The two checks that come before all five
Thirty seconds together, and they separate most of what follows.
- Build a new circuit, then try another address. If one fails and another works, the problem is that address rather than your setup or the market.
- Open any unrelated onion service. If that also fails it is the network, and nothing address specific will help.
The check people skipAlmost nobody runs the second one, and it separates a market problem from a network problem instantly. It costs nothing and it prevents most of the panic in this section.
when it happensAn address stopped workingHours mean nothing. Days mean something. Almost nobody waits.when it happensAn address came backThe clearest warning here, and it reaches the most experienced readers.when it happensA key change is announcedThe hardest case here, because it attacks the thing everything rests on.when it happensThe screen looks differentA vague sense that something is off is worth acting on.when it happensA message arrivedUnsolicited contact about your account. Replying is a decision.
The rule that covers all five
Do not go looking for a new address while something is broken. Anything that surfaces during an outage was placed there for people in exactly that situation, and the timing is not a coincidence. Whatever is unreachable will come back, and waiting costs nothing except patience.