Troubleshooting

🖼️ Timer Not Showing in Email

Timer shows as "Countdown Timer" text instead of image

You see the alt text instead of the actual timer GIF in your email editor.

Solution: Most email editors (Klaviyo, Mailchimp, HubSpot) don't render external images in the editor preview. This is normal behavior. Send a test email to yourself — the timer will appear correctly in the actual email.

Timer shows a broken image icon

The image placeholder appears but with a broken icon.

Check that your timer URL starts with https://loftimer.com/timer.gif?
Open the timer URL directly in your browser to verify it works
Make sure the timer hasn't been deleted from your dashboard
If using ?id=..., verify the ID is correct

Solution: Copy the timer URL from your dashboard (click "Copy URL") and paste it fresh into your email template.

Timer works in browser but not in email

The GIF loads fine when you open the URL, but doesn't appear in sent emails.

Solution: Make sure you're using the <img> HTML code, not just the URL. Use the "Copy HTML" button in your dashboard. The correct format is:

<img src="https://loftimer.com/timer.gif?id=..." alt="Countdown Timer" width="600" style="display:block;margin:0 auto;max-width:100%;height:auto;">

🎨 Wrong Colors or Style

I changed colors but the timer still shows old style

You updated the timer in your dashboard, but the email still shows the previous design.

Solution: This is a caching issue. Changes apply immediately for new email opens, but already-opened emails may show cached versions. See the Caching section below for details.

Transparent background shows black instead

You enabled transparent background but the timer shows a black background.

Check that "Transparent Background" toggle is ON in your timer settings
Note: GIF transparency is 1-bit (on/off), so semi-transparent effects aren't possible
Some email clients (older Outlook) don't support GIF transparency

Note: Outlook 2007-2019 on Windows doesn't support animated GIFs — it shows only the first frame. Transparency may also not work correctly in these versions.

💾 Caching Issues

How timer caching works

There are multiple levels of caching that can affect how quickly changes appear:

Server cache (30 sec): Loftimer caches generated GIFs for 30 seconds. After editing a timer, the cache is cleared immediately.
Browser cache (10 sec): Your browser may cache the image briefly.
Email client cache (varies): Gmail, Yahoo, and other providers proxy images through their servers and cache them independently. This is outside our control.

Solution: After making changes, wait 1 minute, then open the timer URL in a new incognito/private window to verify. For email testing, send a fresh test email — don't rely on previously opened emails.

Gmail shows old timer version

Gmail proxies all images through googleusercontent.com and caches them aggressively.

Solution: For already-opened emails, there's no way to force Gmail to refresh. New email opens will fetch the updated timer. If you need an immediate change, create a new timer and update the HTML in your email template.

⏰ Timer Shows EXPIRED

Timer immediately shows "EXPIRED"

Check that your end date is in the future
Verify the timezone setting — if not set, server time (UTC) is used
For Evergreen timers, the countdown starts from when the email is opened, so it should never show expired immediately

Solution: Edit your timer and set a future end date. If timezone is important, set it explicitly in timer settings (e.g., "Europe/Kyiv").

I want to hide the timer after it expires

Solution: Enable the "Hide Timer When Expired" toggle in Display Options. Instead of showing "EXPIRED", the timer will display a transparent/blank image.

📐 Wrong Size or Layout

Timer is too big or too small in email

Solution: Adjust the width attribute in your HTML code. The recommended width is 600px for full-width emails or 300-400px for columns. The timer scales automatically with max-width:100% on mobile.

Timer text is cut off or clipped

The numbers don't fit within the timer area.

Solution: Loftimer auto-scales the font to fit within the timer width. If text still appears clipped, try: increasing the timer width, decreasing the font size, or hiding Days/Hours if you don't need them.

Timer looks blurry

The timer image appears pixelated or low-quality.

Solution: Set the timer width to 2x the display size for retina screens. For example, if you display at 300px, create the timer at 600px width and set width="300" in your HTML.

🔤 Font Issues

Cyrillic/Ukrainian text shows as dots or boxes

Solution: Use a font that supports Cyrillic. Look for fonts marked with [CYR] in the font dropdown. Supported fonts: Arial, Roboto Mono, Bebas Neue, Oswald, Montserrat, Poppins, Lato, Inter, Playfair Display, Noto Sans JP, Noto Sans KR.

Japanese or Korean text not rendering

Solution: Use Noto Sans JP for Japanese or Noto Sans KR for Korean. These are marked with flags in the font dropdown.

📧 Email Client Compatibility

Which email clients support animated GIF timers?

Full animation support: Gmail (web & app), Apple Mail, Yahoo Mail, Outlook.com, Thunderbird, Samsung Mail
First frame only: Outlook 2007-2019 (Windows desktop) — shows static first frame
Works everywhere: The timer always shows at least the first frame with the current countdown value

Tip: Since Outlook desktop shows only the first frame, make sure your first frame looks good on its own. Loftimer generates the first frame with the current time remaining, so it will always show an accurate countdown value.

📮 Klaviyo Specific

Timer not rendering in Klaviyo editor

Klaviyo's email editor doesn't render external images from new/unknown domains in preview mode.

Solution: This is normal Klaviyo behavior. Click "Preview" or "Send test email" to see the actual timer. It will work correctly in real sent emails.

How to add timer in Klaviyo

In the Klaviyo email editor, drag a "Text" or "HTML" block
Switch to Source/HTML mode (click </> icon)
Paste the HTML code from your Loftimer dashboard
Save and preview

Using Evergreen timers with Klaviyo

Evergreen timers start counting from when the email is opened — perfect for welcome sequences and drip campaigns.

Solution: Create an Evergreen timer, set the duration (e.g., 48 hours), and paste the HTML into your Klaviyo flow email. Each subscriber will see their own unique countdown from the moment they open the email.