Facebook Account Locked? See Why & How To Fix It
Did you get your Facebook Account Locked?
The common error message when it happens says: “Your Account is Temporarily Locked” or “We’ve detected suspicious activity on your Facebook account and have temporarily locked it as a security precaution.”
In this article, we will discuss the reasons behind Facebook account locking and how to fix it yourself.
You will learn:
- Why you got locked out of Facebook;
- How to unlock locked Facebook account;
- How to prevent Facebook login issues and locking your account in the future.
Why is Facebook Account Temporarily Locked?
Your Facebook account has been locked because Facebook has detected suspicious activity and want to verify you as an account owner.
This is just one of few measures to assure you are a human and a genuine Facebook user.
With billions of users and petabytes of data uploaded daily, Facebook takes proactive approach when it comes to platform’s security by constantly monitoring millions of Facebook accounts and introducing security checks to some of them.
Here are few most possible reasons why your account is temporarily locked:
- login from new location or device
- potential phishing attack
- spam, Community Standards or ToS violations
- using unathorized apps, tools or bots.
Login from an unfamiliar location or device
Usually this type of lock will be accompanied with this error message: “We’ve locked your account because someone recently tried to login from an unfamiliar location”.
One of the Facebook’s main security measures is to constantly monitor IP address and device from which logins are made.
If there is a out-of-norm login, Facebook likely will prevent it and might decide to lock the access to the account and its services.
Naturally, this can happen when you just changed your phone, or trying to log to your account from someone’s else device or when you are logging from a new place - if let’s say you are on vacation.
This also means that if someone unauthorized is trying to login to your account from unknown device or IP, the login will likely be prevented.
A phishing attack
When , error message will say: “It’s likely that your account was compromised as a result of entering your password on a website designed to look like Facebook.”.
Phishing attacks pose big security threat to your account.
They are designed in a way that trick you into revealing your login credentials or other critical account data.
Spammy behaviour on Facebook
A few things that are considered spam or spam-like behaviour:
- having fake account, using fake name or impersonating someone
- sending too many messages or friend requests
- joining too many groups in short period of time
- using bots and automated software
- spam advertising
- any other activity that violates Facebook’s Terms or Community standards.
Using unauthorized third party apps
Some third party apps may gain unauthorized access to your account and read or even change your account data.
When that happens, for security reasons
Heads up: It’s possible that your Facebook account is locked by mistake, even if you did not use any third party apps or tools.
Requesting too many authentication or recovery codes
If you or someone else made multiple, unsuccessful attempts, requesting authentication or recovery codes many times in short time span, this might be considered as unusual and likely cause account lock.
How to Unlock your Facebook account
All Facebook accounts are subject to the same procedure but a lot depends on circumstances.
Fix #1: Use “Report a login issue” form
When your account is locked, the best place to start is to reach out to Facebook via their “ Report a login issue” form.
Simply include detailed description of the issue you are facing, explain what methods you’ve tried and provide a contact email address.
Additionally to help Facebook investigate the issue, attach a screenshot with the error you are getting.
Once you submit the form, it will take anywhere between 5-10 business days to get someone from Facebook to get back to you.
Fix #2: Use “Security checks preventing login” form
Use “ security checks preventing login” form if you are unable to log in due to security checks, for example, if you’re not receiving a security code to unlock your account.
The steps are similar like with the first form - provide an email address you can be reached at and describe the problem you are facing.
If you are not getting security code, make sure to mention it in this form so that your request can be adequately addressed.
Fix #3: Confirm your identity with Facebook
One more, definitely useful form is “ Confirm your identity with Facebook” form.
With this form you will be able to pass verification check and confirm you are the owner of the account.
You need to attach a government-issued photo ID (passport, driver’s license) and provide your login email or phone number.
Facebook claims your ID might be stored up to one year but you can change this to 30 days only in your your Identity Confirmation Settings.
Once you submit the form with your ID attached, just wait for the Facebook to get back to you.
Heads up: If you are locked out of Facebook because you just forgot your login credentials: email or password, you can:
- recover your account: as long as you still have access to the email or phone number that is attached to your Facebook account.
- reset your Facebook account: if you decide to reset your account, you will need to answer your security question.
How to prevent Facebook Account Locks
Prevention is better than cure as they say. To prevent temporary lock or other security checks, here are few tips:
Verify your email address, phone number & identity
By verifying your email address, mobile number and real name, you are showing to Facebook that you’re not trying to impersonate another person.
You can also add additional information about yourself such as where you live, what school/college you went to etc.
Use strong passwords
Stronger passwords mean fewer attempts at guessing what your password is.
The longer it is, the more time is required to crack it.
Have aged, naturally looking account
If you made your Facebook account just recently, your account is less trustworthy in eyes of Facebook.
This is because spammers often use freshly made, fake accounts to spam other users.
For that reason, its more likely for a new account to get locked than an account with a long history of activity and large amount of friends.
Facebook has become an integral part of our lives.
Whether we use it for socializing, exchanging information, business or just sharing pictures and videos with friends, there’s no denying its importance.
Just like other social media platforms, Facebook has a few measures in place and if the account appears to be doing something out-of-norm, it will get locked.
Being locked out of Facebook can be very frustrating.
In fact, it can be downright scary, especially if you are using Facebook for business marketing or manage Facebook Page.
We hope this guide helped you understand how to fix Facebook account locked issues.
In case if you still face problems it totally makes sense to contact Facebook support team directly!
Facebook Account Locked FAQ
How long will my Facebook account be locked?
Your Facebook account will stay locked until you complete on-screen instructions.
In some cases, waiting anywhere between 24-48 hours might fix the problem itself but if the lock does not go away after this time, we suggest to contact Facebook.
Karen is a senior technical writer and copywriter here at GrowFollowing. Her area of expertize are social media apps and new media.