Troubleshooting
Most problems have a short fix. Find the message or symptom below. Where Acira shows a message, this page quotes it exactly.
Windows warns me when I install
Acira's Windows beta is not code-signed yet, so Windows does not know the publisher and shows Windows protected your PC.
- On the warning, choose More info.
- Choose Run anyway.
- Follow the installer. Acira opens when it finishes. The installer sets Acira up for your user account and asks for no administrator permission.
To check that the file is the one that was published, compare its checksum before you run it. See Updates and verifying downloads.
- There is no Run anyway button. Windows can block unsigned apps outright when Smart App Control is turned on. Acira's beta cannot run under that setting. Changing it is a Windows security decision, and it is yours to make.
- The installer stops right away. Acira needs Windows 11, or Windows 10 version 1809 or later, on a 64-bit Intel or AMD processor. The installer refuses Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 and 32-bit Windows.
My Mac will not open Acira
The latest Mac downloads are signed with an Apple Developer ID, notarized by Apple and stapled. macOS may still ask you to confirm opening an app downloaded from the internet. Older releases may not be notarized.
- Download the latest installer for your Mac from the download page.
- If macOS says the file is damaged, download a fresh copy and compare its checksum. See Updates and verifying downloads.
- If the latest verified download is still blocked, record the exact message and follow Apple's guidance.
Acira needs macOS 13 or later. Use the Apple silicon build on an M1 or newer Mac and the Intel build on an older Mac.
Acira does not update
Open Settings › About and read the row under Updates. It says why when updates are not available, for example This is a portable copy. Download new versions from the releases page. See Updates and verifying downloads.
Tor is slow or will not connect
A Tor tab or window needs to connect to the Tor network before any page loads. Nothing loads without it. The page shows the stage: Starting Tor, Connecting to the Tor network, Loading the network directory and Building a private circuit.
The initial connection can take a minute or two. Later ones are faster. Wait for it to finish before you try again.
| Message | What it means and what to do |
|---|---|
| Tor is taking too long to connect | Your network may be slow or block Tor. Try again. If it still fails, try a bridge (below). |
| Can’t reach the Tor network | Your network may block Tor. Check your connection, then try again or connect through a bridge. |
| Tor looks blocked on this network | Some networks and countries block Tor. A bridge disguises the connection so Tor can get through. Tor keeps trying meanwhile. Choose Connect through a bridge, Try another kind of bridge or Bridge settings. |
| You’re offline | This computer has no internet connection. Tor connects by itself once it is back. |
| Your clock is wrong | Tor cannot connect while the date or time is off. Turn on automatic date and time in your system settings, then try again. |
| Tor stopped unexpectedly | Nothing loaded without it. Try again. |
| Tor is missing from this install or Tor failed its integrity check | The Tor program is gone or changed on disk. Reinstall Acira. |
| Bridges are missing from this install | The program that connects through bridges is gone. Reinstall Acira, or turn bridges off in Settings. |
Use a bridge
- Open Settings › Connection › Bridges (the group may be collapsed).
- In Use a bridge, which starts as Off, choose Built-in bridge. Start with obfs4. Snowflake often works where obfs4 is blocked. meek is the slowest and is for the strictest networks.
- Or choose A bridge I know, and paste one bridge per line under Provide a bridge you know. Get bridges from someone you trust or from bridges.torproject.org. Acira can also ask the Tor Project for you with Request a bridge from the Tor Project, where you solve a short puzzle.
- Choose Apply. A Tor tab that is open reconnects with it.
Bridges are slower, so use one when Tor will not connect without it. Tor hides your IP address from sites. It does not hide your browser fingerprint. See Tor tabs and windows.
A site is broken or looks wrong
Acira blocks ads and trackers, and a few sites break when it does. Turn protection off for that one site.
- Open the site.
- Open the Acira menu and choose Ads and trackers. If you added its shield button to the toolbar in Settings › Appearance, you can use that instead.
