> ## Knowledge Base Index > Fetch the complete knowledge base index at: https://help.simplyprint.io/sitemap.xml > Use this file to discover available pages before exploring further. > Pure-Markdown content can be obtained by appending a '.md' suffix to the content URLs listed in the sitemap (without the trailing slash). # Creality CFS: slots not syncing and the refresh button # Creality CFS: slots not syncing and the refresh button When SimplyPrint doesn't show what is loaded in your Creality CFS, the refresh button has disappeared, or all your CFS spools suddenly show as unassigned, the cause is almost always one of a few things: how the printer is connected, your material syncing settings, or the printer briefly reporting no CFS. This guide walks through each one. It also covers the same problems on an Anycubic ACE, and where the QIDI Box stands. || Multi-material sync for the Creality CFS and the Anycubic ACE needs the printer to be connected through the SimplyPrint Client. A Creality printer connected with the on-printer Klipper / Moonraker setup can print, but SimplyPrint can't read or map its CFS. ## In this guide - [How CFS syncing works](#2-how-cfs-syncing-works) - [The refresh button](#2-the-refresh-button) - [The refresh button is missing](#2-the-refresh-button-is-missing) - [The CFS slots don't update](#2-the-cfs-slots-dont-update) - [All my CFS spools were unassigned](#2-all-my-cfs-spools-were-unassigned) - [SimplyPrint doesn't change a slot on the printer](#2-simplyprint-doesnt-change-a-slot-on-the-printer) - [Anycubic ACE: moving it between printers and chained units](#2-anycubic-ace-moving-it-between-printers-and-chained-units) - [QIDI Box](#2-qidi-box) - [Related articles](#2-related-articles) ## How CFS syncing works The SimplyPrint Client talks to your Creality printer on your local network and reports two things to SimplyPrint: - **The layout** - how many CFS units are connected (they are counted and chained automatically) and whether there is an external spool holder. - **The materials** - the material type and colour in each CFS slot. SimplyPrint then follows what the printer reports. You don't need to tell SimplyPrint how many CFS units you have. If you set it by hand in the printer's multi-material settings, the next sync from the printer replaces it with what the printer reports. What SimplyPrint does with incoming updates depends on **Settings > Printers > Material syncing**. The default is 2-way sync: the latest change wins, whether it was made on the printer or in SimplyPrint. ## The refresh button The refresh button is the circular arrows icon next to the gear icon in the filament section of the printer's page. You also see it, as **Refresh spools**, next to the CFS mapping when you start a print. Pressing it asks the printer for the current contents of every CFS unit and re-reads the slots. A refresh always reads from the printer, even if your syncing settings would otherwise ignore changes made on the printer. ## The refresh button is missing The button only shows when all of these are true: 1. **The printer is online.** Check: the printer shows as online on your printers page. If it's offline, the Client can't reach it. Check that the device running the Client is on. 2. **The printer is connected through the SimplyPrint Client.** Check: the printer is listed in the Client (open the Client in a browser on port 8000). If you set the printer up with the on-printer Klipper / Moonraker installation instead, the button never appears, because that connection doesn't support CFS sync. Connect the printer through the Client instead. See [Connect your printers with the SimplyPrint Client](https://help.simplyprint.io/en/article/connect-your-printers-with-the-simplyprint-client-nxcgz1/). To keep the printer's history, remove `[simplyprint]` from `moonraker.conf` and restart Moonraker, then add the printer in the Client and choose **Link to existing** in SimplyPrint. Don't delete the printer first. 3. **You have the "Change filament" permission.** Check: ask an account admin to look at your user group in [user groups and permissions](https://help.simplyprint.io/en/article/user-groups-and-permissions-what-each-one-controls-1284ueh/). Without it, you can see the slots but not refresh them. ## The CFS slots don't update 1. Check the CFS shows the spool on the printer's own screen. SimplyPrint can only show what the printer reports. 2. Press the refresh button. - Check: the slots update to the material and colour shown on the printer. 3. If slots only update when you press refresh, open **Settings > Printers > Material syncing**. With **Sync material from SimplyPrint to printer** or **Disable material syncing**, changes made on the printer are ignored. Choose **Sync material from printer to SimplyPrint** or **2-way sync** if you want them to come through by themselves. - Check: load or change a spool on the printer. The slot updates in SimplyPrint without pressing refresh. 