Tag write or clear fails

When a write or clear cannot be done, the touchscreen shows Needs attention with a message and a BACK button. The browser shows the same message in the tag dialog. Find the message below.

If the screen says Finish writing this tag, Finish clearing this tag, Link not saved yet or Unlink not finished, go to Finish an interrupted tag operation instead.

The tag is refused

Nothing has been written when you see one of these.

Message	What it means	What to do
Incompatible tag: this release approves NXP 80 x 4-byte SLIX2 only	The tag is not an ICODE SLIX2.	Use a supported tag.
Unsupported or incomplete OpenPrintTag; refusing unknown data overwrite	The tag holds data that is neither blank nor OpenPrintTag, for example a phone format or a web link. The station will not overwrite or clear it.	Use a blank tag.
Tag has protected blocks	Part of the tag is locked.	The tag cannot be used. Take another one.
OpenPrintTag declares write protection	The tag's data says it must not be changed.	The tag cannot be rewritten by the station. Take another one.
Place exactly one stable NFC-V tag	No tag, or more than one, is on the reader.	Place one tag and keep it still.

The tag changed between review and writing

The station compares the tag with what it showed you on the review screen. If anything differs before writing starts, it stops and nothing is written.

Message	What to do
Unstable tag content; preview again	Reposition the tag so it reads steadily, then start again.
Tag generation changed; read and preview again	The tag was lifted or swapped. Start again from Manage tag. If this appears while the tag is being written, part of the tag may already be changed: put the same tag back and use FINISH WRITING / FINISH CLEARING.
Tag bytes changed after preview	Start again from Manage tag.
Spoolman settings changed; preview again before writing	The Spoolman settings were changed meanwhile. Start again.
Spoolman changed since this editor was opened. Refresh and review again.	Someone else edited the spool. Reload and review again.

The spool data cannot be put on a tag

Fix the record in Spoolman, then write again.

Message	What it means	What to do
Canonical metadata does not fit this tag; no bytes written	The spool's details need more space than the tag has.	Shorten long names or remove extra colours in Spoolman.
Spoolman has an unusable <field> value (wrong type or negative); correct it in Spoolman. No bytes written	The named value in Spoolman is negative or not a number (or not text, for a name).	Open that spool or filament in Spoolman, correct the named field, then preview the write again.
Spoolman diameter is not representable in integer micrometres	The filament diameter has too many decimals or is out of range.	Set a normal value such as 1.75 or 2.85 in Spoolman.
Canonical filament color is malformed	The filament colour is not 6 or 8 hex digits.	Correct the colour in Spoolman.
Canonical used_weight is missing or invalid	The spool has no valid used weight.	Set the used weight in Spoolman (0 for a new spool).
Canonical active Spoolman spool required	The spool is archived.	Un-archive it in Spoolman or choose another spool.
Spoolman is missing the Spool extra field…	Your Spoolman is older than 0.27 and the two extra fields do not exist.	Required extra fields
Spoolman links this tag to filament #N. Remove it from that filament in Spoolman first.	Spoolman 0.27 or later links the tag to a filament. Nothing was written.	Remove it from the filament in Spoolman. See Tag links in Spoolman's tag list.
Spoolman links this tag to two different spools; remove one of the links in Spoolman first	Two spools in Spoolman's tag list hold the tag. Nothing was written.	Remove the wrong link in Spoolman. Same page as above.
This tag is linked to spool #A by its extra field and to spool #B in Spoolman's tag list. Remove one of the links in Spoolman first.	The nfc_uid field and Spoolman's tag list disagree. Nothing was written.	Remove the wrong link in Spoolman. Same page as above.
Multiple NFC UID owners; clean up Spoolman before continuing	Two or more spools in Spoolman carry this tag's nfc_uid.	In Spoolman, empty nfc_uid and opentag_instance_uuid on the spool that should not have the tag.
Instance UUID belongs to another Spoolman spool	The unique ID for this tag is already saved on a different spool.	The same.

Some details are not written to the tag

This is a notice, not an error. The review page lists details from Spoolman that the tag cannot store: "Not written: …" on the touchscreen, a box headed "Not written to the tag:" in the browser. The rest of the tag is written normally.

You see	Why	What to do
material, material type (for example the material is "PLA Matte")	The material is longer than 7 characters, and only PLA, PETG, TPU, ABS, ASA, PC, PCTG, PP, PA6, PA11 and PA12 can be stored as a material type.	Write the tag anyway, or set the filament's material in Spoolman to one of those types (put "Matte" in the name instead) and write again.
name	The filament name is longer than 63 characters.	Shorten it in Spoolman if you want it on the tag.
maker	The vendor name is longer than 31 characters.	The same.
article number	Longer than 16 characters.	The same.
color	The filament has several colours; a tag holds one.	Nothing to do; the colours stay in Spoolman.

Details: Details that are not written to the tag.

Writing or clearing stopped part-way

Part of the tag may already be changed. Whenever the station offers FINISH WRITING or FINISH CLEARING, put the same tag back and use it. See Finish an interrupted tag operation.

Message	What it means	What to do
Block readback mismatch; write stopped	The station checked a block after writing it, and it did not match. Usually the tag moved.	Put the same tag back and finish.
Complete physical readback mismatch	The station read the whole tag after writing, and it did not match.	The same.
Final decoded semantic verification failed	The written tag does not hold the expected spool details.	The same.
Final blank verification failed	After clearing, the tag is not blank.	The same.
Tag removed, replaced, or multiple tags present	The tag moved or was swapped, or a second tag came into range.	Put the same tag back, alone. If the station offers to finish, do so; otherwise start again.
Physical NFC operation exceeded its bounded deadline	The operation took longer than two minutes.	Reposition the tag. If the station offers to finish, do so; otherwise try again.
The tag reader reported an error during this step. Try again.	The reader module reported a communication error while this write or clear was running. Errors from earlier reads do not count.	Keep the tag still on the reader and try again. If the station offers FINISH WRITING / FINISH CLEARING, use it. If the message comes back often, check the NFC wiring and power.
Torn/unknown block differs from both journal images; refusing rewrite	Part of the tag matches neither the old nor the new data.	The tag cannot be finished. Use SKIP RECOVERY and discard the tag. See Finish an interrupted tag operation.

The station is busy

Message	What to do
Station is busy. Please try again.	Wait a few seconds and try again.
Station response unavailable; try again	The same.
This is taking longer than usual. with BACK TO HOME	The station is waiting for Spoolman. Tap BACK TO HOME, check Spoolman, then open Manage tag again.
Tag workspace unavailable. Please restart.	Restart the station.
Another tag (…) has an unfinished write or clear…	Finish an interrupted tag operation