Windows Client Error: rpc error: code = PermissionDenied desc = invalid user #1545

@d-givens commented on GitHub (Jan 10, 2025):

I had the same issue in the free tier, but it seemed like the issue was caused by the user's machine itself. The user's machine was included in another free tier group, having that machine removed everywhere else except my group fixed the issue. Maybe if a machine is included in a free tier it can't be included elsewhere?

We're both self-hosted instead of free tier.

@d-givens commented on GitHub (Jan 10, 2025): > I had the same issue in the free tier, but it seemed like the issue was caused by the user's machine itself. The user's machine was included in another free tier group, having that machine removed everywhere else except my group fixed the issue. Maybe if a machine is included in a free tier it can't be included elsewhere? We're both self-hosted instead of free tier.

saavagebueno commented

@K0-RR commented on GitHub (Jan 11, 2025):

I'm having the same issue on Ubuntu 22.04 (free tier) so it's not Windows-related.

@K0-RR commented on GitHub (Jan 11, 2025): I'm having the same issue on Ubuntu 22.04 (free tier) so it's not Windows-related.

saavagebueno commented

@samf-acacia commented on GitHub (Jan 12, 2025):

@d-givens The exact same problem.............

Except 3 users in about 20 users see this problem.

@samf-acacia commented on GitHub (Jan 12, 2025): @d-givens The exact same problem............. Except 3 users in about 20 users see this problem.

saavagebueno commented

@bsmithuk commented on GitHub (Jan 13, 2025):

Same bandwagon but on Fedora 41.

@bsmithuk commented on GitHub (Jan 13, 2025): Same bandwagon but on Fedora 41.

saavagebueno commented

@serhiicherepanov commented on GitHub (Jan 13, 2025):

macos - same issue, the issue appears in case when the same peer already exists by another user. In my case I was authenticated as admin previously.

@serhiicherepanov commented on GitHub (Jan 13, 2025): macos - same issue, the issue appears in case when the same peer already exists by another user. In my case I was authenticated as admin previously.

saavagebueno commented

@samf-acacia commented on GitHub (Jan 16, 2025):

macos - same issue, the issue appears in case when the same peer already exists by another user. In my case I was authenticated as admin previously.

Yeah we tried this but were still getting the same error :(

@samf-acacia commented on GitHub (Jan 16, 2025): > macos - same issue, the issue appears in case when the same peer already exists by another user. In my case I was authenticated as admin previously. Yeah we tried this but were still getting the same error :(

saavagebueno commented

@bsmithuk commented on GitHub (Jan 16, 2025):

Fix for me was absolutely nuking the install and rm any directories connected to netbird and disconnecting tailscale. Fixed it for me.

@bsmithuk commented on GitHub (Jan 16, 2025): Fix for me was absolutely nuking the install and rm any directories connected to netbird and disconnecting tailscale. Fixed it for me.

saavagebueno commented

@d-givens commented on GitHub (Jan 17, 2025):

Fix for me was absolutely nuking the install and rm any directories connected to netbird and disconnecting tailscale. Fixed it for me.

This is on the client side that you're removing the install?

@d-givens commented on GitHub (Jan 17, 2025): > Fix for me was absolutely nuking the install and rm any directories connected to netbird and disconnecting tailscale. Fixed it for me. This is on the client side that you're removing the install?

saavagebueno commented

@bsmithuk commented on GitHub (Jan 17, 2025):

Yep correct removed client install completely

On January 17, 2025 2:45:28 PM GMT, d-givens @.***> wrote:

Fix for me was absolutely nuking the install and rm any directories connected to netbird and disconnecting tailscale. Fixed it for me.

This is on the client side that you're removing the install?