- Turn off Block ads and trackers on this site. The site panel you open from the icon at the left of the address bar has the same switch under protection, and reads Protection off on this site once it is off.
- Reload the page.
If it still does not work, try these in order, and turn each back on when it makes no difference.
| Try | Where |
|---|---|
| Turn off the other site switches | The Ads and trackers panel has Block pop-up ads on this site. The site panel from the address bar also has Hide cookie banners on this site, and AI-free mode on this site on pages where it applies. |
| Lower fingerprint protection | Settings › Privacy › Fingerprint protection. It starts on Standard. Strict (can break sites) can break games, maps and web apps. Choose Standard or Off. |
| Allow third-party cookies | Settings › Privacy › Third-party cookies. It starts on Block. Embedded sign-in or payment frames may need Allow. |
| Switch off Always use HTTPS | Settings › Privacy › Always use HTTPS. It starts off. |
| Try a private tab | A private tab has its own clean session and shows whether saved data caused the problem. |
See Ads and trackers and Privacy settings.
Versions before Beta 12 cannot open WhatsApp Web: it tells them to update or use Google Chrome. Update in Settings › About, then reload the page. See Engine and web compatibility.
Sign-in problems
| Symptom | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
| I am signed out every time I close Acira | Check Settings › Privacy › Clear browsing data on exit. It starts off. If it clears Cookies and sign-ins, you are signed out on exit. Add the site under Sites to keep, or turn the option off. Private and Tor windows never keep sign-ins, and a locked workspace forgets its sign-ins when Acira quits. |
| I imported from another browser and I am signed out | Acira never copies cookies or sign-ins. Use the Sign back in to your sites list in Settings › Import & export. See Bring your data. |
| A passkey or security key does nothing | Settings › Privacy › Passkeys and security keys starts off. Turn it on, then reload open pages. On a Mac, passkeys saved in iCloud are not available yet. |
| A sign-in or payment frame inside a page will not load | Third-party cookies are blocked by default. Change Third-party cookies to Allow. |
| A small window asks for a user name and password | The site or a proxy uses HTTP authentication. See Localhost and certificates. |
| The Pull requests folder says to sign in to GitHub | The profile is not signed in to github.com. Choose Sign in to GitHub in the folder, or sign in on github.com in any tab of the same profile. The folder notices by itself, or choose Check again. If Clear browsing data on exit clears Cookies and sign-ins, you are signed out each time Acira closes. |
| The Pull requests folder says Can't read GitHub right now. | GitHub answered with something Acira does not understand, for example after GitHub changed its search page. Acira tries again after 5 minutes and waits longer after each failure. Choose Try again to ask at once. |
| The Pull requests folder says GitHub asked Acira to wait a while. | GitHub is limiting requests. Acira waits as long as GitHub asked, then tries again by itself. |
| A site asks me to switch to Chrome | Acira presents itself to sites as Chrome. If a site still refuses it, the site does not accept the browser. See Engine and web compatibility. |
An extension does not work
- Open the extension list and open the extension's row. Check that it says On. Extensions are off in Tor windows, in private tabs and windows unless you turned on Allow in private tabs for that extension, and in locked workspaces, where the row says Unavailable here.
- Read the label under the name. Tested: works, Tested: limited and Tested: does not work come from checks Acira ran itself.
- Choose Reload for an extension you loaded from a folder, or Check for update for a store extension. Store extensions do not update in the background.
- If it has a toolbar button that is missing, choose Pin to toolbar.
- For a userscript manager, turn on Allow user scripts for that extension.
- If it still fails, choose Remove and add it again from the Chrome Web Store.
Acira supports a subset of Chrome's extension APIs. An extension that depends on a missing one cannot work, whatever you change. See Building and testing extensions and Extensions.
I cannot unlock a locked workspace
A locked workspace asks your computer to confirm that it is you.
