Facebook error library

When using a scheduling tool like Buffer, there will be instances when a social network refuses the post and replies with an error message. Find your error below and follow the troubleshooting steps to get back on track.

💡 Tip: Use Ctrl+F (Windows) or Cmd+F (Mac) to search for your exact error message.

In this article:

Daily posting limit reached

Error message: "The daily posting limit for this channel has been reached! Please try reducing the amount of times per day in your schedule and try again later."

Why this happens: You've hit Buffer's daily posting limit for this channel.

What to do: Reduce the number of posts scheduled per day. For more details, see Daily Posting Limits.

Lost authorization to post

Error message: "It looks like Buffer has lost authorization to post on your behalf. No need to worry, though! Here are the steps to re-authorize Buffer."

Why this happens: Your Facebook password was recently changed, which invalidates Buffer's access token. Buffer no longer has the permissions it needs to publish on your behalf.

What to do:

  1. Follow our guide on reauthorizing the connection between Buffer and Facebook or Instagram.
  2. Make sure all profiles, pages, and permissions are selected under Facebook > Edit settings.
  3. Head back to your Buffer.com dashboard, click Manage Channels, and refresh your channel.
  4. Retry your post.

Lost authorization to post to this Facebook channel

Error message: "Oops! It looks like Buffer has lost the authorization to post to this Facebook channel. No need to worry, though! Here are the steps to re-authorize Buffer."

Why this happens: Buffer doesn't have sufficient permissions to publish to this Facebook Page or Instagram account.

What to do:

  1. Follow our guide on reauthorizing the connection between Buffer and Facebook or Instagram.
  2. Make sure all profiles, pages, and permissions are selected under Facebook > Edit settings.
  3. Head back to your Buffer.com dashboard, click Manage Channels, and refresh your channel.
  4. Retry your post.

FB Group: Buffer app not added as Admin

Error message: "Please ensure you're an Admin for the FB Group and Buffer has been added as an app to your Facebook Group."

Why this happens: The Facebook profile that authorized the connection doesn't have Admin permissions for the group, or the Buffer app hasn't been added to the group's settings.

What to do:

  1. Confirm the Facebook profile that connected the group to Buffer is still listed as a group Admin. See Facebook's article: How Do I Make Someone An Admin Or Moderator Of My Facebook Group?
  2. The group Admin needs to add Buffer as an app in the group's Facebook settings. See: How to Connect a Facebook Group & Troubleshooting Connections.
  3. Head back to your Buffer dashboard, click Manage Channels, select your Facebook group, and refresh the connection.

FB Page: Admin or two-factor authentication required

Error message: "Whoops! Please ensure you're an Admin for the Facebook Page and that Two-Factor Authentication has been setup on Facebook.com. Afterward, head back to Buffer, refresh your Channel and retry this post."

Why this happens: The Facebook profile that authorized the connection doesn't have the right Admin permissions, or two-factor authentication isn't enabled on their account.

What to do:

  1. Confirm the Facebook profile that connected the group or Page to Buffer is still listed as an Admin. See Facebook's article: Manage Roles for Facebook Pages.
  2. The user who added the Facebook group or Page needs to enable two-factor authentication. Learn how to turn on two-factor authentication in Facebook.
  3. Head back to your Buffer dashboard, click Manage Channels, select your Facebook group or Page, and refresh the connection.

Trouble uploading this media

Error message: "It looks like we're having trouble uploading this media. Please get in touch and we'll be happy to help!"

Why this happens: An unknown error occurred during publishing.

What to do: Retry the failed post. If it keeps failing, contact our support team.

Trouble uploading that image

Error message: "It looks like we're having trouble uploading that image. Please get in touch and we'll be happy to help!"

Why this happens: The image you're trying to upload is either corrupted or in a format Facebook doesn't support.

What to do: Make sure your image is in JPG, PNG, or HEIC format and is no larger than 4 MB, then retry the post.

Potential FB bug — post may already be live

Error message: "We're investigating a potential FB bug. Your post is likely live on Facebook. Please check that your post has successfully published on Facebook.com before deleting this failed post."

Why this happens: Buffer successfully delivered the post to Facebook, but Facebook experienced an issue on their end while processing it. This is a known, longstanding Facebook bug caused by their servers running out of memory. Your post is most likely live on Facebook — though in some cases it may have published with text only and no image attached.

