I’m having a critical issue with the labs in the Generative AI with Large Language Models course on Coursera and I can no longer proceed with the course.
Issue 1: Lab time exceeded error
Whenever I try to start the lab, I get the following error:
Your total lab usage time of 2975 minutes has exceeded the total allocated time of 2400 minutes
This is very strange because I only used the lab once for about 15 minutes. I may have accidentally left it open in the background without realizing it, but either way the lab should automatically close/timeout after a few minutes of inactivity — it should not keep counting time indefinitely.
Issue 2: Cannot submit work
Because of the above error, I’m also unable to submit my work. When I try to submit, I get this error:
Submit failed. The lab must be started to Submit.
So I’m stuck in a loop: I can’t start the lab because my time is exceeded, and I can’t submit because the lab isn’t started.
What I need:
A reset or extension of my lab usage time, as the 2975 minutes consumed do not reflect my actual usage.
Or at the very least, a way to submit my work without having to start the lab.
Is there any way for the course staff or Coursera support to reset the lab time or grant an extension? Has anyone else experienced this issue?
Hi! Kindly fill out the form linked in point #8 of the course FAQ. We will look into the account details submitted and fix the issue accordingly. Thank you!
Hi Samir. You should be able to start the lab again. On your next attempt though, please make sure to complete and submit the lab to avoid that error again. Hope that’s okay. Thanks.
I am getting this error again even before I open my Canvas:
Region: us-east-1
Lab ID: arn:aws:cloudformation:us-east-1:643048334872:stack/c84506a3863589l13812912t1w643048334872/4d2cc520-1615-11f1-84e3-0affde34aa2f
Creation Time: 2026-03-02T00:53:37-0800
Your output path is invalid. Please reach out to your administrator to update your Canvas configuration settings in the S3 Console. Then log out and log in again to apply changes in your Canvas application.
Hi. The first part is not an error message. It’s saying that you started the lab successfully. Please post a screenshot of the 2nd part (i.e. Canvas) and tell us what step in the instructions you are following. You can screenshot that as well in the Vocareum page (i.e. the page that opens when you click Launch Lab in Coursera). If you don’t follow the steps on that page, any other resource you access will be blocked. You are only allowed to access those mentioned in the instructions.
Hi. There is no screenshot. I only see a copy paste message. Will need to see your problem in its exact context along with the instructions you’re trying to follow. Thanks.
Just to add. You may have seen a time budget exceeded again yesterday. That should be fixed now and you can enter the lab. However, on your next attempt, please make sure to follow the Vocareum instructions closely. They are beneath the AWS and Start Lab buttons and looks something like this:
Also, remember to press Submit on the upper right of the lab to complete it. From the error you’re describing (no screenshot yet), it seems like you missed some of the instructions that’s why you’re getting an error. If you get stuck, remember to take fullscreen screenshots so we can understand the problem better. Also note what step of the instructions you are following. Thank you.
Hi. What part of the instructions are you following? There is no mention of Sagemaker Canvas there so you should not be accessing it. Please see my earlier response here regarding the instructions:
