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.

Let’s take action on those! Search the “Error” column below for the error you see, and then troubleshoot with the advice in the “Solutions” column on the right.

Error Reason for error message Solution
"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." 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. See more here: Daily Posting Limits.
"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." This error indicates the Facebook password has recently changed. It means the access token is invalid, and Buffer doesn’t have the permissions it needs to publish on your behalf. We recommend viewing our guide on Reauthorizing the connection between Buffer and Facebook or Instagram to see instructions on how to reauthorize. Please ensure that all profiles/pages and permissions are selected in Facebook > Edit settings view. Head back to the Buffer.com dashboard, click Manage Channels and refresh your channel. Once this is done, retry your post.
"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." This error can occur when trying to publish to a Facebook Page or Instagram account. Buffer doesn’t have enough permissions it needs to publish on your behalf. We recommend viewing our guide on Reauthorizing the connection between Buffer and Facebook or Instagram to see instructions on how to reauthorize. Please ensure that all profiles/pages and permissions are selected in Facebook > Edit settings view. Head back to the Buffer.com dashboard, select Manage Channels and then refresh your channel. Once this is done, retry your post.
"Please ensure you're an Admin for the FB Group and Buffer has been added as an app to your Facebook Group." This error indicates that Buffer doesn’t have all the permissions it needs to publish on your behalf and the Facebook Profile responsible for authorizing the connection doesn't have the proper Admin permission to publish via the API.
  1. Confirm that the Facebook profile responsible for connecting the group to Buffer is still listed as an Admin for the Facebook Group. To learn more, see the Facebook article, How Do I Make Someone An Admin Or Moderator Of My Facebook Group?
  2. The FB group Admin needs to add the Buffer app to the group’s settings on Facebook. For instruction, see the Facebook article, How to Connect a Facebook Group & Troubleshooting Connections.
  3. Head back to your Buffer dashboard, select Manage Channels select your Facebook group and refresh the connection.
"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." This error indicates that the Facebook Profile responsible for authorizing the connection doesn't have the proper permission for the group to publish via the API.
  1. Confirm that the Facebook profile responsible for connecting the FB group or Page to Buffer is still listed as an Admin in Facebook. To learn more, see the Facebook article Manage Roles for Facebook Pages.
  2. The user who added the Facebook group or Page needs to turn on two-factor authentication for their Facebook account. Learn more about two-factor authentication and how to turn it on in Facebook.
  3. Head back to your Buffer dashboard, select Manage Channels > select your Facebook group and refresh the connection.
"It looks like we're having trouble uploading this media. Please get in touch and we'll be happy to help!" An unknown error has occurred during the time of publishing. Please retry the failed post.
"It looks like we're having trouble uploading that image. Please get in touch and we'll be happy to help!" This error message indicates the image that you're trying to upload is either corrupted or in a format that Facebook does support. Please ensure that the image format is either JPG, PNG, or HEIC, and is not more than 4 MB.
"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."

This error occurs when Buffer tries to post a message to Facebook but, when Buffer delivers the message to Facebook, Facebook experiences an issue posting the content.

This specific error has been linked to a longstanding Facebook bug. Facebook has stated that the underlying cause is that their servers run out of memory.

Your post is most likely live on Facebook, even though Buffer is showing this post as failed. This specific API error can cause the post to publish with text only and no images image attached.

Check your post on Facebook.com and delete this failed post in your queue. Try posting natively on Facebook.com for the time being.
"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." In an effort to increase security and authentic Facebook Pages, Facebook requires people who manage high potential reach Pages to get authorized to publish as their Page. This requires immediate action.
  1. Log into the Facebook profile that has full admin permissions of the Facebook page
  2. Next, ensure you switch back to your primary Profile (not Page) and head directly to this link: https://www.facebook.com/business/m/one-sheeters/page-publishing-authorization and follow the steps that Facebook provides.
  3. Turn on 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 then refresh your channel.
"Your content couldn't be shared, because this link goes against our Community Standards." This can sometimes happen if the link you're sharing has previously been shared on Facebook (by you or anyone else), and someone who has seen the link has reported it as a violation. This can be frustrating, but if Facebook doesn't allow the link to be shared for any reason, there is unfortunately nothing we can do to have that decision changed.
  1. Head over to your Facebook account and trying to share the exact same post through Facebook directly. In most cases, the post will fail and you will see a similar error from Facebook.
  2. Click the "let us know" link within the Facebook error message and work through the steps to let Facebook know you think it's an error. (Unfortunately, we don't have any control over which posts are allowed on Facebook).
  3. If you don't see the same error message, you can still reach out to Facebook for support here
"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." This error indicates Facebook has temporarily flagged your account due to security or privacy reasons.
  1. Login to your Facebook profile that’s an Admin for your Facebook Page.
  2. Complete the instructions given at www.facebook.com.
  3. Head back to your Buffer.com dashboard, click Manage Channels and refresh your channel.
“It looks like we’re bumping into a few Facebook page limits.” Facebook looks at the overall engagement of pages within a 24 hour period. If the engagement is low (e.g. few clicks, shares, and comments), Facebook might restrict the number of posts that can be published until engagement levels increase. If your page is restricted, posts in Buffer will fail to publish and you'll see the following error. We recommend reducing the number of posts that you're publishing, so you don't reach the request limit. Try sharing just one post every 24 hours to begin with. We also recommend that you try to increase the overall engagement on your page.

“An unknown error has occurred, please get in touch if this persists."


OR 


"Yoiks! Buffer doesn’t have permission to post on your behalf. Please try reauthorizing this account by clicking reconnect under settings."

Buffer needs all permissions to be accepted when connecting a Facebook page or your posts will fail to publish. These are the most common errors you may see on failed posts that indicate that the Publish as Pages you manage permission wasn't accepted during the connection process:
  • Refresh your Facebook account, making sure you're signed into the correct Facebook profile when refreshing.
  • If that doesn't work, we recommend completely reauthorizing your Facebook page, following the steps here, to ensure all required permissions are accepted. 

📝 Seeing a different error on your post? Feel free to get in touch via hello@buffer.com and let us know the error message you see--we'll be happy to help! 

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