Short answer. Most round messages fall into a few families: you are not the Commissioner, the round is closed, the card on your screen is stale, or the signal dropped. Find the exact wording below for what it means and the fix. Game, handicap and money messages have their own pages.
General and toasts
| Message | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Ringer updated while this page was open — Reloading the latest version…" | A new version of Ringer shipped while you had the page open. | Nothing. It reloads on its own; queued scores survive. |
| "Couldn't save changes" | A Manage edit did not reach the server. | Check your signal and try again. |
| "Not signed in." | Your session expired or you opened a signed-in page from a shared link. | Sign in and retry. |
| "Outing not found." | The outing was deleted, or the link is wrong. | Check the link with the Commissioner. |
| "Only the commissioner can …" | You are not the host or a co-organizer of this outing. | Ask the Commissioner to make the change. |
| "Couldn't load this outing's round. You're missing the manage tools below until this loads. Try again" | The manager view could not load the round. | Tap Try again. If it persists, check the round's course and handicap setup. |
| "Round started" / "Round created" / "Round back in setup" | Confirmations from Manage. | None. "Round created" means setup is saved for a future tee time. |
| "Game created/updated/removed", "Player moved", "Group locked/unlocked", "Tee time updated" | Manage confirmations. | None. |
| "Corrected results published" / "Results finalized" | An official revision was stored. | Share a fresh results link if one was already out. |
| "Scores cleared · setup preserved" | Clear scores only ran. Games, teams, groups, tees and money rules were kept. | Start scoring again. |
Starting the round
| Message | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Set groups to start." / "Set groups for every player before starting." | Someone is not in a group. | Groups & pairings in Manage. |
| "Choose tees to start." / "Choose a tee for every player before starting." | A player has no tee. | Set a round, group or player tee. |
| "Assign a scorekeeper to start." / "Assign a scorekeeper to each group before starting." / "Choose a scorekeeper in Groups & pairings, then start the round." / "Assign a scorekeeper in Groups & pairings, then start the round." | A group has no scorekeeper. | Manage → Scorekeepers. |
| "Only the commissioner can open or close a round." | Manager only. | Ask the Commissioner. |
| "Round not found." | Stale page or deleted round. | Reload. |
| "Could not prepare the scorecard. Check the players and course, then try again." | Handicaps could not be frozen; the round was rolled back to scheduled. | Check every player's tee and the course card, then start again. |
| "Scores are already in — this round is underway." | Back to setup only works before the first score. | Use Clear scores or a reopen instead. |
| "Waiting for the host to start" | You are a player and the round is not live. | Wait for the Commissioner. |
Scoring
| Message | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Scoring opens 15 min before your 8:15 AM tee time." / "Scoring isn't open yet." | The tee-time lock. | Wait, or tap "We're going early". |
| "You can't enter this score." | Not the scorekeeper, not a manager, not your own card. | Ask the scorekeeper. |
| "Enter a valid stroke count." | Strokes must be 1 to 20. | Enter a real score. |
| "Reload the card before saving this score." | The card you are looking at is out of date. | Reload. |
| "This round is closed. The commissioner can reopen it from the round hub to make changes." | Scoring has been closed. | The Commissioner reopens with a reason. |
| "This hole changed on another device. Reload the card, check the current score, then enter your correction again." | Someone saved this cell first. | Reload, check, re-enter if needed. |
| "A score changed on another device. Open Ringer and check the card before trying again." | Widget version of the same. | Open the app. |
| "This hole already has a different score. Open the app to correct it." | Solo widget conflict. | Fix it in the app. |
| "Only the assigned scorekeeper can enter this group's scores." / "This group needs a valid assigned scorekeeper before scoring." / "Only this golfer can score the solo round." / "You are not a player in this round." | Widget scoring is limited to the designated scorekeeper or solo golfer. | Score in the app. |
| "The scoring group changed. Open Ringer to refresh the card." | Pairings moved. | Open the app. |
