Troubleshoot Common Errors

This guide covers common MAITO errors and their solutions, organized by category.

DeepL Errors

”Invalid API Key”

Symptom: Cannot connect to DeepL, authentication failed message.

Possible Causes:

• Incomplete API key copied
• Wrong API type (regular DeepL Pro vs DeepL API)
• Account not activated
• Typo in key entry

Solutions:

1. Log into DeepL account
2. Copy complete API key (including :fx for Free plans)
3. Paste carefully into MAITO Settings
4. Verify account is active and verified

”Quota Exceeded”

Symptom: Translation fails with quota message.

For Free Plan:

• You’ve used all 500,000 monthly characters
• Solution: Wait until next month, or upgrade to Pro

For Pro Plan:

• Payment method issue
• Insufficient credit
• Solution: Check DeepL billing, update payment method

”Cannot Reach DeepL API”

Symptom: Connection timeout, network error.

Possible Causes:

• No internet connection
• Firewall blocking MAITO
• DeepL service down
• VPN/proxy issues

Solutions:

1. Check internet connection (open browser, test website)
2. Temporarily disable firewall/antivirus
3. Check DeepL status: https://status.deepl.com
4. Disable VPN temporarily
5. Restart MAITO
6. Switch to Local AI temporarily

”Domain Mismatch” Error

Symptom: API key works but wrong endpoint selected.

Cause: Free plan key used with Pro endpoint or vice versa.

Solution:

1. Open Settings → Translation tab
2. Check DeepL Domain dropdown:
   • Free keys (ending in :fx) → select Free
   • Pro keys → select Pro
3. MAITO usually auto-detects, but verify if errors occur

Local Translation Errors

”Model Loading Failed”

Symptom: Local AI won’t initialize, error on startup.

Possible Causes:

• Model files corrupted
• Insufficient memory
• Disk space full
• Anti-virus quarantined files

Solutions:

1. Verify Disk Space:

   • Models need 2-8GB
   • Check Settings → Translation → Storage Info
   • Free space if needed

2. Restart MAITO:

   • Close completely (system tray)
   • Relaunch

3. Re-download Model:

   • Settings → Translation → Available Models
   • Delete corrupted model
   • Download again

4. Check Anti-virus:

   • Add MAITO to exclusions
   • Check quarantine for .onnx files
   • Restore if found

”Repetition Loop Detected”

Symptom: Translation gets stuck repeating same word/phrase.

Cause: LLM model occasionally enters repetition loop with very long or complex texts.

Solutions:

1. Break text into smaller chunks:

   • Translate paragraph by paragraph
   • Use sections under 1,000 characters

2. Simplify structure:

   • Remove complex formatting
   • Break long sentences
   • Simplify nested clauses

3. Try different model:

   • Download alternative model
   • Some models handle long texts better

4. Switch to DeepL:

   • For problematic texts, use DeepL
   • Local AI works best for shorter content

”Cannot Allocate Memory”

Symptom: Translation starts but crashes with memory error.

Cause: System doesn’t have enough available RAM for the model’s context window.

Solutions:

1. Close Other Applications:

   • Free up RAM
   • Close browsers, large apps
   • Check Task Manager

2. Restart Computer:

   • Clears memory leaks
   • Frees cached memory

3. Use Smaller Texts:

   • Translate shorter passages
   • MAITO auto-adjusts context window for low RAM

4. Upgrade RAM:

   • Consider adding more RAM
   • 8GB recommended for smooth experience

Slow Translation Speed (<1 token/sec)

Symptom: Local AI is extremely slow or appears frozen.

Solutions:

1. Check System Requirements:

   • See Why Is Local Slow
   • Review device assessment in Settings

2. Close Background Apps:

   • Free CPU/memory resources
   • Disable unnecessary startup programs

3. Try CPU-Optimized Model:

   • Rosetta 4B CPU model recommended
   • Better performance on older hardware

4. Benchmark Your System:

   • Settings → Translation → Run Benchmark
   • Compare with expected performance

5. Consider DeepL:

   • For better experience on lower-end hardware
   • Local AI may not be suitable for your system

Local Document Translation Errors

”A translation is already in progress”

Symptom: You try to start a second document, or the Text page, Webpage page and global hotkey are all blocked.

Cause: The local model handles one translation at a time. While a document is running, every other translation surface is locked out.

Solutions:

• Wait for the current document to finish, or press Cancel on the progress panel
• Close the MAITO window while you wait: it keeps translating from the system tray and notifies you when it is done
• Use DeepL if you need to keep translating text while a long document runs

”The selected file type is not supported”

Cause: The format is not supported by the active engine.

Solutions:

• Local AI accepts .txt, .doc, .docx and .pdf
• DeepL accepts .docx, .pptx, .pdf, .txt and .html
• For a PowerPoint or HTML file, switch to DeepL
• Otherwise convert the file to a supported format

”The selected document is too large”

Cause: The file is over MAITO’s 20 MB limit.

Solutions:

• Compress the document (high-resolution images are usually the cause)
• Split it into several smaller files
• Export just the text-bearing pages

A PDF Is Refused

MAITO checks a PDF before translating it and refuses three cases, with the reason shown on screen:

PDF Output Looks Wrong

Symptom: Content has shifted, a table has broken up, or annotations are gone.