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Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub:
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@bsmithuk commented on GitHub (Jan 17, 2025): Yep correct removed client install completely On January 17, 2025 2:45:28 PM GMT, d-givens ***@***.***> wrote: >> Fix for me was absolutely nuking the install and rm any directories connected to netbird and disconnecting tailscale. Fixed it for me. > >This is on the client side that you're removing the install? > >-- >Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub: >https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/issues/3158#issuecomment-2598523770 >You are receiving this because you commented. > >Message ID: ***@***.***>

saavagebueno commented

@samf-acacia commented on GitHub (Jan 20, 2025):

Yep correct removed client install completely
…

I've actually tried this and it worked briefly but after a day it started happening again.

@samf-acacia commented on GitHub (Jan 20, 2025): > Yep correct removed client install completely > […](#) I've actually tried this and it worked briefly but after a day it started happening again.

saavagebueno commented

@Phillipjacob commented on GitHub (Feb 4, 2025):

Same issue OSX, self hosted with zitadel and google workspace, it only appears when using google login.

@Phillipjacob commented on GitHub (Feb 4, 2025): Same issue OSX, self hosted with zitadel and google workspace, it only appears when using google login.

saavagebueno commented

@wldhg commented on GitHub (Feb 5, 2025):

Same issue (Windows 11), in the team plan. We're using Google Workspace login. Resolved by restarting netbird app.

@wldhg commented on GitHub (Feb 5, 2025): Same issue (Windows 11), in the team plan. We're using Google Workspace login. Resolved by restarting netbird app.

saavagebueno commented

@caa commented on GitHub (Feb 18, 2025):

Same issue on Windows 11, Netbird agent version 0.36.7 doing a test rollout on the free hosted plan. Reinstalling the Netbird agent didn't work. Uninstalling the agent, deleting C:\ProgramData\Netbird, then installing the agent allowed the user's account to connect successfully.

@caa commented on GitHub (Feb 18, 2025): Same issue on Windows 11, Netbird agent version 0.36.7 doing a test rollout on the free hosted plan. Reinstalling the Netbird agent didn't work. Uninstalling the agent, deleting _C:\ProgramData\Netbird_, then installing the agent allowed the user's account to connect successfully. <img width="437" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/ad8992b3-7634-4d61-8317-f9f89f5fe905" /> <img width="283" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/b8e645b3-060e-4364-be0e-92d6e410a74e" />

saavagebueno commented

@mlsmaycon commented on GitHub (Feb 19, 2025):

The invalid user issue happens when you try to authenticate an existing peer using a different user. This is common when you have a shared computer or a personal and company NetBird account. Can you please review that and confirm that this is not the case?

@mlsmaycon commented on GitHub (Feb 19, 2025): The invalid user issue happens when you try to authenticate an existing peer using a different user. This is common when you have a shared computer or a personal and company NetBird account. Can you please review that and confirm that this is not the case?

saavagebueno commented

@Phillipjacob commented on GitHub (Feb 19, 2025):

The invalid user issue happens when you try to authenticate an existing peer using a different user. This is common when you have a shared computer or a personal and company NetBird account. Can you please review that and confirm that this is not the case?

I'm not sure I follow @mlsmaycon ? I have two accounts, but same netbird instance.

@Phillipjacob commented on GitHub (Feb 19, 2025): > The invalid user issue happens when you try to authenticate an existing peer using a different user. This is common when you have a shared computer or a personal and company NetBird account. Can you please review that and confirm that this is not the case? I'm not sure I follow @mlsmaycon ? I have two accounts, but same netbird instance.

saavagebueno commented

@mlsmaycon commented on GitHub (Feb 19, 2025):

@Phillipjacob if you have two NetBird accounts and a single machine, you need to remove the node from one account in order to login into a new account. As an alternative, you can remove the configuration from your machine, which is located at /etc/netbird/config.json (MacOS or Linux) or C:\ProgramData\Netbird\config.json (Windows)

