What should you do when a member is unable to log in to the community?
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Prerequisites
Before going through the verification checklist to identify the issue, make sure you have the following information:
- The user's email address (used to log in or sign up)
- Community type: open or closed, standard login or SSO
Common issues
The verification checklist below covers the most common login issues, applicable to all communities, whether they use a standard login system or SSO.
Case 1 - Incorrect email or password
The member may be using the wrong email address or password, which prevents login. You can first go to Stats > Users and search for the member's email address to confirm that a user with this email address exists.
- Go to Stats > Users and click on
Fields
- Enable the Email toggle
- In the Email column filter, search for the member's email address and click on Apply
If clicking on Apply shows a row for the user, their account exists. In this case, if they still can't log in, suggest that they reset their password on the login page, and check their inbox, spam folder or marketing/promotions tab.
If no row appears for the user, either they used the wrong email address, or they don't have an account yet. In that case, they will need to create one.
If you've already checked that the account does not exist and you have a closed community, the member may have submitted an application that is still pending. In that case, check the status of their application:
- Go to Settings > Platform applications
- Search for the member's email address on the To review and Waiting list tabs
- To review: candidates in this tab have submitted an application that has not yet been reviewed.
-
Waiting list: candidates in this tab have had their application moved to the waiting list, meaning their profile is considered interesting and they may be accepted into the community in the future.
If a row appears for the user in one of the tabs, they have a pending appplication. In this case, an admin can decline the application, move it to the waiting list or accept it.
If no row appears for the user, either they used the wrong email address, or they don't have an account yet. In that case, they will need to fill out an application.
Case 2 - Browser or device-related issues
Login may fail due to browser or device-related issue. You can ask the member to:
- Try logging in from incognito/private mode
- Try a different browser or device
- Suggest clearing browser cache and/or cookies if needed
Case 3 - Denied application (for new members on closed communities)
If an email address was previously used to apply to join the community but the application was denied, login with that email will not be possible. It is also no longer possible to complete a new application with this email address.
Here is what you can do:
- Check if there is an open application with this email address in Settings > Platform applications
- Suggest that the person apply again using a different email address, then an admin must approve this new application to grant access
SSO specification
If your community uses an SSO login system:
- To access the community, the member must have an active account on your website
- The credentials of this account are used to log in to the community
- Any action performed on the website account (account deletion or recreation) directly impacts access to the community
Common scenario
A user deletes or compromises their account on your website and then recreates it using the same email address. Even if the user is logged into your website, attempting to log into the community may redirect them to a visitor page instead of granting proper access.
This happens because the community system still holds a link to the old user ID, which blocks login for security reasons.
Checks & resolution
- Check for existing outdated account with this email address on the community, in Stats > Users
- Delete the outdated community account via the user profile, click on the three vertical dots, select Delete
- Ensure the user has an valid website account on your side
- The user should be able to log in to the community without issues
To prevent future login issues for SSO communities, we recommend setting up the synchronization API to automatically update the community whenever a user account is deleted on your website.
This ensures a smoother experience for users while improving security.
Check out the API setup guide.
Final step
If all checks were completed and the member still cannot log in, contact the support team with the following information:
- User email address
- Checks already performed (for example: password reset, browser, incognito mode)
- Screenshot or screen recording (if possible) to help resolve the issue faster and understand the plaform's behavior