| "Enter hole N for everyone before hole M." | A nudge to keep the card in order. It does not block you. | Fill in the earlier hole when you can. |
| "You're not in a group for this round." | You have no group. | Ask the Commissioner. |
| "No groups yet — the commissioner sets those up." | No groups exist. | Wait for groups. |
| "This round's course doesn't have a verified scorecard yet, so hole-by-hole scoring isn't ready." | The course card is missing or partial. | Commissioner: "Verify the course card →". Players: "Ask your commissioner to verify the course." |
| "Award not saved · Details" | A Trash award did not save. | Tap Details, then retry. |
Saving offline
| Message | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Can't reach the server — check signal." | No connection. | Keep scoring; it retries. |
| "N not saved · Retry" | Saves are failing. | Tap Retry when you have signal. |
| "Scores need review · Reload" | The server rejected something permanently. | Reload and review flagged holes. |
| "This device couldn't safely store the queued score. Keep Ringer open and tap Retry now before leaving the app." | The phone refused to store the queue. | Stay on the card and Retry until saved. |
| "The score reached the server, but this device couldn't clear its recovery queue. Tap Retry now before closing Ringer." | Score is safe; the phone needs a tidy-up. | Tap Retry. |
| "A recovered score was queued by an older Ringer version and can't be safely auto-replayed. Re-enter that score to confirm it against the current card." | Old queued score. | Enter it again. |
| "A score changed before this device finished saving. Reload current scores, then enter any correction again." | Conflict during sync. | Reload and check. |
| "You're offline — don't close this tab" / "Limited browser storage — Scores will still save online. Keep this scorecard open until every score shows Saved." | Scorekeeper-link banners. | Keep the tab open until every score shows Saved. |
Scorekeeper links
| Message | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Only an organizer can share scorekeeper links." / "Only an organizer can copy scorekeeper links." | Manager only. | Ask the Commissioner. |
| "That group isn't part of this round." | The group was removed or rebuilt. | Get a fresh link. |
| "Scorekeeper links aren't configured on this deployment." | Links are off where you are. | Score in the app. |
| "Set up playing groups before sharing a scorecard." | No groups yet. | Build groups first. |
| "Enter a valid email." / "Enter a valid phone number." | Bad address or number. | Check and resend. |
| "Invalid scoring link." / "Outing not available." / "That player isn't in this group." | Stale link or roster change. | Get the latest link. |
| "The scorekeeper changed. Try Keep score again." / "Couldn't change the scorekeeper. Please retry." / "Connection interrupted. Try Keep score again." | Claiming the card on a personal link failed. | Tap Keep score again. |
| "This group changed. Ask your commissioner for the latest link." | Pairings moved. | Get the latest link. |
| "Scoring was handed over. Refresh the card before making more changes." | Someone else is now the scorer. | Refresh. |
| "Choose Keep score above to record scores" | You are following, not scoring. | Tap Keep score if you should be. |
| "Your scorecard couldn't load" | The card failed to hydrate. | Try again; then ask the Commissioner to check course and handicap setup. |
Photo import
| Message | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "That HEIC/HEIF photo is too large. Choose a screenshot or an image under 3.5 MB." / "That photo is still too large. Crop it to the scorecard and try again." / "That image could not be prepared on this device." | The image could not be sized down. | Crop tighter or use a screenshot. |
| "No player scores were legible — try a straighter, brighter photo." | Nothing readable. | Retake. |
| "The card took too long to read. Try a tighter, brighter image." / "Scorecard reading took too long. Try once more or use a tighter crop." | Timed out. | Retry with a tighter crop. |
| "The scorecard reader is temporarily unavailable (NNN). Your photo was not the problem — try again shortly." | Service hiccup. | Wait a minute. |
| "The image upload was interrupted. Check your connection, then try again." | Signal dropped. | Retry. |
| "Photo import isn't set up yet — add ANTHROPIC_API_KEY in the environment." | Not enabled on this deployment. | Enter scores by hand. |
| "You can't import for this group." / "Use the group scorecard to enter scores from this participant link." / "This upload must start inside Ringer." / "That scorecard does not belong to this game." | Wrong link or no rights. | Use the group link or manager account. |
