How to solve the OUT OF ENERGY problem in the TRON network?

In this article, we’ll try to explain why the OUT OF ENERGY error occurs on the TRON network when working with TRC20 tokens such as USDT, USDC, and others, and how to fix it.

The error in Ledger Live

When making a transaction through the Ledger Live app, you got the error “REVERT-OUT OF ENERGY“. The transaction didn’t go through, the funds weren’t transferred, but the fee was still deducted.

Why does this happen?

The error occurs due to a lack of energy when sending the transaction. This can happen if your wallet doesn’t have enough TRX to send the transaction, or if you’ve exceeded the fee limit set when the transaction was created. Usually, up to 10 TRX is enough to send TRC20 tokens, but when the network is congested, that amount may not be sufficient. That’s what causes the error.

The Ledger Live developers set a limit of 10 TRX in their software — this is the maximum amount that can be burned when sending a transaction.
If it’s not enough, the transaction will fail with an error, and the fee will be deducted (burned) anyway. Usually this amount is enough, but if you got this error, your transaction probably hit this limit. Or you simply didn’t have enough TRON on your wallet.

If your TRON balance after the transaction is zero, you’ll need to top it up with at least 15 TRX to cover the fee, and try again.

How to solve the problem

There are several ways to solve the problem:

• Wait for the network to “cool down” so that fees drop to acceptable levels.

This option works for you if the transaction isn’t urgent and you can send it later.

• Stake TRON to get energy.

If you’re not staking TRX, then the amount of energy on your wallet is likely zero. But that’s not a problem, because TRON has a mechanism that burns TRX in exchange for energy. When you send TRC20 tokens and don’t have any energy, TRX is burned in exchange for energy.

You can stake coins and get the amount of energy you need — it regenerates every 24 hours. If you usually burn 5 TRX or more irreversibly when sending a transaction, then by staking a certain amount of coins you’ll be able to use renewable energy — meaning transactions effectively become free for you. You can later unstake the coins and sell them. The downside of this option is that the renewable energy you get from staking is quite expensive: around 1,200 TRON (~$60) for 30,000 energy.
A single USDT transaction usually consumes 24,000 energy. If you don’t send USDT or other TRC20 tokens often, want to earn passively through staking, and don’t want to pay fees and burn TRON — this option is for you.

• Use a different client with no transaction fee limit.

You can use any client you prefer that doesn’t have a Fee Limit. But keep in mind that in this case, up to 1,000 TRX can be burned on a single transaction. This can happen when the network is congested.

Staking TRON to get energy

1. Open your TRON account and click “Stake”.

2. Click “Continue”.

3. Choose what exactly you want to freeze your assets for, enter the amount, and click “Continue”.

Bandwidth — used when sending transactions of any type. Usually around 300–400 bandwidth is needed per transaction.
Energy — used when interacting with TRC10/20 smart contracts. A USDT transfer is exactly this kind of operation.

4. Confirm the operation on the Ledger.

5. Great — the asset is now frozen.

Sending funds via TronScan

1. Go to TronScan.org.

2. Connect your hardware wallet.

3. Select the wallet you want to send assets from.

4. Confirm the address on the device.

5. Click the address at the top of the screen and select “Send”.

6. Enter the recipient’s address and select the asset.

7. Confirm the operation on the device.

8. The funds have been sent. ✅

Conclusion

If you got this error, you need to check how much TRX was burned.

• If the amount is greater than or equal to the Fee Limit, you’ve hit the Fee Limit, and you need to send a new transaction through a client that doesn’t have a Fee Limit, or stake TRX to get energy.
• If the amount is less than the Fee Limit and your TRX balance is zero, you need to top up your TRX balance.