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Troubleshooting

Quick fixes for the most common problems in FileOnion, organized by where they happen. If your issue isn't covered here, see Getting help at the bottom of the page.

Signing in

My magic link says it's invalid or expired

Magic links expire and are tied to a single recipient, so an old or forwarded link won't open.

  • Clients: ask the firm that sent your request for a fresh link. They can resend it in seconds.
  • Team members: if your invitation link expired, ask an Owner or Admin to resend the invitation from Organization Settings → Users (click Resend next to your name).
I signed up but never entered my verification code

You're not locked out — pick either path:

  • Sign up again with the same email. FileOnion recognizes the unfinished signup, sends a fresh 6-digit code, and takes you straight to the enter-code screen.
  • Or log in with the email and password you chose — an unverified account is routed to the verification screen instead of an error.

The screen names the address the code went to. If it doesn't arrive within a minute, check your spam or junk folder, then use Resend it (available again every 30 seconds). If your second signup attempt used a different password, sign in with the password from your first attempt once your email is verified.

I forgot my password
  1. On the sign-in page, click Reset password.
  2. Enter your account email. FileOnion sends you a verification code.
  3. Enter the code and choose a new password. If the code doesn't arrive, check spam or use the resend option on the reset page.
I lost my MFA device

If you can't generate authenticator codes anymore, you can't complete sign-in on your own. Contact your firm's administrator, or email support@fileonion.com, to regain access. Once you're back in, re-enroll MFA from Settings → Account → Security with your new device — see the Security Guide.

SSO sign-in isn't working
  • The Sign in with SSO button only appears when your email domain is configured for SSO by your organization. Make sure you entered your work email, not a personal address.
  • If your organization requires SSO, password sign-in is disabled — use the SSO button.
  • If you're redirected to your identity provider but sign-in still fails, your firm's SSO configuration may have an error. Ask an administrator to check the Single Sign-On settings page, which shows configuration errors. See the Security Guide.

Uploads

My upload is stuck or failed
  1. Check your internet connection, then retry the upload.
  2. Check the file size against your plan's limit: 100 MB per file on Personal, 1 GB on Professional and Enterprise. Files over the limit are rejected — compress or split them.
  3. If it keeps failing, refresh the page and try again, or try a different browser.
The preview says \"File Not Supported\"

The file uploaded fine — FileOnion just can't render an in-browser preview for that format. Download the file to view it locally.

No AI summary appeared on my upload

AI document summaries are generated for JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP, TIFF, and PDF files. Other formats upload normally but are not summarized.

Clients

My client says they can't open the request
  • Expired link: request links expire. Resend a fresh one — open Requests, find the request, and choose Resend Request (or Resend Secure Link) from the row menu. You should see "Notification sent successfully."
  • Forwarded link: magic links are tied to the client they were sent to, so a link forwarded to someone else won't work. Add that person as a client and send them their own request.
  • Wrong email address: if the request went to a mistyped address, correct the client's email in Clients, then resend the request.
  • Also ask the client to check their spam folder for the request email.
My phone-only client didn't get their invite text

An invite text goes out only if you ticked Send an invite text right away when you added them — adding the client alone doesn't text anyone. If you missed it, just create or resend a request: every request texts them a fresh secure link.

If they did get a text but can't get in, check the number on their record in Clients (it needs the country code), and confirm they're entering the one-time code that arrives as a second text. See Clients without an email address.

My phone-only client isn't getting reminders or file-shared notices

This is expected, not a fault. Both are email-only, so a client with no email address on file is skipped. Resend the request to text them a fresh link, or tell them directly — shared files still appear in their portal under Shared files. Adding a real email address to their record switches both on.

Kanban & workflows

A card won't move to another stage
  • Transition rules: an Owner or Admin may have blocked that transition, restricted it to certain roles, or required approval. The error message explains which rule blocked the move — check Workflows → Transition Rules.
  • Stage limits: stages can have a work-in-progress limit (Maximum Items). If the target column is full, move something out first or raise the limit.
  • Permissions: you need write access to the request; visibility settings can hide or lock requests that aren't yours. Check with your admin.
  • If none of these apply, refresh the page and check your connection — the move may simply not have synced.
Automated actions aren't firing
  • Conditions not met: actions with conditions only run when the request matches (for example, priority equals high). Verify the request's fields against the action's conditions.
  • Action inactive: on the Workflows → Actions tab, confirm the action's toggle is set to active.
  • Check the audit trail: open the request's History tab to see which actions executed and their results. Failed actions are logged there — they never block the stage move itself.
  • Webhook actions: verify the endpoint URL and authentication, and consider enabling retries.
The board isn't updating

The board updates in real time, but a dropped connection can freeze it. Refresh the page, check your connection, clear the browser cache, or try another browser. If the board feels slow, use the filters (All / Mine / My team, search, tags) to reduce how many cards are shown.

Notifications & reminders

I'm not receiving email notifications
  1. Check your spam or junk folder, and mark FileOnion messages as safe.
  2. Check your preferences under Settings → Notifications — the Client activity toggles control which events email you: A client uploads a file, A client opens a request, and Someone comments. (The in-app bell is always on regardless of these.)
  3. For workflow emails (stage-change notifications), an Owner or Admin should confirm the email action is active in Workflows → Actions.
My client isn't getting reminders

Reminders are configured per request. Open the request and confirm reminders are enabled and scheduled, and that the client's email address is correct. Ask the client to check spam as well. Reminders are sent by email only — a client with no email address on file won't receive them at all.

Getting help

If you're still stuck:

  • Support center — open the Support center in the app to submit a request and track it under My support requests.
  • Email — support@fileonion.com, available 24/7. Our first-response target is 2 business hours for Normal and High priority requests; Urgent requests on the Enterprise plan are routed to our 24/7 on-call rotation.
  • Service status — check status.fileonion.com for live system health, incident history, and email or RSS updates.