CAPTCHA_NOT_READY: Timeout and Polling Strategy Guide

CAPCHA_NOT_READY is not an error — it means CaptchaAI is still solving. The key is polling at the right interval and setting appropriate timeouts per CAPTCHA type.

Understanding CAPCHA_NOT_READY

When you poll res.php and receive CAPCHA_NOT_READY, the task is still being processed. This is normal behavior, not a failure.

{"status": 0, "request": "CAPCHA_NOT_READY"}

What to do: Wait and poll again. Don't resubmit.

Recommended Timeouts by CAPTCHA Type

CAPTCHA Type	Typical Solve Time	Recommended Timeout	Poll Interval
Image/OCR	2-8 seconds	30 seconds	3 seconds
reCAPTCHA v2	10-30 seconds	90 seconds	5 seconds
reCAPTCHA v3	8-20 seconds	60 seconds	5 seconds
Invisible reCAPTCHA	10-30 seconds	90 seconds	5 seconds
reCAPTCHA Enterprise	15-45 seconds	120 seconds	5 seconds
Cloudflare Turnstile	5-15 seconds	60 seconds	5 seconds
GeeTest v3	10-30 seconds	90 seconds	5 seconds
BLS	5-20 seconds	60 seconds	5 seconds

Optimal Polling Implementation

import time
import requests


# Type-specific settings
POLL_CONFIG = {
    "base64": {"timeout": 30, "interval": 3, "first_check": 5},
    "post": {"timeout": 30, "interval": 3, "first_check": 5},
    "userrecaptcha": {"timeout": 90, "interval": 5, "first_check": 15},
    "turnstile": {"timeout": 60, "interval": 5, "first_check": 10},
    "geetest": {"timeout": 90, "interval": 5, "first_check": 15},
    "bls": {"timeout": 60, "interval": 5, "first_check": 10},
}


def poll_result(api_key, task_id, method="userrecaptcha"):
    """Poll for result with type-appropriate timing."""
    config = POLL_CONFIG.get(method, {"timeout": 90, "interval": 5, "first_check": 15})

    # Wait before first poll (CAPTCHA can't be solved instantly)
    time.sleep(config["first_check"])

    start = time.time()
    poll_count = 0

    while time.time() - start < config["timeout"]:
        resp = requests.get("https://ocr.captchaai.com/res.php", params={
            "key": api_key,
            "action": "get",
            "id": task_id,
            "json": 1,
        }, timeout=15)
        data = resp.json()
        poll_count += 1

        if data["request"] == "CAPCHA_NOT_READY":
            time.sleep(config["interval"])
            continue

        if data.get("status") == 1:
            elapsed = time.time() - start
            print(f"Solved in {elapsed:.1f}s ({poll_count} polls)")
            return data["request"]

        # Actual error
        raise RuntimeError(f"Solve error: {data['request']}")

    raise TimeoutError(
        f"Timeout after {config['timeout']}s ({poll_count} polls)"
    )

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Polling Too Frequently

# BAD — polling every 1 second wastes resources
while True:
    time.sleep(1)  # Too fast
    result = check(task_id)

# GOOD — 5 second interval
while True:
    time.sleep(5)  # Appropriate
    result = check(task_id)

Mistake 2: Polling Immediately After Submit

# BAD — first poll at 0 seconds
task_id = submit(...)
result = poll(task_id)  # Immediately polls, wastes a call

# GOOD — wait before first poll
task_id = submit(...)
time.sleep(15)  # Wait for solver to start
result = poll(task_id)

Mistake 3: Timeout Too Short

# BAD — gives up after 20 seconds (many CAPTCHAs take longer)
for _ in range(4):  # 4 × 5s = 20s
    time.sleep(5)
    # ...

# GOOD — adequate timeout
for _ in range(18):  # 18 × 5s = 90s
    time.sleep(5)
    # ...

Mistake 4: Resubmitting on NOT_READY

# BAD — submitting a new task when the old one is still working
if result == "CAPCHA_NOT_READY":
    new_task = submit(...)  # Don't do this

# GOOD — keep polling the same task
if result == "CAPCHA_NOT_READY":
    time.sleep(5)
    continue

Adaptive Polling

Start slow, speed up as expected solve time approaches:

def adaptive_poll(api_key, task_id, expected_time=30, timeout=120):
    """Poll with adaptive intervals."""
    start = time.time()

    # Phase 1: Wait before first poll
    time.sleep(min(expected_time * 0.5, 15))

    interval = 5  # Start at 5s intervals

    while time.time() - start < timeout:
        resp = requests.get("https://ocr.captchaai.com/res.php", params={
            "key": api_key, "action": "get",
            "id": task_id, "json": 1,
        }, timeout=15)
        data = resp.json()

        if data["request"] != "CAPCHA_NOT_READY":
            if data.get("status") == 1:
                return data["request"]
            raise RuntimeError(data["request"])

        elapsed = time.time() - start

        # After expected time, poll more frequently
        if elapsed > expected_time:
            interval = 3
        # After 2x expected, even more frequently
        if elapsed > expected_time * 2:
            interval = 2

        time.sleep(interval)

    raise TimeoutError("Poll timeout")

Troubleshooting

Issue	Cause	Fix
Always times out	Timeout too short	Match timeout to CAPTCHA type (see table)
Excessive API calls	Polling too frequently	Use 5s intervals minimum
First poll succeeds	Image CAPTCHA is fast	Reduce `first_check` for image types
Solve takes > 90 seconds	Complex CAPTCHA / high load	Increase timeout; check during off-peak