How to Check If Your Network or Firewall Is Blocking Helperbird

Helperbird checks your subscription against our server, engine.helperbird.app. If your network blocks that address, Helperbird cannot see your subscription and falls back to Free, however valid your key or login is.

The test below tells you whether that is what is happening.

Step 1: Run the Firewall Test

Open https://engine.helperbird.app/firewall/ (opens in a new tab) in the browser where Helperbird is installed, on the network you are having trouble on.

If the page loads and tells you nothing is blocking you, your network is clear. Move to Step 3.

If the page will not load, times out, or shows a block notice from your school or workplace filter, your network is blocking us. Move to Step 2.

Step 2: Ask Your IT Team to Allow Our Server

Send them one line: please allow engine.helperbird.app over HTTPS.

Two things are worth flagging to them:

• A proxy can still get in the way after the domain is allowed. If the test keeps failing, ask them to check their proxy and SSL inspection settings, which can interfere with extension traffic.
• A few features need Microsoft Azure as well. Our full list is on domains to whitelist for Helperbird. That page is written for IT teams, so it is the one to forward.

Once the change is live, run the test in Step 1 again.

Step 3: Get Help If the Test Passes

If the test says you are clear and Pro still will not unlock, the block is not the cause. Work through Helperbird subscription not activating, which covers the stuck states we see most.

Still no luck? Email [email protected] and tell us you have already run the firewall test, along with the browser you are using. That skips a round of questions and we can look your subscription up straight away.

What a Block Stops

Everything below talks to the same server, so a block takes out more than unlocking:

• Helperbird Pro will not unlock. The extension asks our server whether your subscription is active and treats no answer as Free.
• Summarize, Simplify, Translate, Grammar and Dictionary return nothing. They run on our server, not in your browser.
• Screenshot Reader cannot read a capture. The image is sent to our server to be turned into text and equations.
• Immersive Reader will not open. It needs a token from our server before it can start.
• The natural Pro voices go quiet. Their token comes from our server too. The built-in browser voices carry on working, so read aloud still speaks, in a plainer voice.

Need Additional Help?

If you are still stuck after checking your network and firewall, reach out to our Helperbird support team. We're here to help!