Anki Syncing Error

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Hello,

When I try to Sync my Anki with ankihub between devices so my cards update it does not seem to be connecting to the server to be able to upload/download studied cards or decks that I have edited. When attempting to sync on my windows desktop or MacBook it does not work. I receive an error message on my mac (Attached below) describing a network error.

Any help is much appreciated.

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Thanks for the detailed description and screenshot—that helps a lot.

That specific error (“The certificate was not trusted”) means your Anki client can’t establish a secure connection to AnkiHub. This is almost always a local machine / network / certificate issue, not your cards or decks.

Here are some concrete steps to try, in order:

1. Check if it’s your network

  1. On the same device, open a browser and go to
    https://www.ankihub.net and https://api.ankihub.net
    • If either of those shows a certificate warning, your system or network is blocking or intercepting HTTPS.
  2. If possible, try:
    • A different Wi‑Fi network (home vs school/hospital), or
    • A hotspot from your phone.
  3. If it only fails on a school/work network, they may be doing SSL interception with their own certificate. In that case you’ll need to:
    • Sync from a non‑filtered network, or
    • Ask IT if they can whitelist *.ankihub.net.

2. Check system date/time and certificate store

Mismatched time or broken root certificates can cause this error.

On macOS:

  1. Make sure date, time, and timezone are correct (System Settings → General → Date & Time → “Set time and date automatically”).
  2. Restart the Mac.
  3. Open Keychain Access → look for any red‑X certificates or profiles installed by antivirus/VPN/IT policy. If you recently installed one, temporarily disable that software and try again.

On Windows:

  1. Check date/time/timezone as well.
  2. Disable any third‑party antivirus “HTTPS scanning” or web‑shield temporarily and test syncing again.
  3. If you use a VPN, disconnect and try again.

3. Test both AnkiWeb and AnkiHub

To narrow down the issue:

  1. Try a normal AnkiWeb sync (top‑right sync button in Anki, using your AnkiWeb account).
    • If AnkiWeb sync also fails with a certificate or network error, the issue is definitely your local network / certificates.
    • If AnkiWeb works but AnkiHub still fails, it’s more likely something specific about how your network treats *.ankihub.net.

4. Re‑install / update Anki + AnkiHub

  1. Make sure you’re on a current Anki version (from https://apps.ankiweb.net).
  2. In Anki:
    • Tools → Add-ons → select AnkiHub → Click View Files… and back up any config if needed.
    • Remove the AnkiHub add‑on.
    • Restart Anki.
    • Re‑install AnkiHub from the official code and log in again.

Then try syncing once more.

5. If it’s still not working

Please reply in that topic with:

  • Whether https://www.ankihub.net and https://api.ankihub.net load without certificate warnings in your browser on:
    • The Mac
    • The Windows PC
  • Whether AnkiWeb sync works normally.
  • Whether you are on:
    • School / hospital / work network
    • VPN
    • Any antivirus with “HTTPS inspection” enabled
  • Your:
    • macOS version
    • Windows version
    • Anki version (Help → About)
    • AnkiHub add‑on version (Tools → Add-ons → AnkiHub)

With that info we can better tell if this is a local certificate issue, a network filter, or something we need to investigate on the AnkiHub side.

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Hello,

I would be happy to help. :slight_smile:

Unfortunately it can be fairly difficult to troubleshoot network errors, since they’re typically on your local end

You might try a different network, or mobile hotspot, or similar. In a pinch, you might also reach out on the Anki forums in case they’re having any server issues atm: https://forums.ankiweb.net/

1 Like
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Hi Brian,

Thanks for the suggestion. I just tried a mobile hotspot and no luck, I’ll go ahead and make a post to the anki forums. Any other suggestions or things I can do before I just try to brute reinstall? I’d rather not lose the progress I made today.

Best,

Mike

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It’s really hard to say, honestly. It could be a lot of things, but since it appears to be a network issue there’s not much way for us to know. The issue appears to be between your local network and Anki, rather than AnkiHub, and I sort of necessarily don’t have much or any insight into their servers, I’m sorry to say

The classic examples are to fiddle with any firewalls, internet security, try different networks, etc. Sometimes it’s a work network, or school network, that just doesn’t play well with Anki. Sometimes it’s a temporary outage

In either case, the Anki forums should have a ton of posts on there, and likely they’ll be best-suited to help troubleshoot any issues with connecting to their network :mending_heart:

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You might be able to help with this one.. haha. I tried the suggestions on the forum board for the anki website about “optimizing” and now my sync button is red and it says “Ankihub sync cancelled”.

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It looks like you’ve sent in a couple of messages; I responded to your other one. :slight_smile:

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Apologies, where? i dont see the reply

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https://community.ankihub.net/t/unable-to-sync/582122/10