Midjourney Troubleshooting Guide: Reference Image Upload Failures, Stuck Queue, and Retry Strategies

When generating images with Midjourney, the most frustrating part is often not the prompt, but the various errors and freezes. Below is a troubleshooting walkthrough following the logic of “locate first, then fix,” focusing on three high-frequency issues: reference image upload failures, jobs stuck in the queue, and repeated retries with no results. Follow these steps and, in most cases, you can get back to generating normally within a few minutes.

Start with these two steps: Use status information for quick troubleshooting

The first step in troubleshooting is to clearly see “where it’s stuck.” On the web app or in Discord, first confirm whether the job status is Queued/Running/Failed. Don’t rush to click Generate repeatedly, otherwise you’ll only make the queue more and more chaotic.

Second, check your network and account status: whether you switched proxies/VPN, whether you refreshed frequently, and whether you just switched login accounts. Many “mysterious Midjourney errors” are actually false failures caused by network jitter or an expired session.

Reference image upload failure: Troubleshoot from format, link, and permissions

For troubleshooting Midjourney errors related to reference images, check two things first: whether the image is too large, and whether the format is common (JPG/PNG recommended). If the upload keeps spinning, compress the image to a smaller size and try again to avoid pushing an oversized file all at once.

If you’re using an image link, make sure it’s a publicly accessible direct link, not an album page that requires login to view. Whether the link can be opened directly in an incognito window is the most straightforward troubleshooting method; if it can’t open, switch image hosting or regenerate a direct link.

Queue stuck or repeated failures: Troubleshoot by “reducing concurrency + changing route”

If the queue gets stuck, the core troubleshooting step is to reduce concurrency first: stop submitting continuously, and wait for the current job to fully finish before sending the next. Rapidly clicking Generate in a short period can easily trigger a retry storm, making it look like it’s “queued forever.”

If it keeps showing failure or there’s no progress for a long time, try switching to a more stable network egress first (often, just switching nodes on the same network will restore it). For this kind of Midjourney troubleshooting, it’s not recommended to keep waiting stubbornly: if nothing changes after 10 minutes, cancel the current job, resubmit with a smaller size, and you’ll save time.

Buttons unresponsive, page abnormal: Troubleshooting order for cache and login state

When you run into issues like buttons doing nothing or parameters not being editable, start troubleshooting from the browser: hard refresh, clear site cache and cookies, then log in again. In many cases, old scripts or an old session is freezing the interaction.

If you switch accounts often, be sure the current account actually has permission to perform the corresponding operation, and avoid operating on the same job in multiple tabs at the same time. During troubleshooting, try to keep only one Midjourney page/window open to reduce state conflicts.

Still not solved: Prepare “reproducible information” before reporting

If you still can’t resolve it after completing the above troubleshooting, it’s recommended to record three things: the failed job’s link/ID, the specific error message that appeared, and the network environment at the time. Bring this information when seeking help from official support or the community, and the resolution will be much more efficient.

Final reminder: don’t mindlessly retry the same failed command dozens of times. That makes troubleshooting harder and may turn the issue from “occasional network” into “rate limiting.” Identify the cause first, then decide on a retry strategy—that’s the stable way to generate images.