Do you remember when Facebook Messenger was an integrated part of the Facebook app? There was a tad of a performance issue. It was buggy and inaccessible on most devices at the time. However, it saw a revamp after developers decided to introduce it as a separate app in 2011. Aside from being equipped with features like video calls and media sharing etc., Facebook Messenger enables users to use multiple accounts under one app and switch between them hassle-free. Users don’t have to exit one account and log into the other one every time they need to switch between multiple IDs. Nevertheless, the app’s users have reported an error they encounter, where the app forces them to toggle accounts repeatedly when using the app at any moment of the day. Now, the concern of the hour for the huge number of users active on Facebook has been how to fix Facebook Messenger switch account problem which we will find out here. Moreover, in this article, we will learn about the reasons why messenger keeps asking you to switch accounts.
How to Fix Facebook Messenger Switch Account Problem
Here, you will get to know about the ways to fix Facebook messenger switch account problem.
Introduction to Facebook Switch Accounts
As one of the fastest-emerging social networking and communication platforms, Facebook has undergone a wide array of developments and conversions since its founding. In the early decades of the twenty-first century, Facebook made strides by launching the Facebook Messenger app, which in 2016 enabled the feature of multiple accounts. In essence, this feature allows the user to conveniently add, use and switch between multiple Facebook or Messenger accounts. An example would be where an individual holds two separate accounts, one personal and one professional. The user can quickly switch between both accounts with one tap, which largely eliminates the need to remember and repeatedly enter credentials to access each of them.
Nevertheless, Messenger allows the user to add and toggle between 5 different accounts. That benefits even more when there is no confusion and traffic in notifications because the app pushes notifications only for the account that is logged in. However, I can still call it a momentous disadvantage completely depending on the priority check.
Reasons why Messenger Keeps Asking You to Switch Accounts
The bug shows up if the user is logged into the messenger app with multiple Facebook accounts. It is that while trying to share anything from Facebook to Messenger, the latter app keeps asking you to switch accounts. The possible reasons could be:
- A glitch or a bug that the Messenger app might have encountered.
- Facebook or Facebook Messenger servers may be down.
- The Messenger app you are using on your device is already outdated.
- The storage of your device is full of app cache.
- You have the power saver or data saver mode enabled on your device.
- Several multiple accounts are added and are being used.
- Different accounts are active on the Facebook app and on the Messenger app at the same time.
How to Fix Switch Accounts Error
Don’t allow yourself to stress out if you too have to face this issue. Many users enquire about methods on how to fix Facebook Messenger switch account problem and we have listed below the reliable methods for you.
Note: The following methods were tried on Samsung S20FE 5G (Android 13 One UI 5)
Method 1: Revive Internet
Low data speeds and insufficient internet connectivity could affect the proper loading of files. This could cause an error when switching between accounts. Turn off your router and restart it, then reconnect your device to the internet. If you are using the internet over Mobile Data, turn it off and turn it on again. Check if this resolves your issue. Read our guide to boost internet speed.
Also Read: Fix Facebook Messenger Waiting for Network Error
Method 2: Restart Device
It is possible that the last time you turned on your device, some of the apps and files did not load properly. Henceforth, causing the error. Restart your device and confirm if the problem persists.
1. Press and hold the Power button on the side of your phone.
2. Tap on Restart.
Method 3: Wait for Server Uptime
If you hit that error while actively texting on Facebook Messenger and trying to switch between accounts, it could be caused by Facebook Messenger servers being down. Check Downdetector for any such data. If the servers are experiencing discrepancies at that moment, wait until they are restored.
Method 4: Wait Until Bug is Repaired
Sometimes it can be a bug in the app that cannot be fixed by users through troubleshooting. As a result, developers take note of a huge number of complaints about these bugs and errors reported by users and provide an update to fix the issue. Before trying any of the troubleshooting methods, check for any official statement from Facebook on Facebook’s official Twitter handle or on Meta Newsroom Twitter handle. If there is one, please wait until an update is pushed.
Method 5: Update Facebook Messenger App
If by any chance your app is not updated to the latest version and the one you currently run is a mess, we suggest you update the app. The developers might have fixed the bug in the new update. To automatically update on Android read out our guide.
Method 6: Disable Chat Heads
Facebook Messenger has a text message feature for convenient and faster replies in the form of chat bubbles. Chat head permits displaying the app over any other app running on the screen. With this bubble, a user can quickly reply to a message even while being on a different screen. Disabling the Chat heads has shown to resolve how to fix Facebook Messenger switch account problem effectively.
1. Launch the Messenger app on your smartphone.
2. Hit the three bars (Menu) in the right-hand corner of the screen.
3. Tap on the gear icon for settings.
4. Scroll down to Chat Heads.
5. Toggle to turn it off.
Also Read: Can You Delete Facebook and Keep Messenger?
Method 7: Clean Up Temporary Data
An abnormally high number of temporary files created by the app’s activity, i.e., cache, leads to sluggish performance. This is more prevalent when there are issues with the storage space available on your device as well. Delete your cache files and any other temporary data created by the Facebook Messenger app and your error might not show up anymore.
1. From the Settings menu of your phone, scroll down and select Apps.
2. Navigate and select the Messenger app.
3. Tap on the Storage option.
4. Tap on Clear Cache to clear the cache data.
Launch the Messenger app and verify if the problem is solved.
Method 8: Remove Accounts
This solution might help once if you in a span of time remove all the accounts added to the messenger app and a while after, add one and the other back again.
