A cell that fails says so in the cell, as text beginning with #ERR and then the reason:
#ERR No "zone" in agecalculator. Try: timezone, field
They are text rather than real spreadsheet errors because Excel cannot render a custom message on
an error value — a failure would be a bare #VALUE! with nothing to read. Text shows the same
sentence on both platforms. The trade-off is that IFERROR() does not catch them; test for the
#ERR prefix instead:
=IF(LEFT(B2, 4) = "#ERR", "", B2)=IF(LEFT(B2, 4) = "#ERR", "", B2)A message is kept to one line that fits a cell, so a long one is cut short and ends in …. The
tables below quote each message by its opening words, which never change. Where Google Sheets
and Excel point you to a different place — the sidebar in one, the pane in the other — the
rest of the sentence differs; the meaning does not.
A failed lookup is not charged. The one exception is a missing field: the lookup itself succeeded, and the field you named simply is not in its answer.
Connecting and signing in
| Cell reads | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
#ERR Connect first: Extensions ▸ VerveSheets | No credential stored yet. Excel says #ERR Not connected — connect in the VerveSheets pane. | Connect — see authentication. The next run goes through the moment you do. |
#ERR Sign-in expired… | The stored credential is no longer accepted: the sign-in lapsed, or the pasted key was deleted or rotated in the dashboard. | Reconnect in the sidebar. |
#ERR That key isn’t permitted for this request. | The credential is valid but not allowed this lookup. | Check the key's restrictions in API keys. Reconnecting does not change anything. |
#ERR Access to … is blocked for this API key | The key is scoped to other sources. | Allow this source on the key, or connect with one that has it. |
#ERR Update VerveSheets — this version isn’t supported. | This copy of the add-in is too old to keep serving. | Reload the Google Sheets tab, or quit and reopen Excel, to pick up the current version. |
The formula itself
These are caught before anything is looked up, so they never spend a credit.
| Cell reads | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
#ERR <source> needs <input> | A required input is missing, or points at a blank cell. Every required name is listed. | Fill the cell, or point at the right column. On a range, blank rows are skipped rather than reported. |
#ERR No "<name>" in <source>. Try: … | An option name the source does not have. | The message lists the ones it does. Option names are not case-sensitive. |
#ERR Use "name", value pairs — "x" has no name | An option value with no name in front of it. | Options come in pairs. A trailing name with no value is read as omitted, not as a mistake. |
#ERR Replace <city> with a cell or value | A sidebar preview was copied while it was still a template. Where the source has a sample value, the message adds — e.g. London. | Put a cell reference or a value where the placeholder is. |
#ERR Unknown source "<id>"… | The first argument is not a source id. | Use the id, not the title — "weatherforecast", lowercase. The sidebar's preview has it. |
#ERR Couldn’t load "<id>" right now… | The source's description could not be fetched for a moment, so its inputs are unknown. | Wait a few seconds and re-run. Nothing is wrong with the formula. |
The answer
| Cell reads | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
#ERR No data point "<path>" | The field is not in the response — on a one-cell formula in Excel. | Field names are case-sensitive. Leave "field" out once to see the real names. In Google Sheets this case is a real error — see below. |
#ERR No field "<path>" | The same thing on a row of a range or a fill. | As above. |
#ERR No result for those inputs. | The source looked, and has nothing for this value. | Usually a typo or a value the source does not cover. The lookup itself worked. |
#ERR Missing input: … / #ERR Invalid input: … | The source rejected an input — the wrong format, or out of range. | The message names it. The source's page lists what each input accepts. |
#ERR Check the inputs for “<id>”… | The source rejected the inputs without saying which. | Compare each input with the source's page — format, units, two-letter codes. |
#ERR No converted amount returned | VERVEFX / VERVE.FX got no number back for that pair. | Check both currency codes — three-letter ISO codes such as USD, EUR, JPY. |
(empty) | A formula with no "field" got an empty response. | Nothing to show for those inputs. |
… [truncated] at the end | The value is longer than a cell holds — about 50,000 characters in Sheets, 32,767 in Excel. | The lookup succeeded. Pick a smaller part of the response with "field". |
Plans, credits and limits
| Cell reads | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
#PREMIUM(<field>) | The field exists; your plan does not include it. | See plans. |
#PREMIUM(<option>) | An option your plan does not include was dropped, so the answer would be to a different question. | Nothing is returned rather than a value that is quietly not the one you asked for. |
#PREMIUM in a spilled table | One row of a whole-response table is a field your plan withholds. | The other rows are real values. |
#ERR Out of credits… | The cycle's allowance is used up. The message says whether a free trial is available. | Start the trial or upgrade from the sidebar's banner. Waiting does not help until the allowance renews. |
#ERR Rate limit reached — try again shortly. | More lookups per minute than the plan allows. Some versions of the Sheets add-on also show this when credits run out. | Wait a minute and re-run. If it persists, check the credit meter — zero means credits, not speed. See rate limits. |
Temporary failures
All of these are worth one retry after a few seconds.
| Cell reads | Cause |
|---|---|
#ERR Couldn’t fetch “<id>” (error 503)… | The source failed to answer. The number is the reason code, for a support request. |
#ERR Couldn’t reach VerveSheets — check your connection. | Excel could not get online — a dropped network, a VPN, a firewall. |
#ERR VerveSheets took too long to answer — try again. | Excel gave up waiting for a slow answer. |
#ERR Unreadable reply… / #ERR VerveSheets sent an unreadable reply… | Something between you and the source answered with a page instead of data — often a hotel or office Wi-Fi sign-in screen. |
#ERR Couldn’t fetch this batch… / #ERR Unreadable reply to this batch… | The same, for a range or a fill. |
#ERR No result returned for this row — try again. | One row of a batch came back empty. |
#ERR “<id>” couldn’t be called — please report this source to us. | A fault on our side with that one source. Retrying will not fix it; tell us. |
Errors Google Sheets shows on hover
A few failures are real spreadsheet errors in Google Sheets rather than #ERR text. The cell shows
#ERROR!; hover it to read the reason. These are the one case IFERROR() catches.
| Hover text | Cause |
|---|---|
No data point "<path>". | The field is not in the response, on a one-cell =VERVE(). |
No field "<path>". | The same, on =VERVEFIELD(). |
Only the leading inputs can be a range… | A range was given to the field or an option. Only the source's own inputs may be ranges. |
Add "field"… / Add the field after the inputs… | A range formula with no field. Each row needs exactly one value, so the field is required. |
Too many unique lookups (…) for a live formula… | More than 200 distinct rows in one live range formula — Sheets stops custom functions after 30 seconds. Split the range, or fill with Values. |
<source> needs <input> | On a range formula, a required input is missing altogether. |
Unknown source "<id>"… | Depending on the add-in's version, this shows here or as #ERR text. |
| Exceeded maximum execution time | Google Sheets' own message: the formula ran past 30 seconds. |
Excel shows its failures as #ERR text in every case.
A missing path is an error, not a blank
A missing path could have been an empty cell. It is not, deliberately: a blank after a paid lookup is indistinguishable from a source that genuinely returned nothing, and on a filled column that is a whole column of silence with the credits already spent.
If you are not sure of a path, drop the "field" pair. The call spills the entire response as
two columns, and the left column is the exact set of paths "field" accepts.
#PREMIUM is not a failure of the call
#PREMIUM(riskScore) means the lookup succeeded and the source has that field — your plan does
not include it. It appears in two shapes:
- A locked field. You asked for something your plan withholds.
- A dropped option. You passed an option your plan does not include, so the call ran without it. That would be an answer to a different question, so the cell reports it rather than showing a value that quietly is not the one you asked for.
Both resolve on the plans page. Neither is retryable.
One message down a whole column
A whole column of the same #ERR usually means one thing, not many: a wrong source id, a
disconnected credential, or an exhausted balance. Fix it once, wait a few seconds — a failure is
remembered briefly so a recalculating sheet cannot hammer the source — and refill.
Troubleshooting walks through each symptom.
What is worth retrying
- Worth refilling: anything under temporary failures, and a rate-limit message once you have paused. Wait a few seconds first — a failure is remembered for about 15 seconds — then recalculate the cell or refill the selection.
- Never worth refilling unchanged: a missing input, a wrong option name, an unknown source,
a missing data point,
#PREMIUM(…), or out of credits. The next attempt fails the same way. Fix the cause, then refill once.
Next
Troubleshooting starts from what the cell shows rather than the message. Formulas covers the argument grammar these messages are complaining about, and all sources lists each source's real inputs and paths. Ceilings and pacing are in rate limits.
If a failure here is not the one you expected, the FAQ covers the common surprises.