VLESS REALITY: Client reaches server but always times out, Xray logs "REALITY: processed invalid connection"

[lycaocuong2000-gif]

Hello everyone,

I have been troubleshooting this issue for several days and would really appreciate your help identifying what I may have configured incorrectly.

Environment

• VPS: Hetzner Cloud
• OS: Ubuntu 22.04
• Docker
• Marzban
• Xray-core 24.12.31
• Client: Hiddify
• Protocol: VLESS + REALITY
• Transport: TCP
• Port: 443

Problem

The client imports the subscription successfully.

When I press Connect:

• it tries to connect for about 1–2 seconds
• then always ends with Timeout
• no traffic is established

Xray log

Every connection attempt produces:

transport/internet/tcp: REALITY: processed invalid connection

The log appears exactly when the Hiddify client attempts to connect.

Already verified

I have already checked all of the following multiple times:

• Docker is running correctly
• Marzban is running correctly
• Xray process is running
• Inbound listens on port 443
• Firewall allows port 443
• DNS resolves correctly
• Client definitely reaches the VPS
• REALITY is enabled
• REALITY destination and serverNames have been configured and verified.
• The values were compared between the client configuration and the current Marzban configuration.
• Public Key
• Private Key
• ShortID
• SNI
• Fingerprint
• Flow
• Generated VLESS link
• Generated subscription

Everything appears to match the current Marzban configuration, but I may still be missing something.

What confuses me

The client clearly reaches the server because Xray immediately logs:

REALITY: processed invalid connection

However, the log does not indicate which REALITY parameter failed.

My questions

1. Under exactly what conditions does Xray generate:

REALITY: processed invalid connection

2. Besides incorrect Public Key, ShortID or SNI, what other configuration mistakes can produce this log?

3. Is there any known compatibility issue between:

• Marzban
• Xray 24.12.31
• Hiddify

4. Is there any runtime configuration inside Xray that may differ from what Marzban shows in its panel?

5. What is the best way to identify which REALITY parameter actually failed during the handshake?

I am trying to find the root cause instead of guessing and changing random settings.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much.

[Yuchenjimmy]

Possibly sni server problem, "www.microsoft.com" won't work, try "www.bing.com" instead.

[cisternasfelipe]

The problem is usually due to firewalls; if your client is connecting from an institutional/corporate network, there may be issues preventing connectivity.