Why Did My AI Video Fail? And Do You Lose Your Credits?

AI video generations fail for five main reasons: not enough credits, a prompt or image that breaks a content policy, a setting the model doesn't support, the model provider erroring or dropping the job, or a job that is just slow. On most major platforms, a job that ends in an actual error refunds its credits automatically. A video that finishes but looks wrong does not. On VdoBloom, blocked and rejected requests are never charged, failed jobs are refunded automatically, and a stuck job is checked and settled within about an hour and a half.

Disclosure: VdoBloom is our platform.

This post answers the general question: why generations fail anywhere, and what happens to your credits. For a list of every error message VdoBloom shows with the exact fix for each, see why your VdoBloom AI video generation failed. If the video worked but came out wrong, try AI video not following your prompt or fixing hands and faces.

Why did my AI video fail? The five causes

Whichever tool you use (Veo, Kling, Runway, Seedance, Hailuo, Grok, Pika or VdoBloom), a failed video almost always comes down to one of these:

1. Not enough credits for the settings you picked. Price rises steeply with resolution and duration, so a clip that looked affordable at 480p may not be at 1080p.
2. Content policy. The prompt, the uploaded image, or the generated frames tripped a safety filter. Filters can run at up to three points: on your prompt before the job starts, on your uploaded image, and on the finished output. That third check is why a job can run for a minute and then fail.
3. Invalid settings or inputs. A duration, resolution or aspect ratio the model doesn't offer, a photo that's too small or the wrong shape, or two input modes that can't be combined.
4. Provider errors. Most AI video runs on a small number of model providers. When they're overloaded or have an outage, jobs fail or time out on every app built on them at once. That's why "Kling not working today" and "Veo 3 not working" often trend together.
5. It's still running. Busy periods, 1080p and longer clips can take several minutes. See how long AI video generation takes for typical times.

Do I lose my credits when an AI video fails?

Usually not, but the rules differ by platform. What each platform says, as of September 2026:

• Kling: its credits policy states that if a generation fails, the corresponding credits are refunded.
• Runway: its help center says credits come back automatically when a generation ends in an error, but not when a generation completes with a result you don't like, and not when you cancel a stuck generation.
• VdoBloom: described in detail below.

The rule that holds almost everywhere: errors are refunded, disappointing results are not. Credits pay for the compute, not for whether you like the output. So a cheap test render at low resolution is always worth it before a high-resolution final.

What VdoBloom does when a generation fails

Blocked before it starts: never charged

• Not enough credits: you see the cost first, and the pricing panel opens instead of the job starting. If the request still reaches the server, it's refused with "Insufficient credits. Required: X, Available: Y". Nothing is deducted.
• Prompt blocked: VdoBloom checks prompts itself before generating. The check is narrow. It targets nudity and clothing being removed, and anything sexual involving a minor is blocked without exception. Swimwear, dance, fitness and fashion prompts are allowed. A blocked prompt returns "This kind of prompt isn't allowed. Please revise and try again." within seconds, and you're not charged. Rewrite the prompt to describe what the person is wearing, not what comes off. Why your AI video was blocked explains where the line is.
• Invalid settings: an unsupported duration, resolution or input combination is rejected before any charge.

Failed during generation: refunded automatically

Once a job is accepted, the credits are deducted and the job goes to the model. If the model reports a failure, including its own safety filter rejecting the output, the job is marked Failed and the credits are refunded automatically. The refund goes back to the credit type it came from: pack credits back to your pack, subscription credits back to your monthly allowance. The error text you see is the model's reason with internal details removed.

Effect templates (kissing, hugging, bikini and similar one-click effects) get one extra step. If the chosen model fails, VdoBloom retries the job once on a backup model before giving up, and refunds in full if that also fails. That's why an effect video sometimes comes back with a different model label than you picked. Standard text-to-video and image-to-video jobs don't retry automatically. They fail and refund.

Stuck on "processing": checked and settled

Every 30 minutes, VdoBloom checks any job that has been pending or processing for more than an hour and asks the provider what happened:

• If the video actually finished, it's saved to your Creations.
• If the provider reports a failure or has lost the job, it's marked Failed and refunded.
• If the server restarted before the job was sent, it's marked "Generation never started" and refunded.
• If the provider says it's still working, it's left alone and checked again next time.

Each job can only be refunded once, even if two checks overlap. Also note: the generation page stops waiting after about 30 minutes and may show "Video generation timed out". That message is from the page, not the job. The job keeps running and will appear in your Creations as completed or failed.

The one mistake that costs credits

Don't resubmit a job that looks stuck. A second submission is a new paid job. VdoBloom ignores an identical request sent within about 10 seconds on many models, to catch double-clicks, but anything later is charged. Wait for the first job to finish or be refunded. If you've been away, check your email: VdoBloom emails you when a video fails and tells you the credits were refunded.

How to stop AI video generations failing

1. Check the cost at your actual settings. For example, a 5-second Seedance 2 clip is 38 credits at 480p, 82 at 720p and 203 at 1080p. Dropping one resolution level often solves a credits problem.
2. Describe clothing, not undressing. Most policy blocks come from one phrase, not the overall idea. Find that phrase and reword it. Resending the same prompt won't give a different answer.
3. Use a clean input photo. One clear subject, sharp and well lit, and roughly the same aspect ratio as the output you want. Tiny faces, crowds, heavy blur and screenshots of screens fail the most.
4. Use settings the model offers. Pick durations and resolutions from the model's own options, and use one input mode per job (first and last frames, or reference images, not both).
5. Test cheap first. A 4-second 480p draft on a budget model such as Seedance 2 Mini (6 credits) or Wan 3.0 (13 credits) catches prompt and photo problems before you pay for a final.
6. If a provider is having a bad day, switch models. On a multi-model platform, when one model's queue is failing you can move the same prompt to another model family. That's not possible on a single-model app.

If your video uses a real person's photo, only upload your own or one from someone who agreed. Never upload images of minors, and never try to generate intimate or sexual content of real people. VdoBloom blocks minors and non-consensual content, and repeated attempts don't change that.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my AI video stuck at 99%?

The progress bar on most apps is an estimate based on time, not real progress, so 99% often means "taking longer than usual". The job may be queued behind others, rendering a long or high-resolution clip, or waiting on a provider that has lost it. On VdoBloom, jobs older than an hour are checked every 30 minutes and are either delivered or refunded.

Do I get my credits back if my video fails?

On VdoBloom, yes. A failed job is refunded automatically to the credit type it came from, and requests blocked before generation are never charged. On other platforms, check their policy. Kling and Runway both return credits for generations that end in an error.

Why does my AI video keep failing with the same prompt?

Either the prompt contains a phrase a filter consistently rejects, or the input photo is the problem. Rewrite the phrase that describes the sensitive part, try a different photo, or move to another model whose policy fits your content. Our guide to AI video generators with fewer restrictions compares policies.

Why did my video fail when it worked yesterday?

VdoBloom's prompt check gives the same answer for the same prompt every time, so a sudden failure is almost always a provider-side error or a changed input. Try again later, or switch models.

Should I cancel and regenerate a slow video?

No. Regenerating starts a second paid job, and on many platforms cancelling doesn't return credits. Give it time. On VdoBloom a job that truly stalls is refunded without you doing anything.