Facebook may show “Waiting for approval from another device” when you sign in from a new phone, computer, or browser. It wants you to approve the login from a device it already recognizes. The problem begins when the approval notification doesn’t arrive, the old device has been logged out, or you no longer have access to it.
This issue often affects people who recently changed phones, reinstalled Facebook, cleared browser data, or turned on two-factor authentication. In this guide, I’ll explain why Facebook approval isn’t working and show you how to complete the login using your recognized device, a security code, or the official account recovery options.
Why Is Facebook Approval From Another Device Not Working?
Facebook asks for approval because the new device or browser doesn’t look familiar. It sends a security request to a phone, computer, or browser where the same account was previously active. Until that request is approved, the new login remains on the waiting screen.
Sometimes the request is already inside the Facebook app, but the phone doesn’t display a push notification. This can happen when notifications are disabled, the internet is weak, background activity is restricted, or Battery Saver has paused Facebook.
A previously used device may also stop being recognized. Reinstalling Facebook, clearing browser cookies, signing out, or using Incognito mode can remove the saved session Facebook used to remember that device.
Other possible causes include an expired approval request, the wrong Facebook account being open, an outdated app, or several login requests being created at once. A VPN that keeps changing your connection may also make the login look less familiar.
Can You Log In Without Approval From Another Device?
You may be able to use another verification method. The options depend on what you connected to your Facebook account before getting locked out.
| Verification method | What you need |
|---|---|
| SMS code | Access to the phone number linked to Facebook |
| Authentication app | The app connected to Facebook earlier |
| Security key | The physical key registered with your account |
| Recovery code | An unused recovery code saved before the lockout |
| Identity confirmation | A recovery option offered on the Facebook login screen |
Not every account will show every option. For example, installing a new authentication app after getting locked out won’t automatically restore the Facebook codes from your old app.
Avoid websites, apps, or people offering Facebook approval codes. They cannot create a valid security code for your account and may be trying to steal your login information.
How to Fix Facebook Waiting for Approval From Another Device
If Facebook is stuck waiting for approval from another device, follow these fixes one by one. Stop when the request is approved or another verification method gives you access.
1. Confirm That You Started the Login
Before approving anything, check the device, browser, time, and approximate location shown in the request. These details should match the login you just attempted.
Location information may not be exact. A mobile network can show a nearby city instead of your current location. However, a request from another country or an unknown device should be treated as suspicious.
Approve the request only when you know it belongs to you. If you didn’t start it, deny the login and change your password after recovering the account. Never approve an unfamiliar attempt just to remove the notification.
2. Open Facebook on the Recognized Device
Don’t wait only for a push notification. Unlock the old phone or computer and open Facebook directly. The request may be waiting inside the app even though no alert appeared on the home screen.
Make sure the correct Facebook account is open. Many phones contain several saved accounts, so it’s easy to check the wrong profile. Open Facebook’s notification area and look for a recent login or security alert.
Keep the app open while it refreshes. If the approval appears, compare the displayed device and time with your new login before selecting Approve.
If Facebook asks for the password on the old device, its session may have expired. That device may no longer count as a recognized login.
3. Check the Internet on the Approving Device
Refresh the Facebook Feed on the old device. If new posts and notifications won’t load, the approval request cannot reach it.
Switch from Wi-Fi to mobile data, or try Wi-Fi if mobile data is weak. Confirm that Airplane Mode is off and open another website to test the connection. Keep Facebook visible while starting the next login request.
Don’t sign out during this test. The existing session may still be useful even if the approval is delayed.
4. Enable Facebook Notifications on Android
Android can delay the approval alert when notifications, background data, or battery activity are restricted.
- Open Settings on your Android phone.
- Go to Apps or Manage apps.
- Find and select Facebook.
- Tap Notifications.
- Allow Facebook notifications.
- Return to the Facebook app information page.
- Open Mobile data or Data usage.
- Allow background data.
- Check Battery settings and remove strict background restrictions.
- Open Facebook and look for the login request.
The menu names may differ between Samsung, Xiaomi, Google Pixel, OnePlus, and other Android phones. Use the Settings search option if you can’t find one of them.
