DiagnosticsBeginner10 min read

Miner Will Not Connect or Keeps Rejecting? Troubleshooting on mkpool (2026)

Published July 24, 2026

Most mining problems are one of a handful of connection or share issues, and each has a clear cause and fix. This guide is a fault-finder: find your symptom below and work through its checks. Before you start, it helps to know what the dashboard numbers mean, which is covered in reading your worker stats; if the miner connects but under-performs rather than failing outright, the miner health check is the better place to start.

It will not connect at all

The miner never reaches the pool and shows no connection. Check, in order:

URL scheme. Use stratum+tcp://host:port for a plain connection. Only use stratum+ssl:// on firmware that supports TLS, and the Stratum V2 scheme only on V2-capable firmware.
Host and port. Confirm both against the chain's connect page. A mistyped host or a port from the wrong chain is a common slip.
Firmware capability. Stock Antminer and Whatsminer firmware speaks plain Stratum V1 only. Pointing it at a TLS or V2 port will simply fail to connect. Use a plain port, or see encrypted solo mining for what your firmware needs.
Network path. Make sure a local firewall or router is not blocking the port, and that the miner has a working internet connection and DNS.

It connects but submits no accepted shares

The miner shows a live connection, but the accepted-share count never moves. This is almost always the username:

The username must be your address

On a solo pool your username (sometimes called the worker) is your own wallet address for the chain, optionally followed by a dot and a rig name, for example bc1qyouraddress.rig. An account name or an address for the wrong chain will connect but never produce valid shares. Fix this first.

If the username is correct, confirm the port suits your firmware and that you did not pin a static difficulty (in the password field) far too high for your hashrate. When in doubt, use the vardiff port and let it tune itself, as explained in choosing a difficulty tier.

It rejects a lot of shares

Shares are coming in but many are rejected. The split between invalid and stale tells you where to look:

Invalid shares mean the work did not meet the required difficulty or was malformed. Usually this is a difficulty misconfiguration: switch to the vardiff port. If it persists on vardiff, suspect an overheating or failing hashboard and run the health check.
Stale shares mean valid work arrived too late, because a new block or job replaced the one it answered. A few are normal; many means latency. Prefer a wired connection over Wi-Fi, check for packet loss, and connect from a stable network. mkpool's anycast routing already sends you to a near edge.

It keeps disconnecting or rebooting

The miner drops the connection or restarts on its own. This is rarely the pool and almost always local:

Power. A supply that sags under load causes resets. Make sure the PSU is rated well above the miner's draw and is on a suitable circuit.
Heat. Thermal protection cuts in when the miner runs too hot. Improve airflow and ambient temperature.
Network. A flaky link or Wi-Fi dropouts break the connection. A wired link is far more reliable.

The dashboard shows my worker offline

If mkpool lists your worker as offline, it has stopped submitting shares. The last-share timestamp confirms when it went quiet. Work back through the causes above: power, network, or a crashed miner. Confirm power and network first, then power-cycle the miner. Once shares resume, the worker returns to the dashboard on its own.

A quick checklist

Before asking for help, confirm

URL scheme and port match the connect page and your firmware.
The username is your own wallet address for the chain.
The password is x (or a valid d= option).
You are on the vardiff port unless you are renting hashrate.
Power, cooling and network are all solid.

If everything checks out and the miner still will not behave, the FAQ and the community links in the footer are the next stop.

Disclaimer

Firmware menus, default ports and behaviour vary by miner and firmware version; follow your device's documentation for the exact labels. Details are current as of July 2026. Nothing here is financial advice.

Frequently asked questions

Why will my miner not connect to mkpool at all?

The usual causes are a wrong URL scheme or port, a mistyped host, or an encrypted port used on firmware that does not support it. Confirm the URL is stratum+tcp://host:port for a plain connection (or stratum+ssl:// only on a TLS-capable firmware), that the host and port match the chain's connect page, and that a firewall is not blocking the port. Stock Antminer and Whatsminer firmware speaks plain Stratum V1 only.

My miner connects but has no accepted shares. What is wrong?

Most often the username is wrong: on a solo pool it must be your own wallet address for that chain, optionally followed by a dot and a rig name, not an account name. Also check the port suits your firmware and that a static difficulty was not pinned far too high. If the miner shows a connection but the share count never moves, fix the username first.

What causes a lot of rejected (invalid) shares?

Invalid shares are usually a difficulty misconfiguration or failing hardware. If you pinned a static difficulty that does not match your hashrate, switch to the vardiff port and let it auto-tune. If invalids persist on vardiff, inspect the miner for an overheating or failing hashboard.

What causes stale shares?

Stale shares are valid work that arrived too late because a new block or job replaced the one they answered. A few are normal; a high stale rate points at network latency between your miner and the pool. Use a wired connection rather than Wi-Fi where possible, check for packet loss, and connect from a stable network. mkpool's anycast routing already sends you to a near edge.

Why does my miner keep disconnecting or dropping off the dashboard?

Repeated disconnects trace almost always to power, heat, or the network: a supply that browns out under load, thermal protection cutting in, or an unstable link. Confirm the power supply is rated well above the miner's draw, that cooling and airflow are adequate, and that the network connection is solid. A worker that shows offline on the dashboard has stopped submitting shares for that reason.

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