How to link Instagram to your Facebook Page, and fix it

Link Instagram to your Facebook Page from your phone or a computer, what changes once they are linked, and the fix for each error that stops the connection.

By the You Snap We Post teamAugust 6, 20265 min read

In this article

What linking changes
Before you start
Route 1: from your phone, in Instagram
Route 2: from a computer, on Facebook
When it will not connect: the fixes
After it works
If the tangle is bigger than one setting

To link Instagram to your Facebook Page, open your Instagram profile on your phone, tap Edit profile, tap Page, then Connect or create, log in to Facebook and pick your Page. On a computer you can do it from the Facebook side: switch into your Page, open Settings, then Linked accounts, then Instagram, and click Connect account. When it fails, Meta's own help pages point to a short list of causes: a personal account, a Facebook login without enough access, or a business portfolio in the way. Below are both routes and the fix for each problem.

What linking changes

It is worth a minute before you tap anything, because the link is more than a shortcut for sharing posts. Instagram's help center lists what you get:

Ads that run on both Facebook and Instagram, created from your Page.
Instagram comments and Direct messages answered from the same inbox as your Page's messages.
Posts and stories shared to both, and tools such as appointment booking buttons.
One payment method for promotions on both apps.

And one thing to know in advance. Meta says that once the accounts are connected, anyone who has access to the Page or to your Instagram account will be able to manage both. So read the Page's access list before you link. If an old employee or a former agency is still on it, take them off first; our guide on removing an admin from a Facebook Page has the steps.

Also: a linked Instagram account shares its posts to Facebook only through that one Page, never to another Page or to a personal profile.

Before you start

You need three things:

An Instagram professional account. If yours is personal, Instagram asks you to switch during the linking. Keep in mind that a professional account is public: if your account is private, switching makes it visible to everyone.
Full control of the Facebook Page, on the Facebook account you will log in with. Meta's business help center lists this as a requirement.
Both accounts in the same business portfolio, if you use one. An Instagram account can be in only one portfolio at a time. If it sits in a different one than your Page, it has to be moved first.

Route 1: from your phone, in Instagram

Go to your Instagram profile and tap Edit profile.
Scroll to Public business information. On a creator account it is called Profile information.
Tap Page, then Connect or create.
Tap Continue, then Login to Facebook. If the app offers the wrong Facebook account, tap Switch Facebook account.
Choose your Page and tap Connect.

Instagram may ask you to log in to your personal Facebook account at this point. That is expected: it is how Meta checks that your Facebook account really has access to the Page.

Route 2: from a computer, on Facebook

Log in to Facebook, click your profile photo in the top right, then See all profiles, and choose your Page.
Click the Page's profile picture in the top right.
Click Settings & privacy, then Settings.
Click Linked accounts, then Instagram.
Click Connect account and follow the steps.

The same screen has the way back: Disconnect account, then Yes, disconnect.

Note that adding your Instagram account to a business portfolio in Meta Business Suite does not by itself link it to your Page. Those are two separate steps, and you need both.

When it will not connect: the fixes

What you see	Likely cause	What to do
Instagram asks you to change your account type	It is a personal account	Accept the switch to a professional account, or do it first in the app under Account type and tools
Your Page is not in the list	The Facebook account you logged in with does not have full control of the Page	Log in with the owner's account, or ask the owner to give you full control
An error that Instagram is linked to a profile, not a Page	Instagram was connected to a personal Facebook profile	In Meta Business Suite Settings, add the Page with Add an existing Facebook Page and claim the Page and Instagram together
A message that the account is in another business portfolio	Someone, often a former agency, added your Instagram to their portfolio	Ask them to remove it, or to give you access
"Request sent" instead of a connection	You do not have full control of the portfolio that owns the Page	People with full control get an e-mail and a Facebook notification to confirm it in the Page settings
Nothing happens after you add the account	Another person with full control has to approve	They find it under Requests in Meta Business Suite Settings
A warning about a restriction	A restriction on the Page, the portfolio, the ad account or your own account	Check Business Support Home, where you may be able to appeal

The workaround Meta suggests, with a warning

For an Instagram account stuck in another business's portfolio, Meta's troubleshooting page offers one more option: switch the Instagram account to a private, personal account, then switch it back to professional and connect it to the Page you manage. It can work, but know the price. Instagram says that switching to a personal account removes access to ads and some tools, and disconnects any Facebook Page that was linked. Try asking the other business first.

After it works

Post once from Instagram with sharing to Facebook turned on, and check that it appears on the right Page.
Open the inbox in Meta Business Suite and check that Instagram messages arrive there. If posts scheduled in Business Suite stop reaching Instagram later, our checklist for when Meta Business Suite is not posting to Instagram walks through the usual causes.
If someone else now helps you, give them access through the portfolio instead of your password, as in how to add someone to your Instagram business account.

If the tangle is bigger than one setting

Sometimes the link fails because the history is messy: a Page owned by nobody in particular, an Instagram account inside an old agency's portfolio, no business portfolio at all. Our Business Manager Setup untangles that on one 45-minute video call, for $99: you click, we guide, and you end with a business portfolio in your name, your Page and Instagram account linked inside it, and an ad account with your card. You stay the owner and we never ask for a password. If Route 1 or Route 2 worked for you, you do not need it. You can find it with our one-time services.

Where the facts come from

Prices and buttons change. We checked everything above on the day this article was written.