over HTTPS. Users were still reporting blocked mail ports on October 22 with no announced fix.

A Bot says your Mac or PC is offline when it is on#

Staff said the desktop app pauses the local connection when the screen locks, the computer sleeps, or the Grok Bot window is not active for about 10 minutes, and it does not resume on its own. Update first; if it persists, click into the Grok Bot window and it reconnects within about a minute. Keep the window in front before scheduled jobs.

Your own computer looks connected but file copies fail#

A staff member explained on August 29 that a timed-out command or copy removes the machine from the Bot's list for about a minute while Settings still says connected. Split large copies into smaller pieces, wait a minute before retrying, and if stuck, quit Grok Bot fully and end any local-exec-daemon process. A user on 0.78.1 still reported failures on October 29, so treat it as open.

A Bot keeps retrying the same thing#

Before you resend the whole request, find out whether the first attempt already wrote something; a retry can create a duplicate draft, ticket or message. The October 11 release made Bots wait out a rate-limited connector's retry delay instead of looping, so update first. Then paste this:

Stop the current approach. Do not retry any write and do not reset the computer.

Tell me:

1. The last action you confirmed succeeded.
2. The first step that failed, with the exact error text.
3. Any changes you already made outside this chat (drafts, tickets, messages, files).

Then propose one small read-only check that tells missing access apart from

missing data or a changed page. If you need me to act, name the exact step.

Keep any partial results and link them here.

If a routine is the one that went quiet, the routines-not-running guide has its own checklist, and our troubleshooting hub covers the rest.

Common mistakes#

• Resetting during an incident. It cannot fix a server-side fault and can discard your recent work.
• Deleting the one Bot that always fails. Staff asked people to keep it while they look for a recovery option.
• Asking another Bot to continue a blocked chat. It inherits the same refused history.
• Pressing Update repeatedly on a 43 percent stall. Post in the forum instead.
• Skipping the app update. Several symptoms above have release-note fixes.

Our take#

Look before you click: the computer view and status.x.ai answer most cases in under a minute. Update the app, then walk the recovery order one step at a time and stop as soon as Bots reply. Reset is a last resort, and during any declared incident it is the wrong move entirely.

Frequently asked questions#

Why did all my Grok Bots stop responding at once?#

Every Bot on an account shares one cloud computer. If that computer is stuck, unreachable or mid-update, every Bot fails together, which is why Bot failed to respond usually hits the whole account. Check status.x.ai and the forum first. If no incident is open, work through the recovery order: Retry, restart the app, Recover computer, Update Bot's Computer, and Reset only last.

Why does only one Grok Bot say Bot failed to respond?#

Usually its conversation, not the computer. In October, Cursor staff traced several cases to the model provider's safety filter refusing that Bot's history, for example security or biology research material. Because each message carries the history, every reply is refused. Resetting does not help. Use another or a new Bot, do not ask other Bots to continue that chat, and do not delete it.

Should I reset my Grok Bot computer?#

Only as the final step. The official order is Retry, restart the app, Recover computer, Update Bot's Computer, then Reset Bot's Computer. Reset restores the last saved snapshot and can lose recent or unsynced work. During server-side incidents in October, Cursor staff asked people to hold off on Update, Recover and Reset entirely and simply resend their message once the fix landed.

What does Your computer is asleep mean in Grok Bot?#

The Bot's cloud computer is idle, not broken. Version 0.71.2 (October 14) replaced the old Couldn't refresh and connection errors with this message. Click the Computer is asleep preview to wake it in place; switching chats does not wake it. Do not use Recover or Reset for a sleeping computer.

Can running out of usage make a Grok Bot look stuck?#

Yes. The troubleshooting page notes that a Bot can appear stuck when weekly usage is exhausted and the on-demand spending limit has been reached. Since 0.63.0 a used-up plan shows a usage limit notice rather than Bot failed to respond. Check Settings, then Usage and Billing, before assuming the computer is unhealthy.