- On Windows, Windows Hello asks for your face, fingerprint or Hello PIN. If Hello is not set up on this PC, or it is disabled, Windows asks you to sign in to Windows instead. Acira never sees what you enter.
- On a Mac, macOS asks you to verify it is you, with Touch ID or your Mac login.
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| Acira can’t verify you on this PC. Set up Windows Hello or a Windows password and try again. | Neither Hello nor a password prompt could run. Set up Windows Hello in Windows Settings under Accounts and Sign-in options, or give your Windows account a password, then unlock again. The workspace stays locked in the meantime and its tabs are kept. |
| Couldn’t verify it’s you. Try again. or Couldn’t unlock. Try again. | The check failed. Try again. |
| Cancelled. | You closed the prompt. Unlock again when you are ready. |
| That took too long. Try again. | The prompt waited more than 90 seconds. Unlock again. |
| macOS did not verify you. Your protected items stayed locked. | The Mac check was cancelled or failed. Try again. |
Acira never unlocks anything when a check cannot run. If you are signed in to Windows with a different account than the one that locked the workspace, or you copied the data folder from another computer, Acira cannot open what was sealed. Nothing is overwritten. See Locked workspaces and Where your data lives.
My saved passwords will not open
| Message | Cause |
|---|---|
| The password vault can’t be opened on this account. | The key is tied to the account that created the vault. Sign in to the same Windows or Mac account. Nothing is changed. |
| The password vault’s key is missing. Your saved passwords can’t be opened. | The key file is gone. Acira will not create a new key over existing passwords. If you have an export, import it again. |
| This password vault can’t be read. Nothing was changed. | The file is damaged. Acira leaves it untouched. |
| Secure storage isn’t available on this PC, so passwords can’t be kept. | Your system's secure storage is not available. Acira stores nothing in plain text as a fallback. |
Video from a streaming service will not play
If you see Acira couldn't start protected playback on this site., the site needs Widevine. Supported Windows and Mac builds prepare it automatically when you are online, which can take a minute after the first start, so reload the page after a moment. Windows builds before 0.1.0-beta.11 do not include it. See Engine and web compatibility and What isn't there yet.
Pages do not load
| You see | What to do |
|---|---|
| No internet | Check cables, reboot routers, reconnect to Wi-Fi. Acira retries when you are back online. |
| This site can’t be reached | Check the spelling of the address and the DNS configuration. See DNS, proxy and VPN. |
| Couldn’t connect through your proxy | Choose Check proxy settings on the error page, or check the proxy address and ask your network administrator. |
| Your connection is not private | A certificate problem. See Localhost and certificates and Dangerous pages and certificates. |
| Acira blocked a dangerous page | The page is on a public phishing or malware list. See Dangerous pages and certificates. |
| This tab stopped working | The page crashed. Choose Reload. |
| Acira couldn’t display this view. | Your local work is saved. Choose Reload view, or restart Acira if it still cannot open. |
Reset settings
Acira has no single button that resets everything. Each part of Settings resets on its own, and a reset changes that part alone.
| To reset | Use |
|---|---|
| Colors, layout and theme | Reset appearance in Settings › Appearance |
| Toolbar buttons | Reset toolbar controls in Settings › Appearance |
| New tab page | Reset new-tab layout in Settings › New tab |
| Sidebar | Reset sidebar layout in Settings › Tabs |
| Keyboard shortcuts | Reset all in Settings › Shortcuts, or the reset button on one command |
| Search engines | Restore default engines in Settings › Search |
| Ad and tracker filters | Reset profile filters in Settings › Privacy |
| Site permissions | Reset on one row, or Reset all, in Settings › Privacy › Site permissions |
| Setup choices | Run setup again in Settings › About. See the setup guide |
Every control and its default is in All settings.
Start over with a clean profile
To try Acira with nothing changed, create a new profile in Settings › Profiles. Its settings, sign-ins, bookmarks and extensions are separate from your other profiles. See Profiles.
Last updated November 8, 2026