1. On the Messenger app, hit the three bars (Menu) option in the right corner.
2. Tap on your profile photo.
3. Swipe left on the second account that shows up on the list.
4. Tap on the Delete Icon to remove the account.
Repeat the same for all the other accounts on the list except the first one.
5. After some time, add other accounts one after the other and while you add, keep a check if the error no more pops up.
Also Read: Fix Can’t Change Messenger Profile Pic on Android
Method 9: Log Out All Sessions
Sometimes it’s not something major but a minor UI glitch on your device. Logging out of the IDs and re-logging into the accounts following the aforementioned steps can help if how to fix Facebook Messenger switch account problem still prevails on your device. To log out of all the sessions of Facebook and Messenger:
1. Open your Facebook app.
2. Press the profile picture of the account you are logged in with on the right-hand corner of your device.
3. Tap on the gear icon to load settings.
4. Tap on See more in Accounts Centre under Meta Accounts Centre.
5. Choose the Password and security option under Account settings.
6. Under Security checks, tap on Where you’re logged in option.
7. Tap on the username.
8. Tap on Select all and hit Log Out.
This will log out the account for both Facebook and Messenger from all the devices that you’ve logged in through and still hold active sessions from.
9. Repeat the same for other accounts added to Facebook as well.
After all the accounts are logged out of all the sessions, log into them again and check if the issue is solved.
Method 10: Reinstall Messenger App
When there is an absence of any official statement released by the developers regarding any such major bug in the app, then there is a high likelihood that there are glitches in the app that cannot be simply fixed by deleting the cache or logging out and back in again. As a simple fundamental step for fixing an error, we often recommend reinstalling the app. This will give the app a chance to get optimized again as well as for the files to download uninterruptedly.
To uninstall the messenger app on Android smartphones:
1. Move to the Settings of your phone.
2. Tap on Apps.
3. Scroll and search for the Messenger app and tap on it.
4. Tap on Uninstall.
5. Re-install the app from the Google Play Store.
Also Read: How to Fix Facebook Messenger Problems.
Method 11: Limit Number of Accounts
When people look for how to fix Facebook Messenger switch account problem, we often notice that despite Facebook and Messenger allowing multiple accounts, the issue starts with a greater number of accounts being added. Occasionally it has been seen that adding more than 2 accounts on the Facebook and Messenger app creates the error. We would suggest if it is possible until any new update you can choose to keep any two important accounts active and remove all the other ones for a while from your Facebook and Messenger app.
Method 12: Reinstall Old Version
If you want to use and stay active on more than two accounts, this fix would only work for Android users. If you detect this bug in the latest version and the fixes do not work for you, we would suggest you install an older version of the app prior to the update after which you started to notice the error.
Note: Downloading an older version of any app from the Google Play Store is not possible. For this, the user would have to download a .apk from a third-party source. We do not endorse or promote third-party websites for installing apps on your phone. This is just a temporary fix that you can implement at your own discretion until there is a new update on the app available on the Google Play Store.
Download the old version of Messenger app from third-party sites like Uptodown.
How to Add Multiple Facebook Messenger Accounts
Before we learn about how to fix Facebook Messenger switch account problem let’s take a look at how to add them.
Option I: On Android
1. Download and open the Messenger app on your smartphone.
2. Follow the instructions and login to the first account by the usual method.
3. After Messenger boots up and loads all your chats and data, tap on the three vertical lines (menu icon) on the left-hand corner of your screen.
4. Click on the gear icon.
5. Scroll down to navigate and tap on Switch account.
6. In the new window, tap on + Add account.
7. Add your credentials i.e., Phone number or email address, and enter the password.
Repeat the steps if you have more accounts.
Option II: On iOS
1. Open the Messenger app on your iPhone.
2. Log in to the original account first.
3. Tap on the three vertical lines (menu icon) on the left-hand corner of your screen.
4. Tap on the Gear icon.
4. Tap Switch Account.
5. Now from here tap on Add Account.
6. Enter your login credentials and tap on Log in.
The password does not automatically gets saved unless the user selects Save login info while logging in to an account. If you have not enabled it, you will require to enter it while switching accounts.
Also Read: How to Unblock Someone on Facebook Messenger
How to Switch between Facebook Messenger Accounts
Facebook has provided the access to switch between multiple accounts on Facebook as well as on Facebook Messenger, so they could pursue activity and interact on all the accounts they purposely have created. If someone has a personal account to keep posted about personal life and friends and wants to interact with them separately from a professional account where one can keep its target audience and customers updated about the business, that is seamlessly possible on Facebook. The only underlying hiatus is the feature to switch between Facebook accounts is available on both a PC and a smartphone. However, switching between different accounts to chat from is only possible on a Messenger app on smartphone, i.e., Android or iOS.
Option I: On Android App
1. Launch the Messenger app on your android device.
2. Tap on the three vertical lines (menu icon) in the left-hand corner of your screen.
3. Click on the gear icon.
4. Scroll down to navigate and tap on Switch account.
5. Tap on the username of the account you want to switch to.
6. Tap on Continue to confirm the switch.
Also Read: How to Leave a Group Chat in Facebook Messenger
Option II: On iOS
1. Open the Messenger app on your iPhone.
2. Tap on the three vertical lines (menu icon) in the left-hand corner of your screen.
3. Tap on the Gear icon.
4. Tap on Switch Account from the list.
5. Select the Facebook Messenger account you want to switch to.
6. Enter the password if required and tap on OK.
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With this, we come to the end of this article. We hope that with the help of this guide, you were able to learn how to fix Facebook Messenger switch account problem. If you have any queries or suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comments section below.
