Conveyor Splitter Not Working Fixes

If a Moon Sweepers conveyor splitter is not working, check these five things in order: the game version (patch 1.0.3 fixed splitters built by crewmates), whether each output port really has its own belt attached, whether those belts point away from the splitter, whether a branch is blocked further down, and whether you expect a switch that does not exist. A splitter alternates capsules between its outputs on its own. There is no setting to pick a side.

Most "broken" splitters on the current version are one of three things: a belt that sits beside a port without joining it, a branch that leads into a full or unpowered machine, or a placement that the game refuses because the spot is too close to another structure. The launch-day multiplayer bug, where splitters placed by a joining player did nothing, is listed as fixed in the 1.0.3 notes.

How a Splitter Is Supposed to Behave

The Splitter is in the Building Tool's Logistics tab, next to the Packager and the Merger. It takes capsules from one incoming belt and distributes them between its outgoing belts automatically.

Key behaviour to expect:

• It alternates by itself. Players who looked for a way to steer capsules found no switch in the interface. To send everything one way, remove the belt on the other output.
• Every output needs its own belt. The splitter divides the route, but nothing leaves a port that has no conveyor attached.
• It can go onto an existing line. Splitters snap onto a conveyor that is already built, so you do not have to demolish a working belt to add a branch.
• It snaps to other logistics pieces. Since 1.0.3, splitters and mergers snap straight onto each other, port to port.

If your splitter does all of this and capsules still stop, the fault is almost always somewhere other than the splitter itself.

After placement, the Splitter waits for you to draw its output belts.

Quick Diagnosis Table

Find the row that matches what you see, then jump to the matching fix below.

Fix 1: Capsules Stop in Front of the Splitter

When capsules gather at the splitter's input, either they cannot enter it or they cannot leave it.

1. Look at the last section of the incoming belt. If it ends next to the splitter rather than in its input port, delete that section and draw it again into the port.
2. Check the direction arrows on the incoming belt. A section that points back toward the source will never feed the splitter.
3. Follow each output belt. If both branches are full, the splitter has nowhere to send capsules and the queue will appear to start at the splitter.
4. Test with a single capsule. A short, empty line is easier to read than a long one full of backed-up cargo.

A common trap on stream was building a splitter and then forgetting to finish one of its branches. Players noted that a line looked "stuck" until the second output was connected to a machine.

Fix 2: The Splitter Sends Capsules Down Only One Branch

If one output never receives anything, the second branch usually has no real connection.

• Belt beside the port. Two belts placed near a splitter are not necessarily joined to it. Remove the branch's first section and redraw it from the splitter outward.
• Branch drawn backwards. Build from the splitter toward the destination so the arrows face away from the splitter.
• Branch ends in nothing. A belt that stops short of its machine or the station intake fills up and then stops accepting capsules, so everything seems to flow down the other side.

The opposite problem, where you want everything to go one way, is not a bug. Because the splitter alternates on its own, the player workaround is to delete the branch you do not want. If you only need one route, a plain conveyor with no splitter is simpler.

Fix 3: The Splitter Will Not Place or Snap

Placement problems usually come from crowding. One streamer got the message too close to another structure while trying to drop a splitter, and others found certain spots simply refused it near machines or existing branches.

Try these in order:

1. Move further back along the incoming belt, where there is open space on both sides. Players found a splitter can sit a good distance before the machines it feeds.
2. Clear space around the planned spot so each output has room to leave without touching another structure.
3. Decide the branch direction first, then complete the long belt run toward each machine. Building several loose pieces and forcing them together afterwards tends to make snapping worse.
4. On 1.0.3, use port-to-port snapping when you need a splitter right next to a merger or another splitter.

One community tip is to leave a long straight belt after each splitter. That leaves room to add more splitters later without rebuilding around a cramped junction.

Fix 4: Splitters Built by Crewmates Do Nothing

At launch, players reported that splitters and mergers placed by a joining player failed while the host's worked. The common workaround was to let the host place every junction.

The 1.0.3 notes state that splitters and mergers built by crewmates now work. Before you rebuild anything:

1. Make sure every player in the session is on version 1.0.3. The patch notes say all crewmates must be on 1.0.3 to play together.
2. Recheck the ports and belt directions on the old junction. A crewmate's splitter can also be placed wrong.
3. If a splitter built before the patch still misbehaves, try removing and re-placing that one piece rather than the whole line.

Having the host rebuild a junction is still a valid test, but it should no longer be required just because someone else placed it.

Fix 5: The Splitter Works but a Machine Branch Stays Idle

Splitters often feed processing machines, and a stalled machine makes the splitter look guilty. Check the machine at the end of the idle branch.

For a Stone Press, the usual layout splits incoming dust before the Pressure Chamber. One branch goes straight to the press's dust input, the other goes through the chamber, and the chamber's sand output feeds the press's second input. If the raw-dust branch is missing, the press waits forever even though the splitter is fine.

Power is the other silent cause. Solar machines can stop after sunset when stored charge runs out. The splitter keeps alternating, but the branch fills up because its machine is off.

Test the Splitter in Isolation

When you cannot tell which part is failing, strip the problem down.

1. Note where capsules are piling up.
2. Disconnect the splitter's branches and run a short belt straight from the source into the station intake.
3. If that direct belt sells, the source and intake are fine.
4. Add the splitter back with one short branch and send a capsule through.
5. Add the second branch and confirm the splitter alternates.
6. Reconnect the machines one at a time.

This takes a few minutes but avoids tearing down a whole factory for one misdrawn belt section.

Rebuild a Splitter Without Wasting Money

Removing buildings does not refund the full price. Players consistently report getting back about 75%, so check the removal preview before you demolish anything expensive.

Splitters and belts are cheap to redo compared with machines. Conveyor costs $0.50 per meter, so redrawing a few sections near a splitter is usually the right first step. Leave Pressure Chambers and Stone Presses in place unless their input side is genuinely facing the wrong way.

Practical habits that prevent rework:

• Place processing machines first, then draw belts to them, so you know exactly where each input is.
• Keep the last stretch into every machine straight and simple. Bends and height changes right beside an input hide disconnected sections.
• Use height changes to cross lines that must stay separate. On PC, players report Ctrl plus the mouse wheel changes belt height while building. A belt passing over another does not join it.
• Leave spare straight belt after each splitter for future branches.

When the Splitter Is Not the Real Bottleneck

Sometimes a splitter works perfectly and the line is still slow. If capsules keep piling up before a Pressure Chamber even though both branches are connected and powered, the chamber may simply be at capacity. Its listed limit is up to 5 kg every 12 seconds.

In that case the fix is adding processing capacity, not replacing the splitter. Build another machine beside the first, split the incoming belt to feed both, and bring their outputs back together toward the station. Before that, confirm the queue persists under normal power, so you are not buying a second machine to solve a night-time battery problem.

A working splitter line looks like this: capsules arrive, alternate between both outputs, each branch moves continuously, and the machines or station at the end consume what arrives. Once you see that, the splitter is doing its job and any remaining slowdown belongs to another part of the factory.