You don’t need to keep every Facebook notification enabled. Security and login alerts are the important ones for this issue.
5. Enable Facebook Notifications on iPhone
An iPhone may hide Facebook approval alerts when notifications are disabled or an active Focus mode is silencing them.
- Open Settings.
- Select Notifications.
- Scroll down and tap Facebook.
- Turn on Allow Notifications.
- Choose Lock Screen, Notification Center, or Banners.
- Return to Settings and open Focus.
- Check whether the current Focus mode blocks Facebook.
- Go to General and select Background App Refresh.
- Allow Background App Refresh for Facebook.
- Reopen Facebook and check its notifications.
These changes won’t help if Facebook has already been logged out on that iPhone. Confirm that the account still opens normally before requesting approval again.
6. Update Facebook and Restart Both Devices
Open Google Play or Apple’s App Store and install any available Facebook update. An outdated app may still load the Feed but fail to display a newer login or security prompt correctly.
Restart both the old and new devices after the update. Open Facebook on the recognized device first and allow it to connect. Then begin one new login attempt on the other device.
If the update won’t install, check the available storage. Low storage doesn’t change your Facebook account settings, but it may stop the update or cause the app to behave poorly.
Install Facebook only from the official app store. Avoid unknown APK download sites.
7. Use a Familiar Browser Without Incognito Mode
Facebook uses saved browser information to recognize earlier logins. Private or Incognito mode limits that saved information, so a familiar computer may still be treated like a new device.
Open Facebook in the normal browser profile you used before. If the account is still active there, don’t clear its cookies or browsing data. Those files may be helping Facebook recognize the browser.
Using your usual device and internet connection can also help. Pause a VPN for one test if it keeps changing your apparent location or connection.
A VPN doesn’t automatically block Facebook approval. Removing it temporarily simply gives you a more consistent login attempt.
8. Cancel the Stuck Request and Start a Fresh Login
The waiting screen may remain open after its approval request has expired. If Facebook provides a Back, Cancel, or Try Again option, leave the old attempt and start again.
Close duplicate Facebook login tabs before retrying. Keep one browser window open, enter your login information once, and then check the old device for a request with the matching time.
Avoid sending several requests close together. Multiple prompts can make it difficult to tell which approval belongs to the active login.
If one fresh request still doesn’t appear, the old device may no longer be recognized. Move to another verification method instead of repeating the same attempt.
9. Request an SMS Security Code
Choose SMS if Facebook offers it and you still control the number connected to your account. Check the masked phone number on the screen before requesting the code.
Wait for the newest text message. Requesting several codes quickly may make older codes stop working.
If the SMS doesn’t arrive, try these checks:
- Confirm that the phone has a mobile signal.
- Turn Airplane Mode on and off.
- Restart the phone.
- Check blocked or spam messages.
- Make sure the SIM can receive normal texts.
- Wait before requesting another code.
- Contact your mobile carrier if security texts are being blocked.
Enter the code only on the official Facebook login screen. Don’t send it to anyone through Messenger, WhatsApp, email, or a phone call.
10. Use Your Authentication App
Select the authentication-app option if it was linked to Facebook before the lockout. Open the same app, find the Facebook entry, and type its current six-digit code.
If Facebook rejects the code, check the phone’s date and time. Set both to automatic because authentication codes change according to the clock.
Installing a new authenticator app won’t recreate your Facebook entry by itself. The new app will work only if the original authentication data was backed up or synced.
11. Use a Security Key or Recovery Code
Connect the physical security key registered with your Facebook account if that option appears. Depending on the key, you may need to insert it into a port, tap it through NFC, or follow your browser’s instructions.
A saved recovery code can also replace the normal two-factor authentication code. Enter one that you haven’t used before because each recovery code works only once.
Keep unused recovery codes private. Anyone with your password and a valid recovery code may be able to enter the account.
12. Choose “Need Another Way to Authenticate?”
Use Facebook’s account recovery flow when device approval and backup security methods don’t work. The wording may vary slightly between the app and website.