| "Review one complete row for every player in this group." / "A reviewed row does not belong to this group." / "[name]: N holes missing · Out total does not add up." | The review is incomplete. | Fix the flagged rows. |
| "Reload the scorecard before applying it." | Card changed during review. | Reload, import again. |
| "Ringer could not preserve this card securely. Nothing was analyzed or changed." / "Ringer could not start a secure review for this card." | The evidence record could not be created. | Try again; nothing was changed. |
| "Scores were applied, but Ringer could not attach/create the verification record. Refresh before closing scoring." | Scores are in; the record is not. | Refresh before closing. |
Closing, publishing, reopening
| Message | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "No scores entered yet — there's nothing to finalize." | Empty round. | Score first. |
| "Finish every card first — X/Y complete. Still missing holes: [names]. (Or finalize anyway to override.)" | Cards are short. | Finish them, or Close scoring anyway. |
| "Only the commissioner can finalize." / "Only an organizer can reopen a round." | Manager only. | Ask the Commissioner. |
| "That round isn't on this outing." | Mismatched link. | Open the round from its outing. |
| "N players haven't finished — need all 18 holes." / "N matches are still on the course." / "N players have no handicap index — a net game can't settle without it." | The publish gate. | Finish cards, decide matches, or add the index. |
| "Nothing to finalize on this round." | No result could be built. | Check scores and games exist. |
| "Contest awards changed. Review them in the Scoring Center before publishing again." | Contests changed since you last looked. | Re-check and publish again. |
| "The scoring engine could not freeze a trustworthy official scorecard. Resolve the round scores and handicaps, then publish again." | A card or handicap is inconsistent. | Fix and republish. |
| "Finalization revision storage isn't set up yet." | Deployment issue. | Contact whoever runs your Ringer. |
| "Round results were published, but season standings were not updated. … The previous official standings remain intact." | The round is final; standings are not. | Republish standings from the league. |
| "Add a short reason for the correction." | Reason must be 3 to 500 characters. | Type a reason. |
| "This round already has an open correction." | Already reopened. | Make the change and publish. |
| "This round is finalized. Reopen it before adding a game." / "…before correcting a tee." / "…before changing the holes." | Finalized rounds are locked. | Reopen first. |
| "Only the host can delete this outing." | Primary host only. | Ask the host. |
| "Give the outing a name." | Name is blank. | Add one. |
Results and recap
| Message | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Round results are temporarily unavailable — Ringer could not verify the stored official revision, so it did not substitute live or recalculated scores." | The stored result could not be verified. | Try later, or reopen and republish. |
| "Choose the banker for this round." | Banker settlement needs a banker. | Pick one. |
| "Only the commissioner can write the recap." / "Only the commissioner can file the recap." | Manager only. | Ask the Commissioner. |
| "No results yet — play a few holes first." / "No results yet — play the round first, then roast the crew." | Nothing to write about. | Play. |
| "AI recaps aren't set up yet — add ANTHROPIC_API_KEY in the environment." | Recaps are not enabled here. | Nothing to do. |
| "Recap failed (NNN). Check the API key." / "The model returned an empty recap." | Service error. | Try again. |
| "Only the commissioner can change recap visibility." / "Round not found. Refresh and try again." / "Could not save recap visibility. Try again." | Hide/Show recap failed. | Refresh and retry as the Commissioner. |
Follow Live
| Message | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Couldn't load competitions." / "Couldn't start Follow." / "Couldn't stop Follow." / "Live Follow is temporarily unavailable." | The Follow Live control could not reach the server. | Try again in a moment. |
| "Sign in to follow this round." | Follow needs a signed-in member. | Sign in. |
| "Live Activities are turned off on this iPhone. Enable them for Ringer in Settings." | iOS setting. | Turn on Live Activities for Ringer. |
| "Choose a competition" / "Choose a competition available in this round." | Several games, none picked. | Pick one in the sheet. |
| "This round is final" / "Available when the round starts" | Follow is only for live rounds. | Nothing to do. |