🔧
Lightning Channel Troubleshooting
Common issues with Lightning channels and how to fix them.
Troubleshooting
📖 7 min read
Lightning channels are generally reliable, but issues can occur. This guide covers the most common problems and how to fix them.
Channel Won't Open
❌ "Unable to connect to peer"
Your node can't reach the peer.
Solutions:
- • Check your internet connection
- • If using Tor, verify Tor is running (
systemctl status tor) - • Try the clearnet address instead of .onion
- • Check firewall isn't blocking port 9735
❌ "Insufficient funds"
Not enough on-chain Bitcoin.
Solutions:
- • Check on-chain balance:
lncli walletbalance - • Remember to account for fees (add ~10,000 sats buffer)
- • Wait for pending transactions to confirm
❌ "Channel too small"
Below minimum channel size.
Solutions:
- • LOM minimum: 100,000 sats
- • Recommended: 500,000+ sats for useful routing
- • Some nodes require even larger minimums
Payment Failures
⚠️ "No route found"
Can't find a path to the destination.
Causes & Solutions:
- • Not enough outbound liquidity → Need more sending capacity
- • Destination poorly connected → Nothing you can do
- • Amount too large for route → Try smaller amount or multi-path
- • Graph not synced → Wait for sync or restart node
⚠️ "Temporary channel failure"
A channel along the route has issues.
Solutions:
- • Wait a few seconds and retry
- • Node will automatically try alternate routes
- • If persistent, the intermediary node may be down
⚠️ "Invoice expired"
Took too long to pay.
Solutions:
- • Request a new invoice
- • Pay faster next time (default expiry often 1 hour)
- • Ask recipient for longer expiry time
Channel Issues
🔶 Channel "Inactive" or "Disabled"
Channel exists but not routing.
Causes & Solutions:
- • Peer offline → Wait for them to come back
- • Connection dropped → Reconnect:
lncli connect [peer] - • Your node restarting → Wait for full sync
🔶 Channel stuck "Pending"
Funding transaction not confirming.
Solutions:
- • Check mempool – may just be congested
- • View pending:
lncli pendingchannels - • If fee too low, may need to wait or CPFP (advanced)
- • Typical confirmation: 10-60 minutes
Force Closing
Sometimes channels need to be closed unilaterally. This is a last resort because funds are locked for a timelock period (usually 144-2016 blocks).
⚠️ When to Force Close
- • Peer has been offline for extended time (weeks)
- • Peer is unresponsive to cooperative close requests
- • You suspect malicious behavior
# Force close (last resort)
lncli closechannel --force [funding_txid] [output_index]
# Check force-close status
lncli pendingchannelsDiagnostic Commands
# Overall node health
lncli getinfo
# Channel status
lncli listchannels
lncli pendingchannels
lncli closedchannels
# Peer connections
lncli listpeers
# Wallet balances
lncli walletbalance
lncli channelbalance
# Recent payments
lncli listpayments
lncli listinvoicesGetting Help
If you're still stuck:
- 📧 Contact us with your request ID
- 💬 Check Lightning community forums
- 📚 LND documentation: docs.lightning.engineering
- 🐙 Our status page: https://mumu.money/status