Reauthorizing the connection between Buffer and Facebook or Instagram

Sometimes the simple channel refresh we walk you through in our Refreshing a channel in Buffer article doesn’t do the trick when troubleshooting the connection between Buffer and Instagram or Facebook.

There are a few aspects that need to be in place for Buffer to connect and post to Facebook or Instagram. Below, we’ve shared a checklist to help you get all of the necessary settings in place for a strong connection.

OK, so what will you get from the deal?

• Connect the Facebook and Instagram channels you need to,
• Fewer errors and failed posts,
• Fewer channel disconnects,
• Less time playing “fix-it” and more time being creative!

This article contains the following sections:

• Checking your admin status
• Checking your Facebook connection permissions
• Removing Buffer from Facebook and refreshing the connection

Checking your admin status

First, we’ll need to make sure your personal Facebook profile is an admin on the Facebook Page that you want to connect or refresh or that is linked to the Instagram channel you want to connect or refresh. Facebook is currently in the middle of releasing their Business Suite experience, so we recommend heading to this article to work through how to check your page role status.

Once you’ve checked that guide and you’re confident your page role is correct, you can move to the section below to check your permissions.

Checking your Facebook connection permissions

Incomplete permissions are a common reason for connection issues and “unknown” errors when sending posts. Follow these steps to get things back on track.

1. Log into the Facebook personal profile that is an admin on the Facebook Page. 

2. Click on the small drop-down arrow at the top right of your screen and then click Settings & privacy > Settings. From there, scroll down and click Business integrations on the left-hand side (to access your Business Integration settings directly, click this link ). Please note that these settings are found on your Facebook profile and not within the Facebook Page settings, so you must be using Facebook as your profile to access them. 

3. Find Buffer in the list of integrations and click View and edit.

   

4. In the pop up window, we need to ensure that all Facebook Pages are checked in all sections as shown below. Each section may need to be expanded by clicking See all Pages. Refer to this video to see how to expand those sections and see all of your Pages.

   📝 Note: If you don’t see any individual Pages listed in the following screens, it means that you’ve previously granted Buffer permissions to access all Pages, which is the ideal setup. In this case, you won’t need to check any Pages here, and instead, you’ll need to reestablish the authorization by following the steps in the next section.

   

   

5. After selecting all Pages, click Save.

After that’s done, try to connect or refresh your Facebook or Instagram channel again. If you’re working in the publishing dashboard, you can also retry any failed posts in your queue. If you still see errors, please refresh your connection, following the steps below.

Removing Buffer from Business Integrations in Facebook and reauthorizing the connection

In certain situations, Buffer will need to be removed from Business Integrations in Facebook in order for you to re-establish the authorization between Buffer and Facebook. Please follow these steps to refresh.

1. In Facebook, click on the small drop down arrow at the top right of your screen and then click Settings & privacy > Settings. From there, click Business integrations on the left hand side (or click this link). Please note that these settings are found on your Facebook profile and not within the Facebook Page settings, so you must be using Facebook as your profile to access them. 

   

2. You should see Buffer listed in the integrations area. This will need to be removed in order to continue. Tick the check box and then click Remove.

   

3. A window will pop up asking if you want to remove Buffer with a check box at the bottom. Leave both checkboxes unticked and then click Remove.

   

4. Then, head back over to to Buffer and try your connection again. When you are connecting or refreshing your Facebook or Instagram channel, please be sure to accept all permissions and all Pages (even Pages not connected to Buffer) during the authorization process.

   📝 You'll notice an option to "Choose what you allow". This option is required to be shown in this step due to Facebook's guidelines, but modifying any of the permissions here will mean that we are not able to authenticate with Facebook and it will not be possible to connect your Instagram channel.

   

Need help connecting or refreshing your Facebook or Instagram channel?

After you’ve completed your troubleshooting steps you can connect or refresh your channel.

• If you are refreshing your channels, please see this guide. You can then retry any failed posts in your publishing dashboard.
• If you are connecting Facebook or Instagram for the first time, please see this guide.