@mlsmaycon commented on GitHub (Feb 19, 2025): @Phillipjacob if you have two NetBird accounts and a single machine, you need to remove the node from one account in order to login into a new account. As an alternative, you can remove the configuration from your machine, which is located at /etc/netbird/config.json (MacOS or Linux) or C:\ProgramData\Netbird\config.json (Windows)

saavagebueno commented

@Phillipjacob commented on GitHub (Feb 19, 2025):

@Phillipjacob if you have two NetBird accounts and a single machine, you need to remove the node from one account in order to login into a new account. As an alternative, you can remove the configuration from your machine, which is located at /etc/netbird/config.json (MacOS or Linux) or C:\ProgramData\Netbird\config.json (Windows)

@mlsmaycon that did it. So it is only possible to have one account on a machine ?

@Phillipjacob commented on GitHub (Feb 19, 2025): > [@Phillipjacob](https://github.com/Phillipjacob) if you have two NetBird accounts and a single machine, you need to remove the node from one account in order to login into a new account. As an alternative, you can remove the configuration from your machine, which is located at /etc/netbird/config.json (MacOS or Linux) or C:\ProgramData\Netbird\config.json (Windows) @mlsmaycon that did it. So it is only possible to have one account on a machine ?

saavagebueno commented

@caa commented on GitHub (Feb 19, 2025):

I'm 99% sure that this is what happened. User A signed in with their OS user account and their Netbird account on this peer (computer). Then User B signed in with a different OS user account and their Netbird account on this same peer, which is why they got the invalid user error.

The invalid user issue happens when you try to authenticate an existing peer using a different user. This is common when you have a shared computer or a personal and company NetBird account. Can you please review that and confirm that this is not the case?

I think it would make sense to put the config files in C:\Users\Username\AppData rather than C:\ProgramData\Netbird. I know that this would require a lot of changes. For instance, which Netbird account should be used after a reboot?

So it is only possible to have one account on a machine ?

@caa commented on GitHub (Feb 19, 2025): I'm 99% sure that this is what happened. User A signed in with their OS user account and their Netbird account on this peer (computer). Then User B signed in with a different OS user account and their Netbird account on this same peer, which is why they got the _invalid user_ error. > The invalid user issue happens when you try to authenticate an existing peer using a different user. This is common when you have a shared computer or a personal and company NetBird account. Can you please review that and confirm that this is not the case? I think it would make sense to put the config files in `C:\Users\Username\AppData` rather than `C:\ProgramData\Netbird`. I know that this would require a lot of changes. For instance, which Netbird account should be used after a reboot? > So it is only possible to have one account on a machine ?

saavagebueno commented

@MYMaj commented on GitHub (May 1, 2025):

That worked for me too

I'm 99% sure that this is what happened. User A signed in with their OS user account and their Netbird account on this peer (computer). Then User B signed in with a different OS user account and their Netbird account on this same peer, which is why they got the invalid user error.

The invalid user issue happens when you try to authenticate an existing peer using a different user. This is common when you have a shared computer or a personal and company NetBird account. Can you please review that and confirm that this is not the case?

I think it would make sense to put the config files in C:\Users\Username\AppData rather than C:\ProgramData\Netbird. I know that this would require a lot of changes. For instance, which Netbird account should be used after a reboot?

So it is only possible to have one account on a machine ?

@MYMaj commented on GitHub (May 1, 2025): That worked for me too > I'm 99% sure that this is what happened. User A signed in with their OS user account and their Netbird account on this peer (computer). Then User B signed in with a different OS user account and their Netbird account on this same peer, which is why they got the _invalid user_ error. > > > The invalid user issue happens when you try to authenticate an existing peer using a different user. This is common when you have a shared computer or a personal and company NetBird account. Can you please review that and confirm that this is not the case? > > I think it would make sense to put the config files in `C:\Users\Username\AppData` rather than `C:\ProgramData\Netbird`. I know that this would require a lot of changes. For instance, which Netbird account should be used after a reboot? > > > So it is only possible to have one account on a machine ?

saavagebueno commented

@mashraf92 commented on GitHub (Jun 25, 2025):

I am also encountering this persistent configuration issue on my macOS device. Despite a full uninstallation of the Netbird agent and manual removal of its configuration files, the problem remains.

