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Spark Help Center

Check Your Technology

Run this on the device and network you’ll teach from. It checks the browser you’re using, tries every domain a session needs, and loads real Google Docs and Canva content so you can see whether the network lets it through. Nothing here changes any settings - it only reports.

Before You Start

  • Use a student device on the school network. A pass from your laptop at home says nothing about the room the session happens in.
  • Expect it to take a minute. The Lessonspace regions are the slow part, since blocked hosts have to time out before they report.
  • Email whitelisting is a manual check. A browser can’t see the district mail filter, so that card is a confirmation you tick off once IT allows the braintrusttutors.com domain and the platform sender BraintrustMail@braintrusttutors.com.
  • Have the domain list handy if something fails. Spark Technology Requirements is what your IT team needs.

Run the Checks

Check Status
  • Browser & device Checking...
  • Braintrust domains Not tested
  • Google & Canva Not tested
  • Lessonspace Not tested
  • Network speed Manual
  • Email whitelisting Manual

Run this from a student device, on the network the sessions happen on. A pass from a different network tells you nothing about that room.

Browser & Device

Detected from this browser automatically. Nothing to click.

Checking this browser...

Supported: Chrome or Edge 115+, Firefox 115+, Safari 16+. iPads need iOS 17+ and a keyboard, and only work for in-person sessions. Android tablets aren't supported.

Braintrust Domains

The platform, the content CDN, file uploads, and performance monitoring. All of these need to be reachable, with audio and video allowed.

www.braintrusttutors.com learn.braintrusttutors.com api.braintrusttutors.com prod-content.braintrust-cdn.com prod-assets-cdn.braintrust-cdn.com prod-profile-pictures.braintrust-cdn.com prod-evaluations-media.braintrust-cdn.com prod-use1-bt-client-file-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com lrkt-in.com

CDN Image Test

If this image appears, the content CDN is reachable from this network.

Test image served from the Braintrust content CDN
Loading... prod-content.braintrust-cdn.com

Google & Canva

Braintrust curriculum materials are hosted on Google Docs and Canva. Both instructors and students load them during a session, so a block here means missing lesson content.

docs.google.com www.google.com accounts.google.com www.canva.com media-private.canva.com

Embed Tests

Both panels below should render real content. Blank frames mean the domain is blocked.

Loading... docs.google.com
Loading... www.canva.com

Lessonspace

Only needed for online Braintrust Tutoring sessions. Skip it if your school runs Spark sessions in person.

The video hosts carry UDP traffic, which a browser can't test. This checks their HTTPS twins instead, which is a good signal that the region is reachable but not proof the UDP ports are open. Non-US regions show as N/A when they fail.

ue2-video.firewall.room.sh uw2-video.firewall.room.sh ew2-video.firewall.room.sh af1-video.firewall.room.sh ase2-video.firewall.room.sh as1-video.firewall.room.sh turn.firewall.room.sh *.hyperbeam.com *.hiperbeam.com

Network Speed

Sessions need at least 5 Mb/s down and 4 Mb/s up. A browser can't measure this reliably, so this one is on you.

Run Speed Test

Test during a busy period, not before school. Wired connections hold up better than wifi, and a network that passes at 7 a.m. can fail at 10 a.m.

Email Whitelisting

Spark sends sign-in links, session notices, and reports by email. A browser can't see the district mail filter, so confirm this one with IT.

@braintrusttutors.com BraintrustMail@braintrusttutors.com
See What IT Needs

IT allows the email domain and the platform sender address. A blocked message fails silently - Spark shows it as sent, and the instructor or family never sees it.

Reading the Results

A pass means the network let the request through. It doesn’t guarantee the session will be perfect, since bandwidth and audio quality aren’t things a browser can measure on its own.

A failure means one of three things, in order of likelihood:

  1. The domain is blocked by the school’s network filter. This is the common case, and only IT can fix it.
  2. The connection is slow enough that the check timed out. Run it again before you escalate - two failures on the same host is a real signal, one isn’t.
  3. The service itself is down. Rare, and it would show up across every school at once.

N/A on a Lessonspace region is expected. US schools only need the two US regions, so the other four failing is normal and not a problem.

What to Do About a Failure

  1. Run it again. One timeout on a busy network proves nothing.
  2. Note which hosts failed. That list is most of the diagnosis, and it’s what anyone helping you will ask for first.
  3. Send it to your district IT team with Spark Technology Requirements. They own the network filter.
  4. Re-run this page after they make the change, from the same device and network. Confirming the fix takes ten seconds and saves a surprise on session day.
  5. Still failing? Email tech@braintrusttutors.com with the failing hosts, the school, and the network you tested on.