Sign-in link expired or already used

You clicked a sign-in link and saw a message saying the link has expired or has already been used. In this version MapleGather sends no member sign-in emails, so no new link can be requested: a live site’s sign-in page shows “Email sign-in isn’t available yet — it’s coming in an update.” in place of the email form, and on a test site the steps below show Check your email but send nothing. The steps describe how replacing a link will work once member email sign-in is available.

What’s happening

Sign-in links are valid for 15 minutes by default and can only be used once. Your organization may set a different validity window, from 5 minutes to 30 days. Two common reasons you might see this are:

Expired — The link has passed your organization’s validity window. Requesting a link and opening it after the window ends will show this message.
Already used — The link was clicked once already, which might have been on a different device (for example, you clicked it on your phone and then tried it again on your laptop).

Neither of these means there’s a problem with your account.

If the page says a link “has already been used or is invalid,” request a new one. The same message covers several reasons the link could not be checked; it does not tell you whether an account exists.

How to fix it

If the link expired

From the sign-in screen, select Request a new link to return to the email form.
Enter or check your Email address.
Select Send sign-in link.
You see Check your email, but in this version no email is sent (see the opening of this article). Once email sign-in is available, the new sign-in link arrives by email.
Open the new link promptly. The default validity window is 15 minutes; your organization may have set a different window.

If the link was already used

From the sign-in screen, select Request a new link to return to the email form.
Enter or check your Email address.
Select Send sign-in link.
You see Check your email, but in this version no email is sent (see the opening of this article). Once email sign-in is available, the new sign-in link arrives by email.
Open it only on the device you want to stay signed in on.

Check that it worked

After you open the replacement link, you should see your organization’s portal home. If the new link also expires or appears invalid, request and send another link using the steps above. If this keeps happening, contact your organization’s administrator.

If that didn’t work

You keep getting “already used” on fresh links — If this happens repeatedly, make sure you’re only clicking the most recent link in your email. Old links from earlier sessions are still in your inbox but are no longer valid.
Can’t receive a new link — See Sign-in link not arriving for help with delivery issues.
You cannot request a new link yet — On the email form, wait until Send sign-in link becomes available. On the email confirmation, the Resend in 60s… button stays inactive and does not count down, so select ← Back, re-enter your Email address, then select Send sign-in link. If requests are temporarily limited, wait before trying the available button again. If the sign-in page shows an information notice instead of the email form, member email sign-in is unavailable on your site; ask your organization’s administrator when it will be available.
Your membership shows as lapsed after signing in — The link worked fine. The lapsed notice is about your membership status, not your sign-in. See Membership shows lapsed or expired.