Separately, other devices are successfully connecting to my network, but they are not appearing in the peer list on the app.netbird.io dashboard. I would like to know if this peer visibility problem is related to the above mentioned issue.

@mashraf92 commented on GitHub (Jun 25, 2025): I am also encountering this persistent configuration issue on my macOS device. Despite a full uninstallation of the Netbird agent and manual removal of its configuration files, the problem remains. Separately, other devices are successfully connecting to my network, but they are not appearing in the peer list on the app.netbird.io dashboard. I would like to know if this peer visibility problem is related to the above mentioned issue.

saavagebueno commented

@nazarewk commented on GitHub (Jun 25, 2025):

@mashraf92

I am also encountering this persistent configuration issue on my macOS device. Despite a full uninstallation of the Netbird agent and manual removal of its configuration files, the problem remains.

Are you sure you did all of the following?

netbird service stop
remove /etc/netbird/config.json
netbird service start

I've added more explicit instructions to the docs https://github.com/netbirdio/docs/pull/379

Separately, other devices are successfully connecting to my network, but they are not appearing in the peer list on the app.netbird.io dashboard. I would like to know if this peer visibility problem is related to the above mentioned issue.

Are you an Admin/Owner of the account? Do you have access to the full dashboard at all?

If you are an Admin and you're not seeing the Peers it most likely means the users are logging in to a different NetBird account than you do.

If you are just a regular User you will only see your own Peers in the Dashboard.

@nazarewk commented on GitHub (Jun 25, 2025): @mashraf92 > I am also encountering this persistent configuration issue on my macOS device. Despite a full uninstallation of the Netbird agent and manual removal of its configuration files, the problem remains. Are you sure you did all of the following? 1. `netbird service stop` 2. remove `/etc/netbird/config.json` 3. `netbird service start` I've added more explicit instructions to the docs https://github.com/netbirdio/docs/pull/379 > Separately, other devices are successfully connecting to my network, but they are not appearing in the peer list on the app.netbird.io dashboard. I would like to know if this peer visibility problem is related to the above mentioned issue. Are you an `Admin`/`Owner` of the account? Do you have access to the full dashboard at all? If you are an `Admin` and you're not seeing the Peers it most likely means the users are logging in to a different NetBird account than you do. If you are just a regular `User` you will only see your own Peers in the Dashboard.

saavagebueno commented

@DiyRex commented on GitHub (Jun 26, 2025):

Netbird Peer Conflict Fix (Client Side)

sudo rm /etc/netbird/config.json
sudo rm -rf ~/.netbird/
sudo rm -rf /var/lib/netbird/
sudo rm -rf /Library/Application\ Support/netbird/

then up netbird again

this worked for me.

@DiyRex commented on GitHub (Jun 26, 2025): Netbird Peer Conflict Fix (Client Side) sudo rm /etc/netbird/config.json sudo rm -rf ~/.netbird/ sudo rm -rf /var/lib/netbird/ sudo rm -rf /Library/Application\ Support/netbird/ then up netbird again this worked for me.

saavagebueno commented

@mashraf92 commented on GitHub (Jun 27, 2025):

Still stuck on this even though I signed on different devices with same credentials Admin On other devices I signed in to same account but this screen is stuck on app.netbird.io.

Also I tried to the above shared steps and the issue is resolved but not able to see the device as peer in the dashboard

@mashraf92 commented on GitHub (Jun 27, 2025): Still stuck on this even though I signed on different devices with same credentials `Admin` On other devices I signed in to same account but this screen is stuck on app.netbird.io. Also I tried to the above shared steps and the issue is resolved but not able to see the device as peer in the dashboard ![Image](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/e7ccb380-1fa8-4c66-9998-480b4dfc61be)

saavagebueno commented