Bitcoin Forum

First time user of bitcoin. When i tried to move coins I get this error ( The server returned an error when broadcasting the transaction. Consider trying to connect to a different server, or updating Electrum. Transaction could not be broadcast due to dust outputs.)
I am running the latest version. Not sure what to do. Help  Thanks

Given the error you are getting, I guess you are trying to send a very small amount (dust).
Nodes reject transaction with an output smaller than 546 satoshi.

I am trying to send $50.00

assuming the change is the dust that raised the issue, you either have to
- add that small amount to your payment to whatever address you are sending to
- or increase your fee by that dust amount so that you don't end up with any change
- or you have to add other coins to your transaction to make the change bigger which may not be so good for your privacy (linking different coins together).

you can select coins (transaction outputs) from your Coins tab which can be enabled under View menu.

Thanks, I am so lost in trying to use this. I don't understand any of this.

BrewMaster is talking about dust amounts and the probability of sending an amount smaller that dust amount to change address.  
Dust is any output smaller than (currently) 546 satoshi.

Every transaction you make has one or multiple outputs. All of outputs must be bigger than 546 satoshi.

You already stated that you are sending 50 dollar worth of bitcoin. That's very bigger than dust amount. But your transaction can have another output as well. If there's any remaining fund in the address you are sending from, that will go to change address. The amount goes to change address must be greater than 546 satoshi as well.

Assume that you have 100,000 satoshi in an address and you want to send 95,000 satoshi. You pay 4,500 satoshi as transaction fee.
In the transaction you make you will have two outputs. The first output will be 95,000 satoshi and the second output will be 100,000-95,000-4,500 = 500 satoshi (smaller than dust amount)
To avoid such problem, you must change 95,000 to 95,500 or 4,500 to 5,000.

let me try to explain it a little.
each time you receive a payment in a transaction you receive a transaction output that can be called a "coin". when you spend bitcoin, you are spending one or more of these coins by putting them in your new transaction and setting a new destination.
but like in real world when you want to pay $9.99 and have a $10 bill you are left with some change. that change is also a new transaction output (aka coin) in bitcoin.

lets say you have received 2 payments so far. so you have 2 coins and lets say they are worth 1500 and 2000. if you pay someone else by only using the first coin and pay 1000 + 250 fee you will end up with 250 satoshi change which goes into a new output and since that is too small, majority of nodes reject it as "dust". it would be a little like paying $9.999 and wanting to receive $0.001.

so your choice is either pay a slightly higher fee (not receive your change) or put more coins in to increase that change amount to be bigger than dust. in the example above you can add the other coin and basically enter 3500 and pay 1000 + 270(fee) + 2230(change).
fee goes up a little but you get your dust out and consolidate your outputs.

If you still can't figure out how to make the transaction based on the above advice, then you can share the transaction details with us and we can take a look and give you exact instructions on how to fix it. Doing so will compromise your privacy in that we will all be able to see which addresses belong to you and which addresses you are trying to send to, but if there is no way for us to link your forum account to your real identity then you would be pretty safe. There is also no way for anyone to steal your coins by sharing the details of the transaction.

In Electrum, after you hit "Pay" on your transaction and choose a fee, you should get a preview box which you can share with us in one of two ways. Either simply screenshot it and upload the screenshot, or click on "Export" down the bottom left and "Copy to clipboard", and then share the raw text.

Most of what have been said above is correct but that's not usually the cause of the problem.

The problem occurs frequently and you receive the dust error message when you use another unit other than BTC.

If the above suggestions do not help, please check the unit your Electrum uses:
Setting -> Denomination

If it's set to mBTC, bits or sat change it to BTC and try broadcasting your transaction again.

Thank you everyone. I bought $100 worth of bitcoin and was trying to send $50 of it to a poker site. I guess the part that messed me up was what to put into the amount. I tried many different amounts and getting errors. So i ended up hitting the max and now waiting to see what amount went into that site.

I think that is not normal, using electrum I can transact even $10 successfully.

Sometimes I also face the same problem like you experience, what I did is I close the wallet, restart the PC, and boom, it's working again.

you can try this method, I don't know the science behind this but I'm just sharing my experience and how I solve the problem.

As Khaled asked above, what is the "unit" shown in the bottom left corner? Is it BTC or is it mBTC? (NOTE: Electrum defaults to mBTC)

BTC:
https://talkimg.com/images/2023/11/15/zyJUI.png

or mBTC:
https://talkimg.com/images/2023/11/15/zyVTd.png


If it is anything other that BTC, then try checking the menu: Tools -> Preferences -> General
https://talkimg.com/images/2023/11/15/zyj15.png


And set the "Base Unit" to "BTC" (and the "zeros after decimal point" value to 8)... it'll save you from any unit confusion in the future! ;)