"open Editor" (Remote access) to remote instances issue (not connecting)

[VermeerschD]

Current Behavior

The Problem

For the last 2 weeks i've noticed significant issues connecting to our remote instances.
This is replicable for all kind of installations (barebone, docker, multiple complete independent customers)

The fix
You tell me! :)

I've not found a way to work around it or replicate the issue specifically yet.

Expected Behavior

For the last 2 weeks i've noticed significant issues connecting to our remote instances.
This is replicable for all kind of installations (barebone, docker, multiple complete independent customers)

stuck on this loading screen or the loading screen disappears.

Steps To Reproduce

Can't say, happens more often than not but not fully reproducible.

Environment

• FlowFuse version: all kinds (tested on remote instances)
• Node.js version: all kinds
• npm version: all kinds
• Platform/OS: all kinds
• Browser: Chrome

Have you provided an initial effort estimate for this issue?

I am not a FlowFuse team member

[ZJvandeWeg]

@hardillb Can you take a look here?

[sjovdnbos]

I have the feeling that using direct URL is resulting in less issues vs regular (expert) connection, but this might be because it's already the second attempt anyway

[hardillb]

@VermeerschD We are going to need at least the following:

• The version of the Device agent you are trying to connect to
• The Developer Console logs from the browser
• The Teams and the Device ids you are trying to open
• A time stamp for the failure, as accurate as possible please, at least down to a 5min window

It would also be useful to have the device agent logs for the same time.

[hardillb]

@cstns this sounds like it is potentially related to the embedded remote editor

[VermeerschD]

• The version of the Device agent you are trying to connect to
• I've seen it both on 3.2.0 and 2.8.0
• The Developer Console logs from the browser
  RemoteAccessIssueConsoleRec.har.txt
• The Teams and the Device ids you are trying to open
• Team: z4LKZbdGOd deviceID: mEgwZz732q
• A time stamp for the failure, as accurate as possible please, at least down to a 5min window
  15:28:23
  Remote Access Enabled
  Remote Access has been enabled for device 'Lotus bakeries - Eeklo - Semi-connected Data collection'.
  14:06:12
  Remote Access Disabled
  We have no details available for event type 'device.remote-access.disabled'
  14:05:26
  Remote Access Enabled
  Remote Access has been enabled for device 'Lotus bakeries - Eeklo - Semi-connected Data collection'.
  14:05:11
  Remote Access Disabled
  We have no details available for event type 'device.remote-access.disabled'

[hardillb]

I just want to make sure I understand the flow here a little clearer,

Are you checking the Developer Mode toggle switch then immediately hitting the open editor button?

Or is the Developer Mode toggle already checked when you come to the page and then you click the open editor button?

[cstns]

There isn't much context to go on yet. Based on the logs, the backend is responding with a successful tunnel link, but the UI is failing silently and not redirecting to the immersive editor.

The immersive mode altered the callback after the tunnel was created, rather than the actual tunnel opening method. My hunch is that we're connecting to a replica that didn't initially open the editor tunnel, and that mismatch is causing an issue.

Regardless, the first step is to capture the full error. I’ll draft a PR to track this in Sentry so we can monitor the next occurrence; once we have the full traceback, we’ll have a better feel for how to move forward.