Troubleshooting Common Issues – Rayyan Help Center

This article covers common issues you may encounter while using Rayyan and how to resolve them on your own. If you don't find your issue here, or the suggested steps don't work, contact Rayyan Support.

"Page not loading" or Rayyan won't open

This is most often a browser compatibility issue. To check whether your current browser is supported, visit rayyan.ai/check or use the browser compatibility check at the bottom of the sign-in and sign-up screens.

If your browser is not supported, try one of the following:

Update your browser to the latest version
Switch to a supported browser (Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge)

Common issue If the page still won't load on a supported browser, try clearing your cache and cookies, or open Rayyan in a private/incognito window to rule out an extension or stale session.

Premium features not appearing after upgrade

If you've recently upgraded but premium features (such as bulk exclude, full-text screening tools, or AI features) aren't showing up, your browser session may still be using the older state.

Sign out of Rayyan
Clear your browser cache and cookies, or open a private/incognito window
Sign back in

If the features still aren't visible, confirm that the seat is assigned to you in your subscription. The review owner controls seat assignments — owning a separate subscription does not grant premium access on someone else's review.

PDF uploads not working

PDFs are processed server-side and compiled into a single Search file per upload batch. If a batch fails or stalls, the issue is usually one of the following:

The batch is too large — upload up to 10 PDFs at a time as a workaround
One or more PDFs in the batch are corrupted or password-protected
Your browser timed out before the server finished processing — try again on a stable connection

Important Once PDFs are uploaded, they are compiled into a single Search file and cannot be deleted individually. If you need to remove specific PDFs from screening, use the Exclude with reason workflow on those articles instead of trying to delete them.

Sign-in loop or unexpected redirects

If you sign in and are immediately redirected back to the sign-in page, or end up logged into a different account than expected, the issue is usually tied to a stale session or a recent email change.

Sign out completely and close all Rayyan tabs
Clear your browser cache and cookies, or open a private/incognito window
Sign in with the email address tied to the account you want to access

If you signed up through Google, Apple, or Microsoft and recently changed your Rayyan login email, SSO will only work for the original email. Reset your password using this link so you can sign in directly with your new email and a Rayyan password.

Slow performance on large reviews

Reviews with very large reference sets (10,000+ articles) or high label/decision volumes may load more slowly, particularly on older devices or limited bandwidth. To improve performance:

Apply filters to narrow the working set rather than browsing all references at once
Close other browser tabs and applications running in the background
Use a wired or strong Wi-Fi connection where possible
Switch to a Chromium-based browser (Chrome, Edge) for the most consistent performance with large reviews

Still need help?

If your issue isn't covered here or the steps above didn't resolve it, contact Rayyan Support. When reaching out, please include:

A short description of what you were trying to do
The exact error message (if any) and a screenshot
Your browser and operating system
The review ID or URL (if relevant)

Best practice For complex issues, recording a short screen capture using Jam helps our team identify the root cause faster than screenshots alone.