4. If refresh does nothing, restart the Client (or the device it runs on), wait for the printer to come back online, and press refresh again. Why the material updates but no spool is assigned: a CFS slot only tells SimplyPrint the material type and colour, not which physical spool is loaded. SimplyPrint can only pick the right inventory spool by itself when the spool's tag was written through SimplyPrint. See [Automatic spool creation when syncing materials](https://help.simplyprint.io/en/article/automatic-spool-creation-when-syncing-materials-17dr2ez/). ## All my CFS spools were unassigned SimplyPrint keeps as many slots as the printer reports. If the printer reports no CFS units for a moment, for example when a CFS disconnects, SimplyPrint shrinks the printer back to a single slot, and the spools that were in the CFS slots are unassigned. When the CFS is reported again, the slots come back, but the spools don't reassign themselves unless SimplyPrint can recognise them. 1. Press the refresh button so SimplyPrint reads all CFS units again. - Check: all your CFS units and slots show again. 2. Assign your spools to the slots again from the filament section. 3. To avoid doing this by hand next time, write your spools' tags through SimplyPrint and turn on **Auto-assign spools to printers when syncing materials if possible** under **Settings > Printers > Material syncing**. A spool whose tag was written through SimplyPrint is recognised and put back in its slot on the next sync. See [Filament workflow for third-party and Creality CFS spools](https://help.simplyprint.io/en/article/filament-workflow-for-third-party-and-creality-cfs-spools-write-your-own-nfc-tags-wdtei6/). ## SimplyPrint doesn't change a slot on the printer With 2-way sync or **Sync material from SimplyPrint to printer**, a material and colour you set in SimplyPrint are sent to the CFS slot. Two exceptions: - A slot holding a spool with a Creality RFID tag is left alone, so SimplyPrint never overwrites what the printer read from the tag. - The material type and the colour must both be set. SimplyPrint names the slot "Generic" plus the material type on the printer, for example "Generic PLA". ## Anycubic ACE: moving it between printers and chained units The Anycubic ACE and ACE Pro work the same way through the SimplyPrint Client: the printer reports which ACE units are connected, and SimplyPrint follows. **Moving an ACE to another printer:** 1. Move the ACE and turn both printers on. 2. Press the refresh button on each printer, or wait for the next sync. - Check: the printer that now has the ACE shows its slots; the printer you moved it from shows a single slot (its external spool). 3. Assign your spools to the ACE slots on the new printer. The ACE doesn't report which physical spool is loaded, so SimplyPrint can't move the assignments for you. **Two chained ACE Pro units:** an earlier Client version printed with the matching slot on the first ACE when you picked a slot on the second one. This was fixed in SimplyPrint Client 1.0.0-rc.21. Update the Client, and if you set a custom 8-slot unit as a workaround, let the printer sync again so it goes back to two chained ACE Pro units. ## QIDI Box The QIDI Box is not yet synced or mapped by SimplyPrint. You can add it by hand in the printer's multi-material settings to get its slots for filament tracking, and you can read and write QIDI tags, but SimplyPrint doesn't read the loaded slots from the box. See [the QIDI material standard](https://help.simplyprint.io/en/article/the-qidi-material-standard-nfcrfid-for-the-qidi-box-ns0c8d/). ## Related articles - [Multi-material printing in SimplyPrint: mapping and syncing your AMS, ACE or CFS](https://help.simplyprint.io/en/article/multi-material-printing-in-simplyprint-mapping-and-syncing-your-ams-ace-or-cfs-1uc6w3h/) - [Automatic spool creation when syncing materials](https://help.simplyprint.io/en/article/automatic-spool-creation-when-syncing-materials-17dr2ez/) - [The Creality material standard: NFC / RFID for the Creality CFS](https://help.simplyprint.io/en/article/the-creality-material-standard-nfcrfid-for-the-creality-cfs-1crrofa/) - [Filament workflow for third-party and Creality CFS spools: write your own NFC tags](https://help.simplyprint.io/en/article/filament-workflow-for-third-party-and-creality-cfs-spools-write-your-own-nfc-tags-wdtei6/) - [The Anycubic material standard: NFC/RFID for the Anycubic ACE](https://help.simplyprint.io/en/article/the-anycubic-material-standard-nfcrfid-for-the-anycubic-ace-js3oty/) - [Connect your printers with the SimplyPrint Client](https://help.simplyprint.io/en/article/connect-your-printers-with-the-simplyprint-client-nxcgz1/)