How to Fix Selenium Timeout Errors in Python: A Step‑by‑Step Guide

Introduction

The author encountered a Selenium timeout exception while automating a web page with Python, where the expected element ID was not present, causing the wait to exceed the specified timeout.

Problem Details

The error message was:

Timeout value connect was <object object at 0x102a80b70>, but it must be an int, float or None.

The script attempted to wait for an element with id='specific-element', but the page required login and did not contain that element, leading to a timeout.

Corrected Implementation

The revised code includes proper driver initialization, navigation, and a safer wait strategy. Comments highlight the need to verify element existence before waiting.

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
from selenium.webdriver.support import expected_conditions as EC
import time

try:
    # Path to Edge WebDriver
    edge_driver_path = "/Users/jethroshen/Desktop/Database/CodePython/selenium_WebDriver/edgedriver_mac64_m1_126.0.2592.61/msedgedriver"
    driver = webdriver.Edge(executable_path=edge_driver_path)
    driver.get("https://www.excnpc.com/admin/#/train/class-info")
    driver.maximize_window()
    wait = WebDriverWait(driver, timeout=10)
    try:
        # Wait for a specific element that actually exists on the page
        element = wait.until(EC.presence_of_element_located((By.ID, "actual-element-id")))
        print("Page loaded successfully")
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Page load timeout: {e}")
    time.sleep(5)
    driver.quit()
except Exception as ex:
    print(f"Exception occurred: {ex}")

Conclusion

The key takeaway is to ensure the target element exists and is accessible before applying explicit waits; otherwise, Selenium will raise a timeout error. Adjusting the element selector or handling authentication steps resolves the issue.