PancakeSwap is one of the biggest decentralized exchanges built on the BNB chain. In other words, it allows you to swap various tokens built on that chain. We used it in one of our articles to swap ThetanCoin for BUSD (Binance USD) and cash it out.
However, a decentralized application of this size cannot do without problems, and sometimes, you may find yourself facing a problem that doesn’t have a clear solution.
Our team regularly uses various exchanges and swaps on many dApps. And even that doesn’t come without its problems.
Although PancakeSwap offers its page dedicated to Troubleshooting errors, we didn’t find it adequate.
So we come with our take and our guide on troubleshooting PancakeSwap errors. Buckle up, and let’s dive in!
Common types of errors that can be encountered when using PancakeSwap
Before we move to troubleshoot specific errors, let’s categorize dApp errors into a few categories. That way, you can better understand the reasons behind it and avoid any future issues.
Transaction Errors
Transactional errors are the most common ones.
dApps use transactions to record and transfer data on the blockchain. But the transaction can fail for some reason. You will see multiple examples of this error category later on.
Most often, this happens due to the following:
- A problem with the user’s internet connection when the decentralized application fails to establish a connection between your wallet and blockchain.
- You don’t have enough cryptocurrency in your wallet. This can show as a “not enough gas” type of error.
- Incorrect transaction data or a problem with the dApp itself. We recently encountered this type of error when PancakeSwap (or possibly MetaMask) had trouble associating the right key to our transaction.
Contract Errors
dApps, such as PancakeSwap, often use smart contracts, which are self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement between the parties – the two addresses that are closing a transaction – written into lines of code.
But the contract can sometimes contain errors or bugs that can prevent the dApp from functioning correctly. One of the common PancakeSwap errors: “TRANSFER_FROM_FAILED,” is caused by an error in the contract code. But more to that later.
Connection Errors
Similarly, as with transaction error caused by a user’s internet connection, connection error encountered on dApp occurs when there is a problem with establishing an adequate connection.
But this time, you won’t even get to the transaction stage. As there is an error with a connection between your wallet and the decentralized network.
System Errors
A system error occurs when there is an issue with the underlying system that the dApp is running on.
This can mean that the website hosting is crashing or the software the website is running on has issues. But also, the network that the dApp is using can be facing issues – a network such as the BNB chain for PancakeSwap.
System errors can be challenging to diagnose and fix from the user’s perspective, as they usually happen on the back end.
User Errors
User error is an error that is caused by the user’s action or input. This can be simply caused by entering incorrect information or using the dApp in a way that it was not intended to be used.
These are the easiest to troubleshoot by simply trying again or resetting your browser.
Security Errors
This type of error can happen when there is a problem with the security of the dApp. Security errors can be especially serious, as they can lead to the loss of users’ data or funds or even the compromise of the entire decentralized network that the dApp is running on.
This should be a problem on well-established and popular dApps like PancakeSwap, but be careful when transacting on small apps.
Now that you know what types of errors you can encounter, let’s learn to troubleshoot them on PancakeSwap!
INSUFFICIENT OUTPUT AMOUNT Error
The Insufficient output amount error usually occurs when your slippage tolerance is too low, or there is insufficient liquidity for your trade to pass.
To fix the Insufficient output amount error, you will need to increase your slippage tolerance. By default, the slippage is usually set somewhere around 1%, which is pretty low and often prevents the execution of a swap.
Head to PancakeSwap and select the trading pair you want to swap. Next, click the little gear icon and higher slippage tolerance. If the error repeats, raise it a little more until the swap goes through.
If you want to learn more about the insufficient output amount error on PancakeSwap, you can continue to our article dedicated to it.
Cannot Estimate Gas Error
Cannot Estimate Gas error on PancakeSwap means that the transaction cannot succeed because the platform cannot estimate the gas fees for that particular transaction.
This usually occurs when there are too many decimal places in the number of the token you are trying to swap. For instance, this error message could appear if you are swapping 10 BUSD for 2600.3578642 Thetan Coin (THC).
