Common Issues general

Real-Time Features Not Working (Chat, Notifications, Live Updates)

Your app has real-time features (chat, live notifications, real-time data updates) but they don't work. Messages don't appear until you refresh, notifications are delayed or missing, or the live update feature requires manual refreshing.

Common Causes

  • WebSocket connection failing or not supported by the hosting platform
  • Real-time subscriptions not set up correctly in the database
  • The app uses polling but the interval is too long or the polling broke
  • Hosting platform doesn't support persistent connections (serverless limitation)
  • Supabase Realtime not enabled for the relevant tables

How to Fix It

  1. Check the browser console for WebSocket connection errors
  2. If using Supabase, verify that Realtime is enabled for the tables you need
  3. Check if your hosting platform supports WebSockets (some serverless platforms don't)
  4. Verify the real-time subscription code is listening to the correct channel/table
  5. As a fallback, implement polling (periodic refresh) until WebSockets are fixed

Real developers can help you.

Luca Liberati Luca Liberati I work on monoliths and microservices, backends and frontends, manage K8s clusters and love to design apps architecture Matthew Jordan Matthew Jordan I've been working at a large software company named Kainos for 2 years, and mainly specialise in Platform Engineering. I regularly enjoy working on software products outside of work, and I'm a huge fan of game development using Unity. I personally enjoy Python & C# in my spare time, but I also specialise in multiple different platform-related technologies from my day job. Yovel Cohen Yovel Cohen I got a lot of experience in building Long-horizon AI Agents in production, Backend apps that scale to millions of users and frontend knowledge as well. Meïr Ankri Meïr Ankri Full-stack developer specializing in React / Next.js / Node.js with 6+ years of experience. I've worked across various sectors including automotive (Reezocar/Société Générale), healthcare (Medical Link SaaS), and e-commerce (Glasman). I build web apps end-to-end, from architecture to production, with a focus on scalability, performance, and code quality. I also mentor junior developers and contribute to technical decisions and code reviews. Pratik Pratik SWE with 15+ years of experience building and maintaining web apps and extensive BE infrastructure Richard McSorley Richard McSorley Full-Stack Software Engineer with 8+ years building high-performance applications for enterprise clients. Shipped production systems at Walmart (4,000+ stores), Cigna (20M+ users), and Arkansas Blue Cross. 5 patents in retail/supply chain tech. Currently focused on AI integrations, automation tools, and TypeScript-first architectures. Victor Denisov Victor Denisov Developer Costea Adrian Costea Adrian Embedded Engineer specilizing in perception systems. Latest project was a adas camera calibration system. Tejas Chokhawala Tejas Chokhawala Full-stack engineer with 5 years experience building production web apps using React, Next.js and TypeScript. Focused on performance, clean architecture and shipping fast. Experienced with Supabase/Postgres backends, Stripe billing, and building AI-assisted developer tools. PawelPloszaj PawelPloszaj I'm fronted developer with 10+ years of experience with big projects. I have small backend background too

Describe what's wrong in plain English. No technical knowledge needed.

Get Help

Frequently Asked Questions

Chat messages only appear after I refresh the page. Why?

The real-time subscription is probably not working. This could be a WebSocket connection issue, incorrect subscription setup, or a hosting platform limitation.

Can real-time features work on any hosting platform?

Not all platforms support WebSockets. Serverless platforms often can't maintain persistent connections. A developer can recommend the right setup for your needs.

Related Common Issues Issues

Can't fix it yourself?
Real developers can help.

You don't need to be technical. Just describe what's wrong and a verified developer will handle the rest.

Get Help