Troubleshoot Desktop App

If you have both a freelancer and client account, make sure that you are logged out of your client account on Upwork.com. You will not be able to access the Time Tracker or contracts if you are logged into your client account.

1. Go to App settings (right-click on the tray icon) Settings Sign out
2. Quit the app
3. Go to Upwork.com in your browser (not the app) and switch to your freelancer profile
4. Reopen the app
5. Select Log in to Upwork
6. Choose Open Upwork when prompted on the browser. The Time Tracker should appear

Be sure to restart the app after making changes.

Step 1: Uninstall and reinstall the app

If the application was not installed properly, then uninstalling and then reinstalling may solve your issue. This may fix issues with the Time Tracker, or if the app isn’t appearing at all.

1. Close or quit the app
2. Make sure there are no Upwork processes running through the task manager on Windows, activity monitor on MacOS, or PIDs on Linux
3. Uninstall the app
4. Windows instructions
5. Mac Os instructions
6. Linux instructions
7. Remove all old files
8. Reinstall the app

Be sure to restart the app after making changes.

Step 2: Clear all Upwork tasks

If reinstalling the app didn’t work, clear all Upwork tasks from your task/activity monitor.

• Windows: Go to Task Manager Search for Upwork Clear/end all Upwork related processes
• Mac Os: Go to Activity Monitor Close all Upwork processes
• Linux: Clear/end all processes related to Upwork

Be sure to restart the app after making changes.

Step 3: Reconfigure browser redirects

If your browser does not allow redirects due to a security feature, we recommend using a different browser. You will need to access the Time Tracker through the browser login, which makes it important for a browser to allow redirects when attempting to launch the tracker.

1. Log in through the window that appears, which will take you to the Upwork website. Choose Open Upwork
2. The Time Tracker should appear. If you can only see Messages, check the other dropdown option for “Only seeing messages, not Time Tracker” above, within this article
3. You will be required to log in separately to use Messages within the app. After your initial browser login, select the Next options until another “Messages log in” window appears separately. Log in there as well
4. Navigate back to the tray on your desktop and right click on the Upwork app. At that time, you should have options to track time and access other tools

If the app does not initiate a loading pop-out, try to launch the app from your applications folder on your desktop.

Be sure to restart the app after making changes.

Step 1: Update the app

If the application was not installed properly or is not updated, then updating may solve your issue.

1. Close or quit the desktop app
2. Update the app to v.5.8.0.33 and FE2343 from the tray icon. If you do not see the app icon in the application tray, please search for the application so that it populates to the tray
3. Download the most up-to-date version for your respective operating system

Be sure to restart the app after making changes.

Step 2: Remove old versions of the desktop app

Any older version of the tracker needs to be removed from your operating system. To ensure full removal:

1. Uninstall the old version of the app
2. Remove any old files
3. Remove the cache folder
4. Download the most up-to-date version for your respective operating system

Be sure to restart the app after making changes.

Step 3: Clear all Upwork tasks

• Windows: Go to Task Manager > Search for Upwork > Clear/end all Upwork related processes
• Mac Os: Go to Activity Monitor > Close all Upwork processes

Be sure to restart the app after making changes.

Step 4: Delete the Upwork folder

Open the file explorer and use the search tool to navigate to the following:

• Windows - %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Upwork
• Mac - ~/Library/"Application Support"/Upwork

Be sure to restart the app after making changes.

Step 1: Remove old versions of the desktop app

1. Uninstall the old version of the app
2. Remove any old files
3. Remove the cache folder
4. Download the most up-to-date version for your respective operating system

Be sure to restart the app after making changes.

Step 2: Clear all Upwork tasks

Clear and end all processes related to Upwork.

Be sure to restart the app after making changes.

Step 3: Delete the Upwork folder

1. Open the file explorer and use search to navigate to Linux: ~/.Upwork
2. Delete the folder

Be sure to restart the app after making changes.

If you or an agency member or colleague have trouble logging on to the Upwork Desktop App, it could be a problem with the Sign in with Google feature. Try the following solution.

• Disable authorization via Google. Go to Profile Settings -> Connected services -> [Sign in with Google] -> Disconnecting, then reattempt login via the desktop app.
• Next, log in to your desktop app using your username only.

If the issue still persists, please contact Upwork Support directly for further review of your account settings.

For instructions on how to log time with the Upwork Desktop App see here.

If you are unable to log time on an hourly contract listed in the app, please close the app and log in to your Upwork account from your internet browser. Then, clear your cookies by going hereand restart the app.If the issue persists pleasereport the problem (see FAQ below). If your contract is not listed in the app please see below.

By default, only active, hourly contracts will appear in your list for time-tracking purposes. You can check your contract status here. If the contract is paused, has ended, or hasn’t started yet, you can’t log time to it. If the start date is in the future, it will activate that day at UTC 00:00 (not your local time).

If the contract is active but still isn’t available in the app, it most likely recently changed status. You can force a refresh of your contract list by selecting the refresh icon in the desktop app.

Fixed-Price contracts can be tracked using the Upwork Desktop App but they do not qualify for Hourly Protection, they only qualify for Fixed-Price Protection.

