I’m encountering an issue where the Delta Chat client gets permanently stuck on the “Establishing connection, please wait…” screen whenever I try to use the app or send a message.
Because Delta Chat operates over email, I have thoroughly verified my server-side configuration. My IMAP (port 993) and SMTP (ports 465 and 587) are fully operational, actively listening, and successfully process regular email traffic outside of the Delta Chat app without any issues.
From my logs, the client repeatedly attempts to connect but hangs in the UI. I have even tried forcing the client to connect via a stable IPv4 IP rather than the domain name to bypass any potential IPv6 routing issues, but the UI remains stuck.
Could you please advise on what internal process might be causing this loop? Is there a known issue with how the client handles rate limiting, background synchronization, or specific Dovecot/Postfix configurations that causes the UI to hang indefinitely even when the backend is healthy?
I think some parts of your question would need clarification if you would like to get answers. What do you mean by “hangs in the UI”?
Do you have a client or a server problem? Does your server work for other clients, both DC and non-DC? Does your client work correctly with other standard chatmail servers residing in other countries? Are you impacted by a censorship regime? Can you add relays to the client and is the quota displayed correctly? Can you receive messages from others?
Hi Ian, thank you for the follow-up. To clarify, here are the answers to your questions:
Client vs. Server: The issue is persistent across different platforms. The same email account fails to connect on both my Android device and my MacBook (Desktop client), getting stuck on ‘Establishing connection’ on both.
Server Functionality: My IMAP/SMTP server is fully functional for standard email clients (tested with Thunderbird and Apple Mail). It handles standard traffic, including sending and receiving, perfectly.
Testing with Other Servers: I have tested the Delta Chat app with other public chatmail servers, and it connects and works correctly. This isolates the issue to custom mail server configuration.
Censorship/Network: I am not currently behind any restrictive firewall or censorship regime that would block standard ports.
Relays/Quota: Since the client hangs during the initial handshake/connection phase, I cannot reach the stage where relays are configured or quotas are displayed.
To me, this suggests a compatibility issue between the Delta Chat core and my specific Dovecot/Postfix setup, or perhaps a strict authentication requirement that the client is failing to negotiate. Are there specific logs I can pull from the Delta Chat Android or Desktop clients to see exactly where the handshake is failing?"