Troubleshoot

SymptomLikely causeResolution
CONNACK 0x95 “Packet too large”Broker rejects the packet size.Reduce payload size or set max_packet_size in the MQTT 5 CONNECT properties.
No incoming PINGRESPApplication traffic is more frequent than the keep-alive interval.This is expected — the broker resets the timer whenever data flows.
Retained message not clearedMessage published without clearing retain flag.Republish the same topic with an empty payload and --mqtt_pub_retain.
TLS handshake failsCA bundle missing or host-name mismatch.Verify --ssl_ca_file or (for tests) add --ssl_allow_untrusted.
Session resume not working--mqtt_clean_start flag still set.Omit --mqtt_clean_start and set a non-zero --mqtt_session_expiry_interval.