OpenClaw dashboard says "pairing required" ("disconnected (1008): pairing required" / "Approve this browser")
disconnected (1008): pairing requiredAlso appears as (3)
device pairing required (requestId: ...)Approve this browsercode=1008 ... cause=device-required
We reproduced the error and confirmed the fix on our own test machine on the date shown. Nightly CI re-runs are not running yet. How we verify.
- Last verified
- Re-test due
- Published
- Fix ID
AGT-03
Environment and versions
| os | Debian 13 (container) |
|---|---|
| node | 26.12.1 |
| openclaw | 2026.10.7 (157d8c2) |
| browser | Headless Chrome 156 |
In brief
Each new browser has to be approved once on the gateway host, even with the right token. The full fix walks through finding the pending request and approving it, plus a one-time-link alternative.
Symptom
You open the OpenClaw Control UI (dashboard) from another computer, a phone, a VPS's public or LAN address, or inside Docker. Even with the right gateway token, it won't connect.
- Older versions show
disconnected (1008): pairing required. - Version 2026.10.7 shows an "Approve this browser" screen, with raw error
device pairing required (requestId: ...). - Gateway logs show
code=1008 ... cause=device-required.
Why it happens
- The token is only the first lock. Every new browser also has to be approved once on the gateway machine (device pairing).
- Browsers on the gateway machine itself (
http://127.0.0.1) can be approved automatically. Browsers coming from any other address can't. - A new or private browser profile counts as a new device, and so does clearing site data.
What we could not test
- Docker (
docker compose exec ...), a browser on a different physical machine or phone, and Tailscale Serve. - Re-pairing after an update, and token-mismatch variants.
- The older UI wording "disconnected (1008): pairing required". We only saw the new wording, plus the 1008 code in logs.
The full fix
$4The free part of this page tells you what's wrong. The full fix tells you exactly what to do. It includes:
- Step-by-step fix, safest option first (the full page is 428 words)
- How to check it worked
- Our test record from Oct 26, 2026: what we ran and what happened
Launching soon. Checkout isn't open yet; prices may change at launch. Join the waitlist. You can check what you'll get: SHA-256 of the full fix 395471489f17de04… (how to check).
Sources
How this page was made
Drafted by an AI agent and reproduced on our test machine on Oct 26, 2026. The scripts and logs are in the repro bundle; their file hashes are public on the repro page. Human review: not yet. No warranty: try fixes on a copy or staging environment first. Machine-readable versions: Markdown · JSON.
Found a mistake or a newer version where this breaks? Tell us.