Skip to main content

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 over a week ago

Common Symptoms

  • Some ads are visible, others return a page permissions needed error

  • Can’t change date ranges or edit reports

  • Ad previews load, but creative data is missing

  • Motion seems to load inconsistently for different users or across different ad accounts

Root Causes

Here are the possible issues blocking you:

  1. Missing page permissions - You might have ad account access, but not access to the Facebook page the ad is tied to. (This is relevant for whitelisted ads or boosted posts)

  2. Motion not granted access - Even if you have access to the Page, Motion might not.

  3. Facebook profile not connected in Motion - Your Facebook account might not be linked to your Motion account yet.

  4. Cached previews - Sometimes, previews are cached when another user in your account views the ad. This means the preview might appear even if you don't actually have permission to view its data.


🔧 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.

  • If you've recently updated your Two Factor Authentication (2FA), try disconnecting and reconnecting.

✅ Step 2: Accept Meta invites (yes, sometimes they're hidden)

If your email has been invited to a Business Manager or Page, make sure you’ve:

  • Checked your email inbox and Meta notifications, and

  • Logged in to Meta Business Suite and accepted the invite.

If not accepted, Motion can’t validate your permissions, even if everything looks right.

✅ Step 3: Opt into all pages (this one fixes a lot)

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

  1. In Motion, look for the Page permissions needed pop-up message

  2. Click Edit page permissions.

  3. In the new pop-up, click Edit previous settings

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

This gives Motion the needed access without you manually selecting pages every time you add a new one.

You might be able to update this in Meta Business Manager by going to your Meta Business Integrations >> Motion and clicking view and edit.

Privacy note: Motion only pulls data for pages with relevant ads.

✅ Step 4: Confirm you’ve got the right page permissions

Ask whoever manages your Meta Business Manager to:

  1. Go to Meta Business Settings

  2. Under Users > People, find your profile.

  3. Check that you have at least "View Performance" permission for the Pages in question.

  4. If that doesn’t work, try giving “Full Control” temporarily.

✅ Step 5: Force a refresh (when in doubt, clear it out)

After making these changes, do a hard refresh:

  • Mac: Command + Shift + R

  • PC: Ctrl + Shift + R

This clears the cache and forces Motion to resync your permissions.


🧪 Still Not Working?

Here’s what to try next:

  • Check for multiple Facebook profiles: Make sure the profile connected to Motion is the one with permissions.

  • Double-check you and Motion have correct page permissions: This can come up when the cached preview error combines with page permission issues.

  • Ask your Meta admin to revoke + re-invite: This sometimes resets stuck permissions.

  • Contact Motion Support: Sometimes we just need to dig in together.


Bonus Fix: “Why can I see some ads but not others?”

This usually happens when:

  • You have partial access to some Pages, but not others.

  • Or you haven’t opted into all Pages during Facebook login.

Fix = Opt in to all pages and double-check you’ve been assigned access to the Page (not just the ad account).


TLDR cheat sheet

Problem

Likely Fix

Can’t see ads

Opt into all pages + check Page permissions

Can’t change date range

Connect (or reconnect) Facebook profile with ad account permissions

Random ad previews are missing

Force refresh (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + R)

Connected FB but still blocked

Accept Meta invite manually

Did this answer your question?