Option Tracker
Guides
5 min read

Live Pricing Troubleshooting

Solving common issues with live options pricing, contract matching, and price refresh.

Having issues with live pricing? This guide covers common problems and how to fix them.

Contract Not Matching

"No live data" Badge

Problem: Your trade shows "No live data" and doesn't have live pricing.

Common causes:

  1. Expired contract - The option has already expired

    • Fix: This is expected - expired options don't have live prices

  2. Invalid strike - The strike price doesn't exist for this expiration

    • Fix: Edit the trade and select a strike from the dropdown

  3. Invalid expiration - The expiration date isn't a trading day

    • Fix: Edit the trade and select from the expiration dropdown

  4. No options available - Small-cap stocks may not have options

    • Fix: Verify the ticker has options on your broker's platform

  5. Data entry issues - Manual entry may have errors

    • Fix: Click the badge to try re-matching

How to Re-Match

  1. Find the trade with "No live data" badge
  2. Click the badge
  3. The app attempts to find a matching contract
  4. If found, confirm to link the trade
  5. If not found, you'll see suggestions for similar contracts

Stale Prices

"Stale" Indicator

Problem: Prices show a "Stale" warning during market hours.

Causes:

  • Prices haven't been refreshed in over 5 minutes
  • API rate limits temporarily reached
  • Network connectivity issues

Solution:

  1. Click Refresh Prices button
  2. Wait a moment for prices to update
  3. If still stale, try again in a few minutes

Prices Not Updating

Problem: Clicking refresh doesn't seem to update prices.

Check:

  1. Is the market open? (9:30 AM - 4:00 PM ET)
  2. Are you on a paid plan with refresh enabled?
  3. Is your internet connection working?

If the market is closed, prices won't change until it opens.

"May Be Adjusted" Warning

What It Means

This warning appears when a previously matched contract can no longer be found in market data.

Common causes:

  1. Stock split - Contract symbols change after splits

    • Example: A 4:1 split changes AAPL options

  2. Merger/acquisition - Company symbol changed

    • Example: Company acquired and trading under new symbol

  3. Special dividend - Adjusted strike prices

    • Example: Large dividend causes strike adjustment

  4. Delisting - Contract removed from trading

How to Fix

  1. Click the "May be adjusted" badge
  2. The app searches for the adjusted contract
  3. If found, select it to re-link your trade
  4. If not found, you may need to track manually

Note: The original OCC symbol is preserved for your records even if the contract is no longer trading.

Price Refresh Not Working

"No refresh button"

Problem: Can't find the refresh button.

Cause: You're on the free (Paper Trader) tier.

Solution: Upgrade to Active Trader or Power Trader for price refresh capability.

Refresh Button Disabled

Problem: Refresh button exists but is grayed out.

Possible causes:

  1. A refresh is already in progress (wait a moment)
  2. You've hit rate limits (wait a few minutes)
  3. All trades are cached and fresh (no update needed)

Upgrade Prompt Appears

Problem: Clicking refresh shows an upgrade dialog.

Cause: You're on Paper Trader tier.

Solution: The free tier includes contract matching and badges but not price refresh. Upgrade for live pricing updates.

Wrong Prices

Price Seems Incorrect

Problem: The displayed price doesn't match what you see on your broker.

Possible causes:

  1. Timing difference - Our data may be 15-minute delayed

    • Active Trader gets 15-min delayed data
    • Check the "Last updated" timestamp

  2. Bid/ask spread - We show mid price, brokers may show bid or ask

    • Hover over the price to see bid/ask spread

  3. After hours - Prices may be from market close

    • After-hours prices aren't reflected until next market open

  4. Different contract - Verify the OCC symbol matches

    • Click on the trade to see the linked contract symbol

Missing Prices

Problem: Some trades show prices but others don't.

Causes:

  1. Only matched contracts get live prices
  2. Some contracts may be illiquid with no recent quotes
  3. Expired options don't have prices

API Errors

"Failed to fetch prices"

Problem: Error message when refreshing.

Solutions:

  1. Wait a few minutes and try again
  2. Check your internet connection
  3. If persistent, the data provider may be experiencing issues

Repeated Errors

If you see consistent errors:

  1. Try logging out and back in
  2. Clear browser cache
  3. Check if the issue affects all tickers or just some

Notification Issues

Not Receiving Expiration Alerts

Check:

  1. Notification preferences in Settings
  2. The trade must be matched to generate alerts
  3. Alerts are created 7 days, 2 days, and day of expiration

Too Many Notifications

Manage notification settings:

  1. Go to Settings
  2. Find Notification Preferences
  3. Toggle which alerts you want to receive

Performance Issues

Slow Page Load

For pages with many trades:

  1. Use filters to show fewer trades
  2. Consider closing old, completed trades
  3. Try a different browser

Refresh Takes Long

With many positions:

  1. Refresh batches requests by ticker
  2. Wait for "Refreshing..." to complete
  3. Don't spam the refresh button

Getting Help

If none of these solutions work:

  1. Check our status page - Data provider outages may affect pricing
  2. Use the feedback form - Report the issue with details
  3. Include specifics - Ticker, expiration, strike, and what you see vs. expect

We're committed to accurate pricing and will investigate all reported issues.