- Start the Facebook login again.
- Continue until you reach the security-code screen.
- Select Need another way to authenticate?
- Choose Other Options.
- Select Get more help.
- Follow the identity-confirmation instructions shown on the screen.
Complete the recovery from a phone, computer, or browser you previously used with Facebook when possible. A familiar device gives Facebook more account history to compare with the recovery request.
The identity options can differ between accounts. Provide information only through official Facebook screens and avoid people offering paid recovery services.
13. Recover the Account if the Request Wasn’t Yours
An approval request you didn’t start may mean someone knows your password. Deny the request and check whether any account information has changed.
Common warning signs include:
- An unfamiliar email address or phone number
- Posts or messages you didn’t create
- Unknown devices in active sessions
- A password change you didn’t request
- A new authentication method
- Login alerts from unfamiliar locations
- A changed profile name or picture
Start Facebook’s hacked-account recovery process from a familiar device. Check your email for genuine Facebook security messages as well. If someone changed the account email, an earlier message may contain an option to reverse that change.
After recovering access, create a new password that isn’t used elsewhere. Remove unknown sessions, linked accounts, suspicious apps, and browser extensions.
14. Clear the Facebook Cache Carefully
Cache clearing may help when Facebook is still signed in but the approval screen keeps freezing. It won’t restore a lost authentication method or an expired account session.
Android users can clear temporary files without resetting the entire app:
- Open Settings.
- Select Apps.
- Open Facebook.
- Tap Storage.
- Choose Clear cache.
- Reopen Facebook.
Do not select Clear data or Clear storage on your only recognized device. Those options may sign you out and remove the session you still need.
iPhone doesn’t offer the same separate cache button for every app. Reinstalling or offloading Facebook may affect saved app information, so try updates, restarts, and alternate login methods first.
Browser users should preserve cookies on any recognized Facebook session. Test a different normal browser instead of clearing the one where Facebook still works.
15. Review Logged-In Devices After Recovery
Once you regain access, check every phone and browser connected to the account.
- Open Facebook.
- Go to Settings and privacy.
- Select Settings.
- Open Accounts Center.
- Choose Password and security.
- Select Where you’re logged in.
- Choose your Facebook account.
- Review the listed devices.
- Log out of anything you don’t recognize.
A location shown in the list may be approximate. Compare the device type, browser, and recent activity before deciding whether it belongs to you.
Keep your current trusted device signed in while updating account security. Logging out every device at once can leave you without a recognized session.
16. Add Backup Login Methods
Set up more than one verification method after getting back into Facebook. This gives you another option when an approval notification fails or your phone is unavailable.
Open Accounts Center, choose Password and security, then select Two-factor authentication. Choose your Facebook account and review the available methods.
Depending on your account, you may be able to add:
- A current mobile phone number
- An authentication app
- A physical security key
- Recovery codes
- Login alerts
- A passkey
Store recovery codes somewhere private and separate from your phone. Replace them after they are used or if you believe someone else has seen them.
How to Prevent Facebook Approval Problems
Keep your recovery phone number and email address current. Update them before replacing an old phone or losing access to an email account.
A few habits can make future login checks easier:
- Keep at least one recognized device signed in.
- Add more than one two-factor authentication method.
- Save recovery codes in a secure place.
- Avoid Incognito mode on a browser Facebook should remember.
- Don’t clear cookies from your only recognized browser.
- Keep Facebook and your phone updated.
- Review login alerts before approving them.
- Remove old devices from active sessions.
- Use a unique Facebook password.
- Never share security or recovery codes.
Biometric access to your phone doesn’t replace your Facebook password or recovery methods. Make sure you can still access the connected email address, phone number, and at least one backup authentication option.
Final Thoughts
When Facebook is waiting for approval from another device, open Facebook manually on the device it should recognize. Check the correct account, internet connection, and in-app notifications before signing out or clearing data.
If the old device can’t approve the login, use an SMS code, authentication app, security key, or saved recovery code. Facebook’s identity-confirmation process is the next option when none of those methods are available. Did the approval notification fail to appear, or was your old device already logged out?