Cause: PDF translation is best-effort. MAITO converts the PDF to Word, translates it, and renders it back, and some layout information does not survive that round trip.

Solutions:

• Translate a Word version of the document if one exists - the result is much better
• Tick Save translated output as Word document (.docx) instead of PDF and fix the layout in Word
• Use DeepL for PDFs where layout fidelity matters most

The Translated Document Has a Watermark

Cause: The PDF conversion component could not reach its activation servers for more than seven days and fell back to trial mode.

Solution: Connect to the internet once and translate the PDF again.

”Sorry, something went wrong while opening the selected document”

Cause: The file is open in another application.

Solution: Close it in Word, Acrobat or wherever it is open, then try again.

Where Did My Translated Document Go?

MAITO saves it next to the original, with the target language code appended: report.docx becomes report_de.docx. The Documents page shows the full path after translation, with a button to open the containing folder.

Installation & Startup Errors

”MAITO Won’t Start”

Symptom: Double-clicking icon does nothing or crashes immediately.

Solutions:

1. Check System Requirements:

   • Windows 10.0.19041.0+
   • x64 architecture (not x86)
   • Verify via Windows Settings

2. Run as Administrator:

   • Right-click MAITO icon
   • Select “Run as administrator”

3. Reinstall MAITO:

   • Uninstall via Windows Settings
   • Download fresh installer
   • Install again

4. Check .NET Runtime:

   • MAITO requires .NET 9.0
   • Usually installed automatically
   • Manually download if needed

”Update Failed” Error

Symptom: Auto-update fails to apply.

Solutions:

1. Restart MAITO:

   • Close completely
   • Relaunch (update should apply)

2. Check Disk Space:

   • Updates need temporary space
   • Free up space if low

3. Manual Download:

   • Visit maito.me
   • Download latest version
   • Install manually

”License Validation Failed”

Symptom: License error, trial expired message.

For Trial Users:

• Trial period ended (14 days)
• Purchase license to continue

For Licensed Users:

• Check internet connection (one-time validation)
• Verify license key entered correctly
• Contact support if issue persists

Translation Quality Issues

Wrong Language Detected

Symptom: Auto-detect picks wrong source language.

Solutions:

1. Manually Select Language:

   • Disable “Auto Detect”
   • Choose correct source language
   • MAITO remembers for next time

2. Check Text Quality:

   • Mixed languages confuse detection
   • Remove foreign words/phrases
   • Translate pure-language text

3. Minimum Text Length:

   • Very short texts hard to detect
   • Use at least 10-20 characters
   • Add context if possible

Poor Translation Quality

Symptom: Translation doesn’t make sense or sounds unnatural.

For DeepL:

• DeepL is generally very accurate
• Check source text isn’t corrupted
• Try adjusting formality setting
• Report persistent issues to DeepL

For Local AI:

• Local AI quality lower than DeepL
• Best for general understanding
• Switch to DeepL for professional quality
• Try different model (Rosetta recommended)

Formatting Lost in Translation

Symptom: Line breaks, paragraphs missing in output.

Cause: Some models struggle with complex formatting.

Solutions:

• Use document translation for formatted content - both engines now support it, and the Word pipeline preserves headings, lists, tables and character formatting
• Manually restore formatting after translation
• Break into smaller, simpler chunks

Performance Issues

High CPU/Memory Usage

Symptom: MAITO uses excessive system resources.

Normal Behavior:

• During local translation: High CPU (50-100%) is normal
• With model loaded: 2-4GB memory usage normal

If Excessive:

1. Check no translations running in background
2. Restart MAITO
3. Close other applications
4. Update to latest MAITO version

MAITO Freezes or Hangs

Symptom: UI becomes unresponsive.

Solutions:

1. Wait 30 Seconds:

   • Model initialization takes time
   • Large text processing can pause UI

2. Force Close:

   • Task Manager → End Task
   • Relaunch MAITO

3. Clear Cache:

   • Settings → Advanced → Clear Cache
   • Restart MAITO

4. Reinstall:

   • Uninstall MAITO
   • Delete %APPDATA%\Pangaia Software\MAITO folder
   • Reinstall fresh

Global Hotkey Issues

Ctrl+C, C Not Working

Symptom: Hotkey doesn’t trigger translation.

Solutions:

1. Verify Hotkey Enabled:

   • Settings → General → Enable Global Hotkey ✅

2. Check Timing:

   • Press C within 0.75 seconds
   • Adjust timing window in Settings
   • Practice the rhythm

3. MAITO Running:

   • Check system tray for icon
   • Relaunch if closed

4. Application Compatibility:

   • Some apps block global hotkeys
   • Try in different application
   • Paste directly into MAITO as alternative

See full guide: Use Global Hotkey

Getting More Help

Log Files

For technical support, MAITO generates log files:

Location: %APPDATA%\Pangaia Software\MAITO\logs

Include When Reporting:

• Latest log file
• Screenshot of error
• Steps to reproduce

Contact Support

Email: contact@pangaia.software

Include in Email:

• MAITO version (Help → About)
• Windows version
• Error message (exact text)
• What you were doing when error occurred
• Log files if requested

Community Resources

• Contact: https://maito.me/contact
• FAQ: https://maito.me/#faq

Related Articles

• Why Is Local Slow - Performance explanations
• DeepL vs Local - Choosing the right engine
• Model Management - Managing local models
• Benchmark Performance - Testing your system