What to Do If a Video Generation Stalls or Fails
First, don't panic about your money
When an AI video generation fails or gets stuck, the most common worry is whether you've lost money. In nearly every case you haven't. Video generation works with a hold on your balance rather than an instant charge, and a hold that doesn't lead to a finished video is released back to you.
What happens automatically
SoulrisAI is designed so that a stuck job can't keep your funds locked forever:
- Failed, cancelled or expired jobs. If the render fails, is cancelled, or times out, the hold is released and you're not charged for that clip.
- Jobs that never started. If your request got stuck before rendering began, it is ended as failed and the hold is released.
- Jobs that run too long. If a clip stays in progress for an unusually long time, it is ended as failed and refunded rather than left open.
- Not enough balance. If your balance can't cover the hold, the generation is rejected before anything is reserved, so nothing is held at all.
A step-by-step checklist
- Check the status. See Understanding video generation status to tell the difference between a slow render and a failed one.
- Give a slow clip a little more time. Video rendering is slower than chat or images.
- Look at your wallet. If a generation failed, confirm the hold was released and your balance is back.
- Try again. Most failures are one-off. Resubmit with the same settings, or try a shorter duration or a different quality tier.
- Contact us if it still looks wrong. Include the time and what you were generating. Use our contact page.
Why you won't see the technical reason
When a generation fails, you'll see either that your balance was insufficient, which you can fix by topping up, or a general "generation failed" message. SoulrisAI deliberately keeps the technical details of failures out of view, because they're rarely useful to you. The detailed reason is recorded on our side so we can investigate if you contact us.
Common causes you can influence
- A duration the model won't accept. An estimate isn't a guarantee for every duration. See estimating video cost.
- A very complex or unusual prompt. Simplify it and focus on one clear action. Writing prompts for video has examples.
- A continuation that isn't allowed. Chain segments must share resolution, aspect ratio and quality tier with the one before.
- Low balance. Top up first, then retry.
The rare "status unknown" case
In very rare situations, SoulrisAI may be unable to confirm whether your clip was actually created. In that case we don't refund automatically, because it may have completed. Your funds stay held until the outcome is confirmed, and then we either attach the finished video or refund you. If you think this has happened, contact us and we'll look into it.
Related guides
Try it yourself: if a clip failed, retry with a shorter duration and a simpler prompt.