Are you trying to create an image and is Midjourney giving you the error: Midjourney stuck on waiting to start?
You’ve come to the right place because we have some quick-fix solutions you can try to get things moving once again.
Fix #1. Sometimes it’s Not The Tech
First of all take a deep breath – sometimes the issue is not the computer or the Internet or the Discord server or Midjourney.
Sometimes it’s just user error.
It happens to the best of us.
When you’ve been working away for a while and you type in your prompt and hit ‘enter’ and then…. Nothing.
“What’s wrong with this stupid thing? Why won’t it go?” You look and realize you just forgot to type /imagine before your prompt and the prompt you just wrote is sitting in the Discord feed like a message, like this person…
I won’t lie and say I haven’t done this more times than I care to admit!
This is the universe telling you it’s break time and to back away from the computer.
Go walk around and get the blood circulating back into your lower extremities. Make a snack and hydrate. You no doubt probably also have to pee. Go do that and come back fresh – you’ll be much more productive, I promise.
Now assuming that you have not forgotten to type /imagine before your prompt and you are stuck with your job in processing limbo with the “(Waiting to start)” message:
Let’s take a look at some other things that may be causing the delay and what you can do to fix it.
Fix #2. Check Your Internet
Best way to do this is to get to a video processing channel, like Youtube and click on a video you have never watched. This way you are making sure things are loading properly, rather than your device just loading from the browser cache.
If it plays the video, then it’s not your Internet. But if it’s buffering, (i.e. has the little wheel spinning, rather than loading the video) then try this:
- Switch to mobile data if you are using WiFi and vice versa
- Unplug and re-plug the Internet cables
- Restart your router
Fix #3. Check Midjourney Server Status
Getting a ‘waiting to start’ message after you’ve submitted your prompt is normal.
The amount of time that it takes for a job to start processing will depend on a few different factors, but mostly on how many people are trying to use Midjurney to generate images at the same time. The more people there are, the longer it’s going to take.
Midjourney is still in beta, so it occasionally has problems. The Discord server it runs on can also sometimes have issues that cause the Bot to go down.
During peak times, there are longer wait times for image generation because there are a lot of people trying to generate images at the same time.
To check if your hang time is a result of a peak period, Midjourney or server issues, check the Midjourney status HERE.
If it tells you that there is a problem with the server, the bot or the website, then there is nothing much you can do except wait until it’s fixed.
On the server status page, you will also see the average wait time for processing images using different models and parameters. Rome wasn’t built in a day, so if it’s showing you have a longer than average wait time, then you are going to have to be patient and wait, just like everyone else.
However, if everything appears to be running smoothly, like in the screenshot above, or you’ve been waiting waaay longer than the wait times posted, then we have a few more things you can try to rectify the problem.
Fix #4. Cancel the Job And Try It Again
If the servers are up and running, then the problem may be with the specific prompt that is stuck.
You can try to cancel the Job by pressing the red “Cancel Job” button. Once you have canceled the prompt, you can try generating it again.
If your job already started processing the image but seems to be stuck mid-way, then you can cancel the job by clicking the reaction button on the top right corner (the one that looks like a happy face with a “+”) and clicking the red “X” emoji. If you don’t see the red “X” in the pop-up emoji window, just type X into the emoji search bar.
Fix #5. Restart Your Computer And Discord App
The fix-all of turning it off and on again is an oldie but a goodie. Sometimes, a simple restart can fix the “Midjourney stuck on waiting to start” error.
Restart your computer and the Discord app, and then try generating the prompt again.
Take Away
It’s important to remember that every new technology comes with its own set of challenges, especially those still in beta, like Midjourney. The key to figuring out how to get around the Midjourney “stuck on waiting to start” error should be the same approach you take with any error or command that didn’t work:
Before you launch an angry support ticket:
- Relax, take a breath and have patience
- Make sure you’re not the problem
- Start ruling out possible causes
- If you still can’t figure it out, contact customer support.
Customer support for Midjourney is available within the Discord App.
First, use the /ask command to get answers to the most frequently asked questions.
If you didn’t find the answer you were looking for there, you can try the #member-support channel in the left menu, just above the newbies rooms.
And once you’re back in Midjourney, check out some of our articles with tips like How to Create Consistent Characters in Midjourney and Midjourney Prompts for Portraits – A Guide for Stunning AI Portraits. Good luck!
