A post can fail because the connection between CivAll and the social account is no longer valid. The network will not accept posts on that account's behalf until someone signs in again. Reconnecting the account fixes it.
What happened
The post did not go out. CivAll asked the network to publish it, and the network refused because the authorization that lets CivAll act for that account is no longer good.
There are two versions of this, and the failure notice words them slightly differently.
- The connection expired. Nobody did anything wrong. Credentials are built to run out.
- The connection was revoked. Access was taken away on the network's side.
Both have the same fix.
Nothing was published. The failed post is not retried automatically, and it will not go out on its own later once you reconnect. You publish it again yourself.
Why connections expire
When an account is connected, the network issues CivAll a temporary credential. It is temporary by design, and several ordinary events end it early.
- Age. Some connections run out on a clock. Facebook and Instagram access ends when Facebook's data-access period for the connection runs out, and a Nextdoor connection expires with no way to renew it. CivAll renews LinkedIn, X, YouTube, TikTok, and Threads connections automatically, so those end only when the renewal itself stops working. On LinkedIn that happens after about a year, and then someone has to sign in again.
- A password change. When the person who connected the account changes their password on the network, the credential is invalidated immediately.
- A role change. When that person loses admin rights on the Page or account, the credential stops working even though it has not aged out.
- Removal on the network. Someone can remove CivAll's access from the network's own settings. On YouTube this is usually done from the Google account's security settings.
- A bulk invalidation. X invalidates connections in batches from time to time. This is why several X accounts can stop publishing on the same day with nothing having changed on your end.
What to do
Reconnect the account, then publish the post again, in that order. Publishing again first will only fail the same way.
Reconnecting happens in Accounts and requires the permission to manage accounts. Reattaching accounts and why they detach covers the steps.
Two things to watch while you reconnect.
- Sign in as the same account. Reconnecting as a different handle, channel, or user does not restore the account on file. This is an easy slip when a personal login and an agency login both exist.
- Sign in as someone who still holds the role. If the credential died because the connecting person lost their admin rights, having that same person sign in again will not help. See Post failed: the account is missing a permission.
What reconnecting does and does not do
Reconnecting issues a fresh credential and returns the account to a working state. Scheduled posts on that account resume publishing at their scheduled times from then on.
Reconnecting does not do three things people expect it to.
- It does not resend the post that already failed.
- It does not grant a role to the person signing in. It only records the access that person already has.
- It does not renew any other account's connection. Each connection is separate, and reconnecting updates only the account you chose.
Network by network
| Network | What to know |
|---|---|
| The Page connection does not expire on a 60-day clock. It ends when Facebook's data-access period for the connection runs out, and earlier when the connecting person loses admin rights on the Page or changes their password. A revoked connection means someone removed CivAll's access to the Page, or the person who connected it no longer administers it. | |
| Instagram is connected through the Facebook sign-in for its linked Page, so it runs out on the same clock as the Page. Reconnecting updates one account at a time, so reconnect the Instagram account as well as the Facebook Page. | |
| Threads | Threads tokens are issued separately from the Facebook Page token. Reconnecting Facebook alone does not renew Threads. Reconnect Threads on its own. |
| X | X invalidates connections in bulk from time to time. If several X accounts fail on the same day, this is almost certainly why. Reconnect each one. |
| CivAll renews the 60-day token automatically. After about a year the renewal stops working and someone has to sign in again. | |
| TikTok | The connection expires and is restored by reconnecting. |
| YouTube | The channel connection expires. A revoked connection usually means Google access was removed from the account's security settings. |
| Nextdoor | The agency connection expires and is restored by reconnecting. |
| Bluesky | Bluesky connects by signing in with the account's handle, and the connection has no set expiry. If it stops working, reconnect by signing in again. |
After you reconnect
Publish the failed post again.
Then check the Planner for anything else scheduled on that account during the window when the connection was broken. Those posts failed at their send times too, and they were not held or queued for later. Anything still worth sending has to be published or rescheduled by hand.
When reconnecting does not fix it
If the post fails the same way right after a successful reconnect, the cause is usually not the credential.
- A missing role or permission. The connection is valid, but the account does not hold something the network requires in order to publish. See Post failed: the account is missing a permission.
- An identity check on Facebook. Facebook sometimes puts a check on a Page or profile that blocks publishing until a person completes it inside Facebook. Reconnecting does not clear it. See Post failed: Facebook wants an identity check.