Troubleshooting

Find your symptom, try the fix, and follow the link for details. If nothing here helps, see Getting more help.

Getting started

• “Waiting for Sign in with Apple to complete…”, or Sign in to continue. Finish Apple’s prompt, or click Sign In with Apple. See Installing and First Launch.
• Couldn’t reach HelmStation. Nothing was changed. Check your internet connection and open HelmStation again.
• No HelmStation account found. Your HelmStation account was deleted. Follow the notice’s steps to start a new one. See Your HelmStation Account.
• Different Apple Account. This Mac’s HelmStation content belongs to another Apple Account. Are you signed in with the wrong one? Click Quit HelmStation and change it in System Settings. Read what Continue removes before continuing.
• HelmStation - IMPORTANT - Restore Access to Documents. Your charts stay hidden until you click Grant Access to Documents Folder, then Grant Access without opening any folder, then Done. See Restore Access to Documents.
• “Sorry, your MacENC data could not be fully migrated, and migration cannot be run again.” Click Quit or Done, then contact support: they can connect your MacENCx64 registration to your HelmStation account remotely. See Installing and First Launch.
• The License window opens every time. During the Sea Trial it’s a reminder: close it. After the trial, it stays until you buy a Full License or quit. See Trial and License.
• Your Full License isn’t found. Click Restore Purchases in the License window. If it reports “No previous HelmStation license was found for this Apple Account.”, check which Apple Account you are signed in with.

Charts don’t appear or don’t update

• A chart isn’t drawn. Check its Show switch in File > Chart Manager and its round button on the chart’s layers page. The Recommended symbol preset leaves some groups out. See What the Chart Shows.
• The layers page shows Miniscule, Unavailable or Corrupted. If it shows Miniscule, zoom in. If it shows Unavailable, wait for HelmStation to finish starting, or restore Documents access. Corrupted means the file is missing or damaged; Sync NOAA charts, or reinstall a third-party set.
• Only satellite imagery shows. You have no chart for this area; the imagery is not a chart. See Chart Sources.
• A chart you bought hasn’t arrived. In File > HelmStation Chart Account, click Sync Now if Chart shows Provisioning, or if Status has shown New or Renewed for over 30 minutes. If the chart isn’t listed, click Restore Subscription Purchases. See Chart Account and Delivery.
• “This device is not authorized”, or This Device Isn’t Authorized Yet after a purchase. HelmStation Store S-63 charts download only to authorized Macs, up to three. Click Manage… or Manage Devices… and Authorize this Mac, deauthorizing one you no longer use if no slot is free. Then click Sync Now. See Devices and New Macs.
• Charts didn’t update. HelmStation updates charts when it opens, if Auto Download is on, and when you click Sync Now or, for NOAA charts, Sync. Leaving it running updates nothing. See Chart Account and Delivery.
• A NOAA district shows an orange ↓, or “Sync failed. Please check your connection.” Check your internet connection and click Sync. See NOAA Chart Service.
• File > NOAA Charts opens About the NOAA Chart Service. Your NOAA subscription or Sea Trial has ended; a Full License alone doesn’t include NOAA charts. Click Open HelmStation Store. See NOAA Chart Service.
• An amber Safety Warning link. Some charts have expired. Expired charts are not safe to navigate by. Click the link to see which, and renew them. See Expired Charts.
• A third-party S-63 chart doesn’t display. Keep it inside your Documents folder, and add the permits your provider made for this Mac with Add ENC Permits… (Full License needed). Import Incomplete means the file couldn’t be read or held no usable permits. See Chart Manager and Third-Party ENCs.

