Locked Out: Facebook’s 2FA Issue Disrupting Critical Access for Hundreds of Healthcare Providers Nationwide

Imagine running a business that hospitals, and medical practices across the nation rely on to connect with their communities. Now imagine that access is suddenly blocked due to a simple device change—and the company responsible for the lockout remains unhelpful in finding a solution.

This is our situation. Our business supports healthcare providers across the U.S., but when I upgraded my phone, the two-factor authentication codes for our Facebook account didn’t transfer. Now, we’re locked out. Despite repeated attempts to contact Facebook, no one has been able to resolve the issue.

This isn’t just a one-business issue. Many healthcare providers depend on these channels to share health updates, logistics & access updates, and critical announcements. Losing access risks patient communication and disrupts the work of practices and hospitals nationwide.

With no help from Facebook, we’re reaching out to the community—and hopefully, someone at Facebook HQ—to understand the serious impact this has. We need help restoring access so we can continue supporting the healthcare providers and patients who rely on us.

If you work at Facebook or know someone who does, we’d greatly appreciate any assistance in getting connected with support.

My email address is my first name (brian) at independencedigital.com.

Brian Dooley, Founder
Independence Digital

Further Reading:

Steps we’ve taken:

  1. Attempt “Other Options” for login – only 2FA Listed.
  2. Help page recommends “Access Chat” is live and to make a video with a code, click to make video but it’s a 404 error.
  3. Tried on mobile. Mobile has option to “Submit and ID” – which also is a 404 error.
  4. As of 10/26/2024, the “other” options and troubleshooting login have disappeared.
  5. Meta Ads rep opened a ticket on our behalf, since I do not have access to my account. (10/22)
  6. They recommended a co-admin on our business manager account open a support ticket. They also indicated SMS is usually a reset option but my account was “not eligible” (10/22)
  7. Co-worker sent support ticket and despite having the highest level of BM access than myself, FB support indicated they could not see her connection to mine (10/25/2024)
  8. Contacted Michigan State Attorney General (10/28/2024)
  9. Ran $500 worth of Facebook ads geo-targeted at Facebook’s California HQ pleading for assistance. No response. (10/28/20204 – 10/31/2024)
  10. Contacted California State Attorney General (11/5/2024)