Troubleshooting

This guide covers the most common issues in SalonVision AI and the fastest path to resolving each one. Issues are grouped by where in the workflow they occur.

Visualizer: Setup Errors

Generation button is not available

Cause: One or more prerequisites are not met. The Visualizer requires all three of the following before generation is enabled:

A client is selected
Consent has been confirmed for that client
A portrait photo has been uploaded

Fix: Check which step is incomplete. The Visualizer highlights the first unmet requirement. Complete each step in order.

Cause: No client has been selected yet. Consent is scoped to a specific client and cannot be confirmed without one active.

Fix: Select or create a client first, then return to the consent section.

Cause: Consultation sessions stay active for 48 hours. If you return to a client after the session has expired, you will need to re-confirm consent before generating.

Fix: Open the consent section and confirm again. A new consultation session will be created for that client.

Visualizer: Photo Issues

Take Photo opens a file picker instead of the camera

Cause: This is expected behavior on most desktop browsers. Desktop environments do not expose a direct camera capture interface the same way mobile browsers do.

Fix: On desktop, use drag and drop or Browse to upload a photo from your files. For live in-chair capture, use a mobile device or tablet where Take Photo will open the camera directly.

Uploaded photo appears low quality or blurry in the result

Cause: The source photo was low resolution, poorly lit, or not front-facing. AI generation quality is directly affected by portrait quality.

Fix: Use a clear, front-facing photo with even lighting. See Best Practices for specific photo guidance.

Cannot find the right photo in the gallery

Cause: Gallery images from multiple sources can accumulate and be difficult to distinguish without labels.

Fix: Use the source type labels to identify the correct image:

Uploaded -- a photo added directly
Generated -- an AI preview from a previous session
Final -- a real post-appointment photo

Use an Uploaded image as your portrait baseline. Avoid using Generated images as portrait inputs.

Generation Issues

Generation failed or timed out

Cause: AI generation occasionally fails due to API timeouts, network interruptions, or temporary service issues. This is not a quota event -- a failed generation does not consume a generation from your quota.

Fix: Wait a few seconds and click Generate New Look again. If the issue persists across multiple attempts, check your internet connection. If failures continue, the issue may be a temporary service disruption. Try again after a few minutes.

Generation quota reached

Cause: Your plan's monthly generation quota has been exhausted.

Fix: You have two options:

Purchase a generation pack: $5 for 25 additional generations, available on any plan
Upgrade to a higher plan for a larger monthly quota

On the Salon plan, quota is shared across all team members. If the shared pool is exhausted, the salon owner will need to purchase a generation pack or contact support about upgrading.

_Note: Paid plans and generation-pack purchases become available at general launch. During the private beta, contact support at support@salonvision.ai if you reach a limit._

Quotas reset on your billing cycle date each month.

The generated result changed the face or background

Cause: The AI is instructed to change only the hair while preserving the face, clothing, and background. Occasional variance can occur, particularly with low-quality portraits, unusual angles, or very complex style prompts.

Fix: Try the following in order:

Use a higher quality portrait (clear, front-facing, even lighting)
Simplify the style prompt -- remove conflicting or overly complex instructions
Generate again; results vary between attempts on the same inputs

The generated result does not match the style requested

Cause: Vague or abstract prompt language produces unpredictable results. Style words like "natural," "modern," or "beautiful" without structural descriptors are interpreted inconsistently by the AI.

Fix: Rewrite the prompt with specific structural language: length, cut shape, texture, fringe, part direction, and color. See Define Style Options for prompt structure guidance and examples.

Color changed the haircut shape too much

Cause: When color and style prompts are combined, the AI sometimes interprets color direction as an instruction to alter the overall style.

Fix: Switch Hair Color Presets to Keep current hairstyle mode. Keep the Add Details field concise -- long or conflicting refinement text can override the color intent.

Saving and Organization

Saved a look to the wrong client

Cause: The wrong client was active in the Visualizer when the look was saved. The Visualizer does not prevent saving to an incorrect client.

Fix: Currently there is no move function for looks between client records. To correct this:

Delete the look from the wrong client record.
Return to the Visualizer, select the correct client, and regenerate the look.

To avoid this in future, always confirm the active client name shown at the top of the Visualizer before generating.

Tags are not filtering correctly

Cause: Near-duplicate tags (for example colour and color) can split results across two filters.

Fix: Go to Settings > Tags and merge the duplicate tags into one. Merging updates all clients and looks that used either tag.

Appointment Prep Links

Client says the prep link is not working

Cause: The most common reasons are:

The link has expired (prep links expire 30 days after creation)
The link was deactivated
The token in the URL was corrupted when it was sent (some messaging apps break long URLs)

Fix:

Open the client record and check the prep link status.
If expired or deactivated, generate a new link and resend it.
If the URL may have been broken in transit, try sending it as a plain text link rather than embedded in a message.

Client hit the generation cap and cannot generate more previews

Cause: The client used all available generations set by the stylist's generation cap on that prep link.

Fix: The client can still submit their saved looks and add notes without generating more. If you want to give them additional previews, deactivate the current link and generate a new one with a higher cap.

Prep inbox shows no data or unread indicators are not updating

Cause: Authentication session issue or a temporary sync delay.

Fix: Sign out and sign back in to refresh your session. If the issue persists, reload the page and reopen the client record.

Client is not seeing stylist replies in the prep thread

Cause: There are no automatic notifications for prep thread activity. The client only sees new messages when they reopen the prep link.

Fix: After replying in the prep thread, manually contact your client and ask them to reopen the same prep link to see your feedback. See Appointment Prep Links for a suggested message template.

Portfolio

A look is not appearing on the public portfolio page

Cause: The look's portfolio visibility toggle is off, or the look was saved without the Add to Portfolio option enabled.

Fix: Open the look from the client record, scroll to the edit section in the Look Detail view, toggle Portfolio Visibility on, and save.

Portfolio page shows a broken URL after changing username

Cause: Your public portfolio URL is tied to your username. Changing it invalidates any previously shared links.

Fix: Update any links you have shared (Instagram bio, booking profiles, email signatures) with your new URL: salonvision.ai/p/yournewusername. There is no redirect from your old URL.

Account and Access

Salon workspace context is not appearing in the header

Cause: Your seat invitation may not have been accepted, or the invite link may have expired.

Fix: Ask the salon owner to check the invite status from Settings > Team Seats. If the invite has expired, they can revoke it and send a new one.

Cannot add more clients -- plan limit reached

Cause: You have reached the maximum number of client records for your current plan (Free: 1, Starter: 10).

Fix: Upgrade to Pro or Salon for unlimited clients. Existing client records are not affected when you hit the limit -- you just cannot add new ones until you upgrade.

Still Need Help?

If your issue is not covered here, contact support at support@salonvision.ai with a description of the problem and the steps you took before it occurred.

What Comes Next

Best Practices -- preventing common issues before they happen
Define Style Options -- improving generation results with better prompts
Appointment Prep Links -- full prep link workflow reference