Meta Access and Troubleshooting

This SOP outlines what publishers are responsible for regarding their Facebook and Instagram accounts. This process applies to all City Lifestyle social pages that are connected through Meta Business Suite.

Overview

City Lifestyle does not have access to your personal Facebook or Instagram accounts.

We only manage what is inside the Meta Business Suite (shared CL business assets), which includes:

Facebook business pages for your publication
The connection status of your Instagram account after it is linked to your Facebook page
Permissions, invites, and business access settings

Important:

Instagram accounts are publisher-owned. National support only has the login credentials provided by the publisher.

We do not have backend access to Instagram accounts and cannot reset passwords, override 2FA, or troubleshoot login issues.

Anything tied to your personal login (passwords, 2FA codes, recovery, login issues, app toggling, etc.) must be handled by Meta directly.

Understanding Ownership: Facebook vs. Instagram

Facebook Pages — Corporate-Owned

All City Lifestyle publication Facebook pages belong to corporate.
These pages live inside Meta Business Suite.
Support can view, manage access, confirm ownership, and verify Facebook–Instagram connections.

Instagram Accounts — Publisher-Owned

Instagram accounts are created, owned, and fully controlled by the publisher.
These accounts do not live in the Meta Business Suite.
Support cannot access, reset, recover, or reauthorize your Instagram account.
Support can only verify whether Instagram is connected to your Facebook page in Meta —nothing more.

What Support CAN Help With

✔️ Send a new invite to Meta Business Suite

✔️ Confirm whether your FB + IG are connected on our end

✔️ Check if your invite is pending or accepted

✔️ Verify corporate ownership of your Facebook page

✔️ Help you understand what account you are posting to

✔️ Advise on how disconnecting accounts may affect your SMM deal

✔️ Provide steps for creating optional private Facebook groups

What Support CANNOT Help With

❌ Access your personal Instagram or Facebook

❌ Reset passwords

❌ Fix login or 2FA issues

❌ Reconnect Instagram if it was disconnected in your personal app

❌ Troubleshoot anything inside your personal Facebook or Instagram settings

These limitations are due to platform ownership and Meta privacy controls.

How to Tell if Your FB & IG Are Connected Correctly

You can check this two ways:

Inside Meta Business Suite (Support View)

Support can verify whether Instagram shows under:

Business Suite → Your Page → Settings → Connected Assets

You should see:

Your corporate Facebook Page
Your Instagram account
Status: Connected

On Your Personal Facebook App

Open Facebook
Tap your profile
Select Switch Profile
Your publication’s Facebook page should appear

On Your Personal Instagram App

Open Instagram
Go to your profile
Tap your username at the top
You should be able to toggle to your publication’s IG page

If the publication’s IG does not appear, it is disconnected on your personal device, not in the business suite.

If Instagram Is Not Switching or Not Showing

Common causes:

Logged out of the Instagram app
Switched phones
Removed accounts
Changed your password
Adjusted security or 2FA settings
Updated your device

Steps to Fix It Yourself

Log into Instagram with your personal account
Go to Settings → Add account
Enter your publication’s IG username + password
Once logged in successfully, it will appear as a toggle option

If Your FB Page Isn’t Switching

The most common causes:

Business Suite invite not accepted correctly
Invite still shows “Pending”
Accepted while logged into the wrong FB account

How to Accept Your Invite

Log out of all Facebook accounts
Log back in with your personal Facebook
Open your email
Click the Business Suite invite
Accept using your personal FB credentials

Why Your Invite Still Shows “Pending”

Even if you think you accepted it, Meta may not have registered the acceptance.

Typical reasons:

Using the Facebook app
Logged into the wrong account
Clicking “View Page” instead of “Accept Access”
Switching accounts mid-acceptance
Shared device logins
Cached invite link

It will not work if accepted while logged into a page, community profile, or secondary account.

If you see:

“We sent a code to your old number”
“Incorrect login code”
“We don’t recognize this device”
“Can’t log in”

Support cannot fix this. Instagram accounts are publisher-owned.

You must use Instagram’s Direct Recovery / Hacked Account process.

Instagram Recovery Steps

Open Instagram
Tap Forgot Password
Tap Need more help?
Select Can’t reset password
Choose My account was hacked (best for triggering recovery)
Complete identity verification, which may include:
- Email verification
- Video selfie
- Facebook login confirmation
- “Help from friends” process

Meta may take several days or weeks to respond. City Lifestyle cannot escalate these cases.