Visitors can't get past the access code or sign-in

When you're done, the people you want can get into your Chirp or Collection, and you know why someone was stuck.

Who this is for: Chirp owners and their team, when a visitor says they can't get past the access code, the password or the email step. Anyone who edits a Chirp can change its access code. Who can open this Chirp is for the account owner and workspace admins, on the Creator, Business and Academy plans. If you're a visitor, tell the person who shared the link: only they can change these settings.

What you see

Two different things can stand in front of a Chirp:

• An access code: one shared word, set in the editor under 8. Sharing, in Access code (optional). Visitors see "This Chirp needs an access code."
• Who can open this Chirp: Password, Invited people only or Email required. Visitors see the Chirp's name and a password box, or an email box followed by a 6-digit code.

While a password, an invitation or an email sign-in is on, the access code isn't used.

What visitors see	Why, and the fix
"That code isn't right." on the access code card	The access code doesn't match
"Too many wrong codes from this connection. Please wait up to an hour and try again."	Too many tries from one connection
"We couldn't check the code. Please try again."	The visitor's internet connection dropped. They click Continue again.
"That password isn't right."	The password doesn't match
"Too many tries from this connection. Please wait up to an hour and try again."	Too many tries from one connection
"If jo.reyes@example.com is on the invite list, a 6-digit code is on its way.", and no email comes	The address isn't on the invite list
"That code has expired or isn't valid. Ask for a new one."	The email code is old, used or was never sent
"That code isn't right." on the email code step	The email code is old, used or was never sent
"Too many wrong codes. Ask for a new one."	The email code is old, used or was never sent
"Too many codes were asked for from this connection or email address. Please wait up to an hour and try again."	Too many tries from one connection
"This email isn't on the invite list."	The address isn't on the invite list
No code email arrives, or "Couldn't send the email. Please try again in a minute."	The code email doesn't arrive
"Enter a valid email address."	The address has a typo. The visitor checks it and clicks Send me a code again.
"This page has changed since you opened it. Reload the page and try again."	You changed something while the page was open
Signed in before, and asked again	Visitors are asked to sign in again

Find the reason

1. Ask for the exact words the visitor saw, and the link they used. Find the words in the table above.
2. Open the link yourself in a private window. You see the same card visitors do. The preview in the editor never asks for a code or a sign-in, so it can't show the problem.
3. Check the settings in the editor, under 8. Sharing:
   • Access code (optional) shows the code in use now.
   • Under Who can open this Chirp (account owner and workspace admins), the option with a tick is the one in use. With Invited people only, look at Invited emails. With Invited people only or Email required, People who signed in lists everyone who got in, with the date.

The picture shows Invited people only chosen (1), with no addresses yet: the note (2) says nobody can sign in.

The access code doesn't match

"That code isn't right." The code must match exactly, capital letters included: "basil" doesn't open a Chirp whose code is BASIL. Spaces at either end don't matter.

• Send the visitor the code again, or click Copy link with code under 8. Sharing and send that link: it opens the chat without asking.
• If you changed the code, everyone needs the new one: they're asked on their next message.
• A new code works as soon as you click Save, with no publishing.

See Ask visitors for an access code.

The password doesn't match

"That password isn't right." Passwords match exactly. You can't see the current password, only when it was set.

To share a new one: under Who can open this Chirp, type a new password and click Change password. It applies at once and signs out everyone who's signed in, so send it to everyone who should have it. See Who can open a Chirp: password, invitations or email.

Too many tries from one connection

These limits count per internet connection, so everyone on the same office, school or home network shares them:

• Access code: after 10 wrong codes for one Chirp, "Too many wrong codes from this connection. Please wait up to an hour and try again."
• Password: after 10 wrong passwords for one Chirp or Collection, "Too many tries from this connection. Please wait up to an hour and try again."
• Email codes: after 20 code requests from one connection, across all Chirps and Collections, or 5 for one address on one Chirp or Collection, "Too many codes were asked for from this connection or email address. Please wait up to an hour and try again." Every Send me a code and Send it again counts, also for an address that isn't on the invite list.

After 10 wrong codes or passwords, even the right one is refused until the next hour starts. The counts start again at the top of each hour, for example at 3:00, not an hour after the last try.

You can't reset the count, and changing the code or the password doesn't reset it either. The visitor waits for the next hour, or tries from another connection, such as their phone's mobile data instead of the office network.