What to do:

  1. Check Facebook.com to see if your post published successfully.
  2. If it did, delete the failed post from your Buffer queue.
  3. If it didn't, try posting natively on Facebook.com for the time being.

Facebook requiring extra permissions to publish

Error message: "Yikes! Facebook is requiring some extra permissions in order to publish. Please login to Facebook.com and complete the page Publishing Authorization steps under Settings > Account Settings."

Why this happens: Facebook requires admins of high-reach Pages to complete a Page Publishing Authorization process to verify authenticity.

What to do:

  1. Log into the Facebook profile with full Admin permissions for your Page.
  2. Switch back to your primary profile (not your Page) and visit Facebook's Page Publishing Authorization page and follow the steps.
  3. Enable two-factor authentication for your Facebook account.
  4. Confirm your location by turning on Location Services on your mobile device.
  5. Head back to your Buffer.com dashboard, click Manage Channels, and refresh your channel.

Error message: "Your content couldn't be shared, because this link goes against our Community Standards."

Why this happens: The link you're sharing may have been reported by someone on Facebook as a policy violation. Unfortunately, if Facebook has flagged the link, there's nothing Buffer can do to reverse that decision.

What to do:

  1. Try sharing the same post directly on Facebook.com — in most cases you'll see a similar error from Facebook there too.
  2. Click the "let us know" link within Facebook's error message and follow the steps to report it as a mistake.
  3. If you don't see the same error when posting natively, contact Facebook Business Support directly.

Facebook requiring you to login and follow prompts

Error message: "Whoops! Facebook is requiring you to login to www.facebook.com and follow the prompts. Head back to Buffer, refresh your Channel and retry this failed post."

Why this happens: Facebook has temporarily flagged your account for security or privacy reasons and needs you to verify your identity.

What to do:

  1. Log into the Facebook profile that's an Admin for your Facebook Page.
  2. Complete any verification steps Facebook presents at www.facebook.com.
  3. Head back to your Buffer.com dashboard, click Manage Channels, and refresh your channel.

Bumping into Facebook page limits

Error message: "It looks like we're bumping into a few Facebook page limits."

Why this happens: Facebook monitors overall page engagement over a 24-hour period. If engagement is low (few clicks, shares, or comments), Facebook may temporarily restrict how many posts can be published until engagement improves.

What to do: Reduce the number of posts you're publishing — start with just one post every 24 hours. Focus on increasing engagement on your page to lift the restriction over time.

Unknown error — Buffer doesn't have permission to post

Error messages:

  • "An unknown error has occurred, please get in touch if this persists."
  • "Yoiks! Buffer doesn't have permission to post on your behalf. Please try reauthorizing this account by clicking reconnect under settings."

Why this happens: These errors typically mean the "Publish as Pages you manage" permission wasn't accepted when connecting your Facebook Page to Buffer.

What to do:

  1. Refresh your Facebook account in Buffer, making sure you're signed into the correct Facebook profile.
  2. If refreshing doesn't help, fully reauthorize your Facebook Page by following the steps here — make sure all required permissions are accepted during the process.

Facebook requires identity confirmation

Error message: "An error has occurred. Facebook requires that you confirm your identity. Please open the Facebook app on your phone and follow the instructions. If you still run into issues, let us know!"

Why this happens: Facebook has flagged your account and needs you to verify your identity before Buffer can publish on your behalf.

What to do:

  1. Open the Facebook app on your phone and complete any verification steps presented.
  2. Once you've completed any verification steps, please wait 24 hours before attempting to post natively on Facebook as your Page.
  3. Once you're able to post natively, try creating another post in Buffer.

Your Facebook account has limited access for security reasons

Error message: "For security reasons, your account has limited access to the site for a few days. [Learn more on Meta's Help Center]."

Why this happens: Meta has temporarily restricted the Facebook account that's connected to Buffer. This restriction is applied by Meta — usually for suspicious activity, policy concerns, or identity-verification reasons — and Buffer can't override it.

What to do:

  1. Log in to the Facebook account directly at facebook.com and follow any prompts Meta shows you.
  2. Visit Meta's Help Center for steps specific to your restriction.
  3. Once Meta has lifted the limitation, head back to Buffer and retry your post.

This restriction applies to all post types — photos, videos, reels, and Stories — so until Meta lifts it, your Facebook posts of any kind will fail with this same message.

📝 Seeing a different error? Get in touch at hello@buffer.com and let us know the error message you see — we'll be happy to help!

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