Reading the access queue

Before the storefront loads you will usually see a short queue page. It is a deliberate throttle that keeps the server from being crushed when a lot of people arrive at once, and it clears on its own. The page usually tells you an estimate, and that estimate is the number to watch, not the spinner.

In practice the wait runs from a few seconds to a couple of minutes. If it is still counting after five minutes, the circuit is probably stuck rather than the store being down. The fix is to try another mirror, not to refresh the same one, because a refresh restarts the circuit build from zero.

The queue is not an error and it is not a paywall. It is the market spacing out its visitors. Let it finish once and you are in.