How do I troubleshoot profile disconnections?

Occasionally, a profile connected to Sprout becomes disconnected and requires reauthorization. This typically occurs due to a network requirement, rather than an issue with your Sprout account.

The most common reasons profiles become disconnected are:

• The password for the page or the admin was changed
• The admin who connected the profile lost admin access
• The admin who connected the profile has been removed

When a profile is disconnected, Sprout can't retrieve information about it. Therefore, inbound messages in the Smart Inbox, publishing of new messages (including those previously scheduled or queued) and reporting for the profile is impacted.

We recommend reauthorizing a profile as quickly as possible to mitigate any data loss. Sprout sends an email to the Account Owner and anyone with the ability to connect new profiles to the account.

To reauthorize a profile, click Issues in your Notifications Drawer. If you have proper permission, click the profile you want to reconnect and you get walked through the reauthorization process. 

While the reasons listed in this article are the most common causes for profile disconnection, some networks have different requirements or API limitations that can cause more frequent disconnects. If you're not sure about which account you're currently logged in to, please log out from your account natively and Sprout will then prompt you to login, ensuring you're attempting the correct account.

Learn more about Facebook and Instagram permissions here. 

Instagram

Configure a system user to remove a periodic reauthorization requirement for your Instagram profile. If you're using Page Administrator (Legacy) authentication, Instagram profiles require reauthorization every 90 days. Learn more about system users in this article.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn's API requires profile reauthorization every year. Users get notified of an impending disconnect in the upper-left corner of the app 17 days prior to disconnect. You can reauthorize at any point within that 17 day timeframe. 

If a LinkedIn Company Page becomes disconnected, any queued and scheduled messages will fail to publish until the page is reconnected.

Early Reauthorization Notification

17 days before the LinkedIn Company Page is set to expire: a notification appears in the upper-left corner of the application for the user who originally connected the LinkedIn page.

Clicking Reauthorize takes you to LinkedIn to reauthorize the page.

5 days before expiration: a notification appears for all users. The Account Owner or managers with access to add social profiles can reauthorize the page. Basic users see a notification informing them of who last connected the LinkedIn Company Page.

If a LinkedIn profile becomes disconnected: all users receive a notification informing them that the page was disconnected. The Account Owner or Managers with access to add social profiles can reconnect the page. Basic users see a notification informing them who last connected the LinkedIn Company Page.

Reconnecting a disconnected profile

Occasionally, you might find that one of your profiles gets disconnected from Sprout Social.

To reconnect your profile:

1. Click in the right-side panel.
2. Click Issues. 
3. Click Learn More on the notification informing you that your profile is disconnected or will disconnect in a certain number of days.
4. Click Reauthorize to go to the network where the profile is disconnected. You might need to enter your login details. After that, you are redirected back to Sprout and the notification disappears. 

Note: If you are logged in to the profile that you want to reconnect in the same browser as Sprout, the profile may be reconnected without taking you to the native network.

If the profile doesn’t reconnect with these steps, open Sprout in a private browser window to determine if there is a localized browser issue. Private windows are available in browsers such as Safari, Firefox and Google Chrome. Use the following shortcuts to browse in private mode:

• Windows, Linux or Chrome OS: Press Ctrl + Shift + n.
• Mac: Press ⌘ + Shift + n.

Once you opened Sprout in a new private window, you can try the steps again to reconnect the profile.

Note: If you’re experiencing persistent issues with profile reconnection, contact Sprout Support.