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A target controls how hard a valid hash is to find
A candidate block must satisfy the network target and the other consensus rules. A lower target admits fewer hashes. Difficulty expresses the relative work needed; it is not a speed setting on your miner. Changing the device frequency changes its attempts and energy use, not the target accepted by the Bitcoin network.
The adjustment follows blocks, not a calendar alarm
Bitcoin recalculates its difficulty every 2,016 blocks to target an average interval of ten minutes. Actual blocks arrive unevenly, so an estimated adjustment date can move. For an operating report, save the current difficulty, block height and observation time together; a screenshot without its date cannot explain a later change in production.
A halving changes the subsidy component
The subsidy halves every 210,000 blocks. Fees paid by included transactions form a separate component of the block reward. A halving therefore does not mechanically halve every pool payment in fiat currency: fees, difficulty, exchange price and the pool settlement method also matter. Use block height for the event and a dated scenario for its effect.
Example: isolate a difficulty change
In a simplified example, hold your accepted hashrate, subsidy and fee assumptions constant. If difficulty rises by 10%, expected production scales by 1 / 1.10, or about 90.9% of the previous value. The decrease is about 9.1%, not 10%. This proportional illustration excludes pool luck, short observation windows and changing fees; it is not a forecast.
Separate a network change from a site fault
Compare accepted hashrate and uptime first. If both are stable but coin-denominated receipts changed, inspect difficulty, fees and settlement dates. If accepted hashrate fell too, investigate the site before attributing everything to the network. Keep one row per day so a firmware change, outage or settlement delay remains visible beside the economic variables.
References
Original documents and further reading. Check the manual for your exact equipment.
