How do I fix rejected shares in XMRig?
To fix rejected shares in XMRig, start with the rejection message in its log: it tells you whether to check your connection, mining settings, or hardware. A few occasional rejections can happen, but a steady stream means you should troubleshoot before leaving your miner running.
Read the rejection reason first
XMRig is mining software that runs on your device, rather than inside your browser. It sends shares—small proofs of completed mining work—to your pool. A rejected share is work the pool did not accept or credit.
Look for the pool’s reason beside the rejected-share message. The wording varies, but common examples include:
- Stale or job not found: Your miner submitted work for a job the pool no longer accepts.
- Invalid result: The submitted calculation failed the pool’s check.
- Low difficulty: The share did not meet the pool’s required target.
- Duplicate share: The same result reached the pool more than once.
Check the pattern over a reasonable run, not just the first few submissions. One rejection among many accepted shares is different from every share being rejected.
Fix stale shares by checking your connection
Stale shares usually point to delayed work or an interrupted connection. Monero produces a block roughly every two minutes, and your miner needs fresh instructions when the pool changes jobs.
Try these steps:
- Choose the pool’s nearest recommended server.
- Use a wired connection if your Wi-Fi drops or has a weak signal.
- Pause large downloads and check whether a VPN is adding delay.
- Look for repeated disconnects or reconnects in XMRig’s log.
A mining proxy, which relays work between miners and a pool, adds another place where delays can occur. If you use one, test a direct pool connection to narrow down the cause.
Check the pool address, port, and algorithm
Copy your settings from the pool’s current XMRig instructions. Confirm its server address, port, wallet field, and any password options.
Monero uses RandomX, its mining calculation method. In XMRig, Monero’s algorithm is rx/0. An old configuration for CryptoNight, which Monero no longer uses, will not work correctly.
For low-difficulty rejections, remove any manually set share difficulty—the amount of work required for each submitted share—and use the pool’s recommended automatic setting. Also check that you selected a port intended for your type of miner.
Match the pool’s TLS setting, which controls connection encryption. A mismatch usually causes connection failures rather than rejected shares, so treat those as separate problems.
Investigate invalid or duplicate results
For repeated invalid results, return your processor and memory to their standard settings. Overclocking or reducing voltage can make mining calculations unreliable even when other apps seem fine.
Then:
- Check temperatures and cooling.
- Update XMRig from its official project source.
- Review startup warnings and self-test errors.
- Test a clean configuration against another reputable Monero pool.
For duplicates, investigate proxies or software that may resend submissions. Multiple miners using the same wallet is normal; that alone should not create duplicate shares.
Change one thing at a time. If the problem continues, send pool support the exact rejection text, XMRig version, and relevant log lines. Remove passwords or tokens first, and never share your wallet’s recovery words.
The bottom line
Match your fix to the rejection reason. Check connection delays for stale shares, pool settings for low-difficulty shares, and hardware stability for invalid results. Confirm that accepted shares keep arriving before considering the problem solved.