The email code is old, used or was never sent

A code from the email works for 15 minutes, and only once.

• "That code has expired or isn't valid. Ask for a new one." The code is older than 15 minutes, was already used, or no code was asked for with that address.
• "That code isn't right." A typo, or a code from an older email. Asking for a new code replaces the one before, so only the newest email's code works. With Invited people only, an address that isn't on the list gets this too: it never receives an email.
• "Too many wrong codes. Ask for a new one." Five wrong tries on one code.

The visitor clicks Send it again and types the code from the newest email. To fix a typo in the address, they click Use a different email. A code typed with a space, like "482 913", works too.

The address isn't on the invite list

With Invited people only, an address that isn't on your list gets no email. The card still says, for example, "If jo.reyes@example.com is on the invite list, a 6-digit code is on its way.", and any code they type gets the same answers an invited person's wrong code gets ("That code isn't right.", then "Too many wrong codes. Ask for a new one."), so nobody can find out who's on your list.

1. In the editor, under Who can open this Chirp, look at Invited emails. An empty list says "The invite list is empty, so nobody can sign in yet."
2. Paste the visitor's exact address and click Add to the list. Chirp Builder says how many were new, for example "Added 1 new email."
3. Ask the visitor to click Send it again, or Use a different email if they typed another address.

Capital letters don't matter, but every other character does: jo.reyes@example.com and joreyes@example.com are different addresses. Chirp Builder doesn't email people when you add them, so send them the link yourself.

"This email isn't on the invite list." means the address was removed from the list after the code was sent. Removing an address ("jo.reyes@example.com removed. They can't sign in anymore.") also stops someone who's already in, on their next page or message.

The code email doesn't arrive

• It can take a minute. The visitor checks their spam or junk folder.
• The subject is, for example, "482913 is your code for Bike Fix Helper". In a white-label workspace, it comes under the workspace's name.
• "Couldn't send the email. Please try again in a minute." The email didn't go out. The visitor waits a minute and clicks Send me a code again, or Send it again if it was a second code.
• With Invited people only, no email at all usually means the address isn't on the list: see The address isn't on the invite list.

You changed something while the page was open

"This page has changed since you opened it. Reload the page and try again." The visitor opened the page before you changed Who can open this Chirp, made the Chirp a Draft or archived it. After a reload, they see the chat, the right card, or "Chirp not found".

Visitors are asked to sign in again

A sign-in is checked on every page load and every message. It ends:

• when you change the setting under Who can open this Chirp, or set a new password: "Changing this signs out everyone who's signed in.";
• when you remove the address from Invited emails;
• after 30 days.

A sign-in, like an access code, is remembered in one browser for one address. Visitors are asked again:

• in another browser or on another device, or after clearing their browser's data;
• on your own domain, and inside each website where the chat is embedded: each one remembers on its own;
• in a private window, once it's closed;
• in a browser that blocks this site from saving data, on their next visit.

Removing someone from People who signed in doesn't sign them out: "Removed from the list. This doesn't sign them out." To sign everyone out, change the setting, for example to Anyone with the link and back. Going back to Password keeps the last password unless you type a new one.

Collections

• Who can open this Collection protects only the Collection's page, with the same password, invitation and email steps and messages. Collections have no access code.
• Each Chirp keeps its own setting and its own link. A Chirp with its own sign-in asks again when it's opened from the Collection. On the Collection's page, its card says "Sign-in needed", or "Access code needed" for an access code.
• Anyone with a Chirp's own link can open a Chirp set to Anyone with the link, without the Collection's password. To protect the Chirp too, set its own Who can open this Chirp.

See Share a Collection.

Good to know

• You're asked too when you open the public page. The preview in the editor never asks.
• A paused or unavailable Chirp never shows the sign-in card: visitors see that message first. See Visitors see "temporarily unavailable" or a busy message.
• On your website, the code card and the sign-in show inside the chat box. See My website embed is blank or doesn't appear.
• Editors can change the access code but don't see Who can open this Chirp. Ask the account owner or a workspace admin.
• If your plan changes to Essentials, a password, invite list or email step keeps working for visitors. You can switch to Anyone with the link, and remove addresses, but Change password and Add to the list say "Password, invitation and email access come with the Creator, Business and Academy plans."