That’s because PancakeSwap has difficulty calculating your gas fee if there are too many decimals or the last decimal places are very randomized – as .5487363201.
To fix this error, try to increase your slippage tolerance or round up the number of tokens you are to receive. Thus instead of filling in the number of tokens you want to swap, fill in the number of tokens you wish to receive.
For a more detailed guide to this issue, check out our article on cannot estimate gas error here.
TRANSFER FROM FAILED Error
This error is mainly associated with new tokens that have just entered circulation. This is a problem related to the cryptocurrency code itself. What this means is that the token you bought is likely a scam.
You can try common solutions, like increasing your slippage tolerance or ensuring you have enough coins in your wallet. If none of these work, there is little you can do.
You can learn more about the transfer from failed error here.
Unsupported Chain ID Error
The Unsupported chain ID can occur when you are trying to swap tokens that are not on the BEP-20 chain, or you have the wrong chain selected in your wallet.
This error usually happens on the mobile version of PancakeSwap. Switch the application to your wallet and change your chain to BNB Smart Chain.
If you want to learn more about the unsupported chain ID error on PancakeSwap, you can continue to our article dedicated to it.
PancakeRouter: EXPIRED Error
PancakeRouter: Expired is yet the easiest error to troubleshoot. It is not caused by a bug in the code or by PancakeSwap.
You will get this error message when you take too long to confirm your transaction.
For security reasons, you cannot confirm your transaction after the deadline. But you must re-enter it as a new transaction instead.
You can either be faster with the confirmation. If that doesn’t seem to work, head to settings by tapping the little gear icon and increase your Tx deadline.
Set the deadline as high as you need, and try to confirm your transaction once again.
You can learn more about the PancakeRouter: Expired error here.
Pancake K Error
Pancake: K error is caused by an unspecified error causing your transaction to fail. Even the official PancakeSwap documentation does not directly mention the source of this error.
In most cases, the error occurs when you are trying to swap a large amount of your token.
To fix this error, try to modify your “from” or “to” amount to the not-rounded amount. For instance, if you are trying to swap 10,000 of token A, adjust the number to 10,001.
For a more detailed guide to this issue, check out our article on Pancake K error.
Price Impact Too High Error
The Price Impact Too High error is a safety mechanism that protects the liquidity of Decentralized Exchanges like PancakeSwap and its users.
The Price Impact algorithm calculates what % your transaction represents from the liquidity pool for each transaction. And based on that, it will increase the transaction price. The higher fee should discourage traders from making transactions that would make that significant impact.
And if your transaction amount represents a high percentage of the liquidity pool, it won’t let you through.
To fix this error, you can either wait for more liquidity to come in or divide your transaction into multiple smaller ones. With numerous smaller transactions, you won’t be able to transact the whole amount but at least a proportion of it.
Check out our article on the Price Impact Too High error for a more detailed guide to this issue.
Insufficient Balance Error
This simply means that you don’t have an adequate balance in your wallet. There are two possible scenarios for why this is happening to you.
- You have a low slippage tolerance, or
- You have the wrong version of your token – most commonly a wrong version of BNB
To fix this error, first, check if you are holding the correct version of your token on the right chain. This usually happens with the wrong version of BNB. PancakeSwap is operated on the BEP-20 chain, but BNB can also be held on the Beacon chain.
If you end up holding the wrong version of your token, you will need to bridge your token to the right chain. If you use a multichain wallet, you’ll be able to do that directly in it.
In the other case, send it to a multichain wallet or Cryptocurrency Exchange and then send it back to a wallet that supports BEP-20 and can be connected to PancakeSwap.
Conclusion
There are many errors that you can encounter on the PancakeSwap decentralized application. Fortunately, the vast majority are easy to solve.
And also many ways to troubleshoot these PancakeSwap errors. But what you should take away from this article, and the most common solution to almost all issues is increasing your slippage tolerance and simply trying again.
If that doesn’t work for your specific error, you can revisit our article and check other solutions.