To turn on tracking for fixed-price contracts

• Select the Settingsoption from the menu
• Select the Advancedoption from the menu
• Turn on Track Time on Fixed-Price Projects

Important:Time logged on fixed-priced contracts is for tracking purposes only and willnot be counted towards your total work hours displayed on your profile.

The desktop app has a time-caching mode so you can continue logging time through minor Internet connection issues or Upwork site maintenance. Usually, the cache will automatically upload as soon as your connection is reestablished so the time can be included in your weekly invoices. The latest version of the desktop app can cache 24 hours at a time. Once it is full, you can no longer log time on any contract until the cache is uploaded. The most common causes of time-caching mode are:

• Upwork maintenance – Upwork undergoes periodic, and usually brief, downtime for maintenance. During this time, you can continue to work and your logged time will be held in the cache. It should reconnect and upload the cache within an hour
• Unstable Internet connection – The desktop app, especially when trying to upload logged time, requires a stable Internet connection. It should reconnect and upload the cache automatically as soon as the connection stabilizes, usually within a few minutes

Warning: Although it's available as a backup, we strongly recommend you avoid caching mode as much as possible.

If you do work in caching mode:

• Do not log time from another computer while you have a cache awaiting upload. This will prevent the cached time from uploading
• You must reconnect before the end of the weekly billing cycle to upload your cached time. It can’t be uploaded after the Work Diary is locked. If the cache fails to upload automatically, you cannot recover it manually

Uploading the cached time

Once you have a stable Internet connection, the cached time will upload automatically. You will know the cache is uploading when the desktop app status says “Online and uploading.” It will change to “Online” when the cached time has been completely uploaded to the server.

If you have an ongoing connectivity problem, the app will appear stuck in caching mode and fail to upload your time. The most common reasons for this are:

• Poor Internet connection
• TLS (required security protocols) disabled in your Windows Internet settings (how to fix)

The default time zone from the Time Tracker is UTC. If you believe you are missing hours after any cached time has been uploaded to the server please first check your Work Diarywhere you can update the view to your own time zone.If the issue persists pleasereport the problem (see FAQ below).

Here are the most common reasons for a failed download and how you can fix each:

• Firewall or proxy server issue – Contact your system administrator to allow access
• Poor Internet connection – It is important to make sure you have a strong and stable Internet connection before you download
• No administrator privileges – Check to see if you are the administrator of your computer and that you have enough space on your computer to download the application
• Inaccurate time/date settings – Check to make sure the time and date settings on your computer are correct
• Antivirus software is blocking the application – You can temporarily disable your antivirus program for just the time it takes to download, to avoid disruption. It may become necessary to add the desktop app to your antivirus whitelist

If the weekly hours limit is increased on a contract, it can take up to 24 hours for the update to reflect in the Upwork Desktop App. You can continue logging hours as long as it's within the updated weekly limit and the app will auto-update within 24 hours. If the weekly hours limit is decreased it won't take effect until the next working week.

Older versions of the desktop app can prevent the current version from running properly. Please ensure you only have one version of the desktop app installed on your machine. If you have more than one version, please uninstall all versions and then redownload and reinstall the latest version.

The Upwork Desktop App is completely safe. However, because it uses various API technologies to capture and record screenshots, some virus scans mistake this capturing and transmitting of information as potential spyware or malware.

We assure you that the information collected by the desktop app is kept private between you and those you work with on Upwork. The app poses no security threat to your computer system. Avoid getting these warnings or black screenshots in the future by adding the desktop app to your security scan's whitelist. In Webroot Antivirus you'll need to allow upwork.exe in "Identity Protection."

In some cases, the UpworkTeam App for Mac (more specifically the "Upwork Helper" process) will develop excessive CPU usage. If this occurs:

1. First, confirm you are running the latest version of the app. In most cases, upgrading will resolve the issue
2. If the issue persists, quit the Upwork Team App, open the Terminal on your Mac, and then run this command
   

   open Upwork.app --args --enable-gpu

3. You may need to repeat step 2 every time you open the app until the next time the app updates. When it asks to update, be sure to let it.

If you still experience problems, report the issue so we can help you. Here’s how:

1. Select your name at the lower left of the app
2. SelectSupport and Feedback
3. Enter the details of your issue and choose Send

Please provide an explanation of your issue with as much information as possible, including the date and time (in your time zone) that the incident occurred and the contract ID.

Our support team can assist you in a more efficient manner if you can provide specific details or screenshots of the problem you encountered, any error messages received, and whether the issue is ongoing.

If the problem prevents you from contacting us through the app, you can contact us here by using Get support. Please understand you may be asked to upload the log file manually and it could take a little longer to resolve the issue.

Do NOT press the Clear cache and restart button in the app preferences unless instructed by customer support. This reset option will wipe your app’s user data and restore the app to default settings. You will lose all preferences, user settings, saved credentials, and any un-uploaded time cache. You can’t undo this action. Afterward, it will be like you are logging in for the first time.

If an agent needs you to send in log files to help diagnose an issue, go to the location listed below, then create an archive of your log files to attach to your ticket.

• Windows: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Upwork\Upwork\Logs
• Mac: Open Finder > Go menu > Go to Folder > Enter "~/Library/Application Support/Upwork/Upwork/Logs"
• Linux: ~/.Upwork/Upwork/Logs/