BuzzRelay does not start or the splash screen freezes

Stuck on "Checking browser installation…"

This is by far the most common startup problem, and it is nearly always the first-launch browser download.

BuzzRelay downloads Chromium (~200 MB) the first time it runs. On a normal connection that takes one to three minutes. If the splash screen sits there for more than five, the download is blocked or stalled.

1. Check you are online. Open a browser and load any page.
2. Allow the download host. Behind a proxy, corporate firewall or filtering antivirus, allow outbound access to playwright.azureedge.net.
3. Close BuzzRelay and reopen it. The download resumes rather than restarting from zero.
4. Try a different network — a phone hotspot is a quick way to rule out a corporate firewall.

Check whether the browser actually arrived

Open File Explorer and go to:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\BuzzRelay\browsers\

There should be a chromium-* subfolder inside. If that folder is missing or empty, the download never completed — fix the connectivity and restart BuzzRelay to trigger it again.

The app closes immediately or never appears

If nothing appears at all, or the window flashes and vanishes:

1. Check antivirus quarantine. Security software sometimes removes the executable after installation. Look in your antivirus history and restore it, then add the install folder to exclusions — see Antivirus or SmartScreen is blocking BuzzRelay.
2. Check for an existing process. Open Task Manager and end any BuzzRelay.exe still running, then launch again.
3. Reinstall. Uninstalling leaves your data in %APPDATA%\BuzzRelay\, so reinstalling does not lose contacts or campaigns.

Starts, then fails writing data

An "access denied" style error means BuzzRelay cannot write to %APPDATA%\BuzzRelay\. On a managed or locked-down machine, a group policy or security tool may be restricting it. Grant your user account write permission to that folder.

Slow to start after working fine

A launch that used to be instant and now takes a while is usually one of:

• Many connected devices — each session is checked at startup.
• A very large database — tens of thousands of contacts and a long campaign history.
• Antivirus scanning the browser files on every launch. Excluding the install folder usually fixes it.

Collecting the log before contacting support

If none of this helps, the application log is what we need:

%APPDATA%\BuzzRelay\logs\app.log

It rotates and is capped at a few megabytes, so reproduce the problem then grab the file while the relevant lines are still in it. Send it with a note of what you did and what you saw — see Contact support.

Frequently asked questions

Why is BuzzRelay stuck on "Checking browser installation"?

The one-time Chromium download is blocked or stalled. Check your internet connection, allow outbound access to playwright.azureedge.net through any proxy or firewall, then close BuzzRelay and reopen it — the download resumes rather than restarting.

How do I check whether the browser downloaded correctly?

Open %LOCALAPPDATA%\BuzzRelay\browsers\ in File Explorer. It should contain a chromium-* subfolder. If it is missing or empty the download did not complete — fix connectivity and restart BuzzRelay.

BuzzRelay closes as soon as I open it. What do I do?

Check your antivirus quarantine, since security software sometimes removes the executable after installation. Restore it and add the install folder to exclusions. Also end any BuzzRelay.exe still running in Task Manager before relaunching.

Is it safe to delete the browsers folder?

Yes. %LOCALAPPDATA%\BuzzRelay\browsers\ only holds the downloaded Chromium and deleting it just forces a fresh download. It is a different folder from %APPDATA%\BuzzRelay\, which holds your database and device sessions.