The error “Error Calling Moderation Service” in Grok is a server-side timeout. It means the safety system (the “guardrail” that scans your prompt before the AI answers) failed to respond, so the AI was blocked from generating a reply.
As of Sunday, February 15, 2026, this is a known intermittent issue following the recent “Grok 1.3.38” update on February 11.
Here is how to fix it:
1. The “Complexity” Timeout (Most Common)
If your prompt is very long or involves complex instructions (especially for image generation), the moderation scanner times out before it can finish reading it.
The Fix: Simplify your prompt. Break it into two parts. Instead of one massive paragraph, ask Grok to “Outline the idea first,” and then in the next turn, ask it to “Generate the image based on that outline.”
2. Trigger Word False Positives
The moderation service is currently “overactive” (a known complaint in the xAI community this week). It often crashes when it encounters words it thinks might be policy-violating, even in a safe context.
The Fix: Sanitizing your prompt often bypasses the crash.
Example: Instead of “shoot a movie scene,” try “film a movie scene.”
Example: Instead of “attack strategy,” try “gameplay tactics.”
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3. Switch Platforms (App vs. Web)
The moderation API for the iOS/Android app is separate from the web version.
If you are on the Grok App, try the request on grok.com (or vice versa). The web version often has a more robust timeout threshold.
4. The “Regenerate” Spam
Since this is a connection failure, not a hard rejection:
Wait 30 seconds and hit Regenerate. Unlike a “Policy Violation” (which will never work), a “Moderation Service Error” often clears up on the second try when a different server node handles the request.
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