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Troubleshooting guide for Meta/Facebook permission issues in Motion

There are a few common permissions issues with Meta <> Motion. Keep reading to solve for missing ads, broken previews, or limited access.

Ed Ilnicki avatar
Written by Ed Ilnicki
Updated this week

Common symptoms

  • "Meta permissions needed to change dates" error when adjusting report timeframes.

  • Ad previews load, but creative data (spend, CTR, etc.) is missing.

  • You cannot toggle columns or refresh data.

  • Motion seems to load inconsistently for different users.

Root causes

Here are the possible issues blocking you:

  1. Insufficient Ad Account Access Level – You might have "View only" access. To use third-party tools like Motion, you specifically need "Manage campaigns" permissions (API access), not just "View performance."

  2. Email/Profile Mismatch – The Facebook Profile you connected in Motion is different from the one that was granted access in Meta Business Manager.

  3. Missing Page Permissions – You might have ad account access, but not access to the Facebook Page the ad is tied to (common for whitelisted ads or boosted posts).

  4. Motion Not Granted Access – Even if you have access, the Motion integration token might be expired or limited.

Step-by-step fix

Step 1: Connect your Facebook profile in Motion

  • Log in to Motion: Click the icon in the bottom left > Account settings > My connections.

  • If you don't see your Facebook profile connected, click Connect.

  • Follow the prompts and log in.

The email associated with the Facebook Profile you connect here must be the same one that was granted access in the Meta Business Manager.

If you were invited to the Ad Account via your work email, but you are logged into a personal Facebook profile in your browser (that uses a different email), Motion will not be able to find the permissions. Be sure to connect the exact profile that received the invite.

Step 2: Verify Ad Account permissions (Critical Step)

This is the most common reason for "date range" or "permission" errors. You need more than just "View" access to pull deep data via the API.

Ask the Admin of your Meta Business Manager to follow this exact path:

  1. Go to Meta Business Settings.

  2. Navigate to Users > People and select your name.

  3. Click the Assigned Assets (or "Assign Assets") button.

  4. Select the relevant Ad Account.

  5. Enable the correct permissions:

    • Role: Select Partial Access.

    • Required Toggle: You MUST switch on "Manage campaigns".

    • Why? This grants the ads_management permission required to sync granular creative data and edit settings. "View performance" alone is often insufficient for API tools.

  6. Click Save Changes.

Step 3: Confirm page permissions

If ads are missing specifically for certain brands or identity handles:

  1. Ask your Meta Admin to go back to Business Settings > Users > People.

  2. Select your name.

  3. Under Assigned Assets, click Pages (specifically the "New Pages Experience" or "Classic Pages").

  4. Ensure you have at least Partial Access (Business tools access) for the specific Facebook Page running the ads.

Step 4: Opt into all pages in Motion

Still getting missing ads or page permission errors? Try this inside Motion:

  1. Go to Account Settings > My connections.

  2. Click Re-connect (or Edit) on your Facebook connection.

  3. When the Facebook pop-up appears, click "Edit settings" (or "Edit previous settings").

  4. Select “Opt into all current and future pages”.

    • This prevents you from having to manually reconnect every time a client adds a new Page.

Step 5: Force a refresh

After permissions are updated in Meta, Motion doesn't know immediately. Force a sync:

  1. Click Sync or Refresh next to the Ad Account.

  2. Then, refresh your browser:

    • Mac: Command + Shift + R

    • PC: Ctrl + Shift + R

Still stuck?

Reach out to Motion support by clicking into the chat bubble in the bottom right of your screen or email [email protected]!

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