Buying and restoring

• A lock on the price button, or Full License Required. Buying charts needs a Full License, which the Sea Trial doesn’t include. Click OK to open the License window.
• Purchase problem. Nothing was charged. If the message says you already have the chart or it’s being prepared, don’t buy it again. If it gives a reference, contact support and quote it. If it begins “HelmStation could not confirm this purchase with our servers”, check your connection and try again. See HelmStation Store.
• Your purchase is recorded, or A chart purchase is still finishing. It finishes the next time HelmStation runs. Don’t buy the chart again on any Mac.
• A subscription is missing. Click Restore Subscription Purchases in File > HelmStation Chart Account. If it reports “No active subscriptions were found for this Apple Account.”, check which Apple Account you are signed in with. See Chart Account and Delivery.
• You want a refund. Refunds come from Apple. Click Manage Account & Data Privacy in File > HelmStation Chart Account, then Purchases & Refunds…. See Your HelmStation Account.
• “Can’t sync yet — account isn’t fully set up.” or “Account ID not available.” HelmStation hasn’t finished setting up your account on this Mac. Quit and reopen HelmStation. If the message still appears after a second restart, contact support. See Getting Support.

GPS, instruments and AIS

• The window’s round light stays red. Click Settings and check Port, Rate (most devices 4800, AIS receivers usually 38400) and, for a GPS on a serial port, Type: USB Serial. “Unable to open port:” means the port is wrong, unplugged or used by another app. See Connecting Your Instruments.
• GPS > Connect is dimmed. HelmStation found no serial port: plug the adapter in, with its driver, before opening HelmStation. It’s also dimmed while simulating; close the GPS window to stop.
• The light is yellow. Data is arriving, but none that this window reads. Turn on Use GPS Port in the window that reads it.
• Network data doesn’t arrive. In GPS > TCP/IP, turn on Enable each time you open HelmStation, and set the GPS Type to TCP/IP Network. If you see “Failed to connect”, or Enable turns itself off, check Host, Port and Mode. See Network Connections.
• You clicked Don’t Allow for local network access. HelmStation can’t receive or send network data without it. In System Settings, choose Privacy & Security > Local Network and turn on HelmStation. See Allowing local network access.
• The GPS disconnects. With Disconnect when Closed on in the Settings window, closing the GPS window disconnects a USB Serial GPS: minimize it instead. Sleep closes the GPS, Instruments and AIS connections; Connect at Startup reconnects them on wake.
• “No position data received from GPS within last 1.5 minutes”. Your USB Serial GPS has stopped sending, and any Goto was canceled. Check the GPS and its cable.
• Instrument readings are missing. With a multiplexer, turn on Use GPS Port. For heading or wind, set Heading and Wind in the Settings window to the kind your instruments send. See Instruments.
• AIS vessels are missing, or have no bearing or distance. Bearing, distance and the Proximity Alarm need your GPS position. Check AIS > Show: with Class B off, no Class B vessel is drawn. See AIS Targets.

Alarms and weather

• An alarm’s menu item is dimmed. The alarm needs a GPS position, an active Goto, a depth from your sounder or an AIS connection. See Alarms.
• No sound or alert. With Audio and Visual both off under Notify with in the Settings window, alarms switch off silently. Keep Audio on: alerts don’t bring HelmStation in front of other apps.
• An alarm didn’t go off, or is now off. Every alarm turns itself off once it goes off; turn it on again. The Arrival, Cross Track and Depth alarms check only while the chart window is in view, not minimized or hidden. A USB Serial GPS disconnecting turns the Anchor Alarm off. See Keeping alarms working.
• Weather > Request GRIB is dimmed. Open the chart window with File > Open Chart (⌘O). Surface Wind (COAMPS) and Currents are available only inside their regions. See Weather.
• No GRIB file arrives. HelmStation only opens a message in your mail app: click Send there. Open the file attached to Saildocs’ reply with Weather > Open GRIB….
• “File did not contain any wind speed, wind direction…”. The file holds nothing HelmStation can show. HelmStation reads GRIB edition 1 files, not GRIB2. See File Formats.
• The forecast has gone. Closing the Weather window hides it: choose Weather > Show. GRIB files aren’t reopened at launch.

Getting more help

Choose Help > Contact Support and click HelmStation Service Desk (Support) to open the HelmStation contact page . Include your Helm Account ID, from File > HelmStation Chart Account, the exact wording of any message, and what you were doing.

Use Upload support data and Record next session only when a support engineer asks. See Getting Support.