Installation Troubleshooting

Agent Won’t Start

Check the service status:

sc query "ChildOnlineSafetyAgent"

If the service is stopped, try starting it:

sc start "ChildOnlineSafetyAgent"

Check the event log:

1. Open Event Viewer (eventvwr.msc)
2. Navigate to Windows Logs → Application
3. Look for entries from source ChildOnlineSafetyAgent

Device Shows as Offline

If the device appears offline in the portal:

1. Check the agent is running — see above
2. Check network connectivity — the device needs to reach cos-api.w3i.io over HTTPS (port 443)
3. Check firewall rules — ensure outbound HTTPS is not blocked
4. Check the API URL — verify config.toml has the correct url = "https://cos-api.w3i.io"

No Screenshots Appearing

If the device is active but no screenshots are showing in the portal:

1. Screenshot diff detection — if the screen content hasn’t changed, the agent skips the upload. Move a window or open something new, then check again after 30 seconds.
2. Check disk space — the agent needs temporary disk space for screenshots before upload
3. Multi-monitor — the agent captures all monitors. If one monitor is off or disconnected, it may not be captured.

MSI Installation Fails

• Ensure you’re running the installer as Administrator
• Check that no previous version of the agent is running (stop the service first)
• Try running from the command line for detailed error output:

  msiexec /i ChildOnlineSafety.msi /l*v install.log

  Review install.log for error details.

Agent Using Too Much Bandwidth

If you’re on a limited connection:

1. Go to the portal → device configuration
2. Increase the capture interval (e.g. from 30s to 60s)
3. Reduce JPEG quality (e.g. from 80 to 60)
4. Increase upload delay to throttle bandwidth
5. Enable batch upload to reduce HTTP overhead