How to Fix Arbitrum Nonce Too Low and Nonce Too High Errors

05 September 2026

Arbitrum’s sequencer enforces strict first-come-first-served transaction ordering. That means every transaction you submit must have the correct nonce - the number that tracks your account’s transaction count. If a transaction is dropped, replaced, or submitted out of order, the sequencer rejects it with a “nonce too low” or “nonce too high” error. This page explains why that happens and how to fix it in MetaMask and Rabby.

Why arbitrum is strict about nonces

Ethereum uses a nonce system where each account’s transactions must be sequential: nonce 0, then 1, then 2, and so on. Arbitrum’s sequencer applies this same rule, but with a twist. It orders transactions in the order they are received, not in the order they are mined. If you send a transaction with nonce 5 while nonce 4 is still pending, the sequencer will hold nonce 5 until nonce 4 confirms. If nonce 4 gets dropped or stuck, nonce 5 will never confirm, and any attempt to resend nonce 4 with the same nonce will return “nonce too low” if the original is still in the mempool.

The error is straightforward: the nonce in your transaction does not match what the sequencer expects. “Nonce too low” means the sequencer has already seen that nonce and moved past it. “Nonce too high” means you are skipping ahead of the expected sequence.

Fixing nonce errors in metamask

MetaMask hides nonce management by default. That causes the problem: it assigns nonces automatically, and if a transaction fails or is dropped, MetaMask doesn’t always reset the count. You need to enable custom nonces.

1. Open MetaMask, click the three dots in the top right, then Settings > Advanced. Toggle “Customize transaction nonce” to on.
2. Check your account’s current nonce. Use a block explorer like Arbiscan. Search your address - the nonce listed under “Transactions” is the next one the sequencer expects.
3. If a transaction is stuck with a low nonce, you must clear it. Go to the activity tab, find the stuck transaction, and click “Speed up” or “Cancel.” Speed up increases the gas price but keeps the same nonce. Cancel sends a zero-value transaction with the same nonce to overwrite the stuck one.
4. If you have multiple stuck transactions with consecutive nonces, cancel the lowest nonce first. The sequencer won’t process higher nonces until the lower ones clear.
5. Once the stuck transaction clears, resend the original transaction. Set the nonce manually to match what Arbiscan shows as next in sequence.

If you skipped a nonce (e.g., nonce 4 is stuck, and you sent nonce 5 and 6), you have two options. Cancel nonce 4, then resend 5 and 6 with their original nonces. Or cancel nonce 4 and resend a combined transaction at nonce 4 that includes the intent of all three.

Fixing nonce errors in rabby

Rabby handles nonces more transparently than MetaMask, but errors still occur. Rabby shows the current nonce in the transaction confirmation window and lets you edit it before signing.

1. Open Rabby and go to the activity tab. Find the stuck transaction. Rabby often displays a “speed up” or “cancel” button directly. If not, click the transaction and choose “Cancel.”
2. After cancellation, check the expected nonce. Rabby displays your account’s nonce in the top right corner of the wallet interface. You can also verify on Arbiscan.
3. Submit the new transaction. In the confirmation window, look for “Advanced Options” or the nonce field. Enter the correct nonce. Rabby will warn if you try to use a nonce below the current sequence.
4. If Rabby shows “nonce too high” for a new transaction, it means the wallet is using a nonce that is higher than expected. Go to settings > networks > Arbitrum and click “Clear pending transactions.” This forces Rabby to re-fetch your account’s nonce from the chain.

General steps for both wallets

Sometimes the error persists because of RPC issues. Switch to a different Arbitrum RPC provider. Arbitrum’s public RPC endpoints can be congested. Use a dedicated provider like Alchemy, Infura, or QuickNode. In MetaMask, go to the network settings and update the RPC URL. In Rabby, go to networks > Arbitrum > edit RPC.

If the error is “nonce too low” for a transaction you have not sent, your wallet might be using a cached nonce. Reset your wallet’s activity history. In MetaMask: Settings > Advanced > Clear activity tab data. In Rabby: Settings > Clear cache.

For persistent issues, create a new account in your wallet, transfer a small amount of ETH to it, and test a transaction from the new account. This isolates the problem to the original account’s nonce state.

Arbitrum’s sequencer processes transactions in strict order. That is reliable but unforgiving. Once you understand the nonce sequence, these errors become simple to fix. The key is to never ignore a stuck transaction - it blocks everything behind it. Keep your nonces in sync, and you won’t see these errors again.

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