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
- Lost authorization to post
- Lost authorization to post to this Facebook channel
- FB Group: Buffer app not added as Admin
- FB Page: Admin or two-factor authentication required
- Trouble uploading this media
- Trouble uploading that image
- Potential FB bug — post may already be live
- Facebook requiring extra permissions to publish
- Link goes against Community Standards
- Facebook requiring you to login and follow prompts
- Bumping into Facebook page limits
- Unknown error — Buffer doesn't have permission to post
- Facebook requires identity confirmation
- Your Facebook account has limited access for security reasons
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:
- Follow our guide on reauthorizing the connection between Buffer and Facebook or Instagram.
- Make sure all profiles, pages, and permissions are selected under Facebook > Edit settings.
- Head back to your Buffer.com dashboard, click Manage Channels, and refresh your channel.
- 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:
- Follow our guide on reauthorizing the connection between Buffer and Facebook or Instagram.
- Make sure all profiles, pages, and permissions are selected under Facebook > Edit settings.
- Head back to your Buffer.com dashboard, click Manage Channels, and refresh your channel.
- 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:
- 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?
- 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.
- 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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:
- Check Facebook.com to see if your post published successfully.
- If it did, delete the failed post from your Buffer queue.
- 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:
- Log into the Facebook profile with full Admin permissions for your Page.
- Switch back to your primary profile (not your Page) and visit Facebook's Page Publishing Authorization page and follow the steps.
- Enable two-factor authentication for your Facebook account.
- Confirm your location by turning on Location Services on your mobile device.
- Head back to your Buffer.com dashboard, click Manage Channels, and refresh your channel.
Link goes against Community Standards
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:
- Try sharing the same post directly on Facebook.com — in most cases you'll see a similar error from Facebook there too.
- Click the "let us know" link within Facebook's error message and follow the steps to report it as a mistake.
- 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:
- Log into the Facebook profile that's an Admin for your Facebook Page.
- Complete any verification steps Facebook presents at www.facebook.com.
- 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:
- Refresh your Facebook account in Buffer, making sure you're signed into the correct Facebook profile.
- 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: "Facebook requires that you confirm your identity. Please open the Facebook app on your phone and follow the instructions. You can also try going to Facebook.com and publishing a post natively as your Page, which often triggers the identity verification. 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:
- Open the Facebook app on your phone and complete any verification steps Facebook presents.
- If you don't see any verification prompts there, try publishing a post natively as your Page on Facebook.com. This often triggers Facebook to show the identity-verification flow.
- Once you've completed verification, head back to Buffer and try your post again.
- If the error keeps coming back, get in touch at hello@buffer.com.
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:
- Log in to the Facebook account directly at facebook.com and follow any prompts Meta shows you.
- Visit Meta's Help Center for steps specific to your restriction.
- 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!