This account is connected somewhere else
What you can do when the Instagram account or WhatsApp number you want to connect is already connected elsewhere.
Last updated: September 30, 2026
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You try to connect an account and the panel says "This account is connected somewhere else", or a yellow box tells you the account sits in another portfolio of yours. This isn't a fault; it's a deliberate rule. This article explains why the rule exists and what you can do in each situation you may meet.
You may be facing one of these:
- The account is connected in another portfolio of yours
- The account is connected in someone else's portfolio
- On the selection screen the account carries a badge and the row won't respond
Why the rule exists
In {{brand.name}} an Instagram account or a WhatsApp number is connected in one place only. The reason isn't technical but practical: connecting the same account twice would mean the same message landing in two inboxes, two different automations answering the same person at the same time, and no way to tell which answer went out. On Meta's side, too, the event subscription points at a single address; a second connection replaces the first.
So the panel first looks for the identity you're trying to connect and, if it finds it, stops. Nothing changes: neither the existing connection nor your portfolio is touched.
If the account is in another portfolio of yours
A yellow box appears on the Connect account screen: "@username is connected in your Portfolio name portfolio." Depending on the situation, two buttons sit beside it.
Go there
Takes you to where the account lives. It changes nothing; it just brings you to the right inbox. In most cases this is what you were after: there is no need to reconnect the account, it is already connected.
Move here
Takes the account out of its current portfolio and moves it into this one. This button appears only for a user who owns both portfolios; if you're only an admin or a member in one of them, it doesn't show.
Pressing it opens the account's move screen with a preview of what will change: which records travel, the difference between the two teams, the chat assignments that will be dropped, the automation steps that assign to someone who isn't in the target team, and the AI key selections that will fall away. Once you read the preview and confirm, the account moves with all of its data.
⚠️ Note: Moving is not deleting and reconnecting. Conversations, contacts and automations travel with the account. But if team access differs between the two portfolios, some people may stop seeing the account; the preview spells that out item by item.
If the account is in someone else's portfolio
Here the panel only says "This account is connected somewhere else" and does not say who connected it. Which portfolio and which user holds the account is never revealed; that is deliberate, so nothing leaks about another customer's setup.
What you can do:
- Make sure you really manage the account. If you had an agency or a former employee connect your Instagram account, the connection may sit in their account.
- Ask them to disconnect. Disconnecting doesn't delete their conversations; the account is freed and you can connect it.
- Revoke the authorisation on Meta. Removing the app's permission in your Instagram or Facebook settings also drops that connection. It may affect every account in that setup, so treat it as a last resort.
- If you still can't connect, contact our Support team.
The badges on the selection screen
When you connect with Facebook, the same rule appears as badges on the selection screen:
- Connected in this portfolio — the account already runs here, not selectable.
- Will be reconnected — it has a broken record in this portfolio; selectable and it uses none of your account allowance.
- In your other portfolio — it's in another portfolio of yours; Go there and (if you own both) Move here links appear on the right of the row.
- Connected elsewhere — it's in someone else's portfolio; not selectable and no name is given.
Details: Choosing several Instagram accounts.
A concrete example
You run an estate agency. Last year you opened a portfolio and connected your Instagram account there. This year you set up a new portfolio with your partner and want to bring the account over.
From the new portfolio's Connect account screen you press Connect with Instagram. On return a yellow box appears: "@estateagency is connected in your Old Office portfolio." Because you own both portfolios, a Move here button sits beside it. You press it, the move preview opens, and you see three chats assigned to an employee who isn't in the new portfolio's team. You reassign those chats first, then confirm the move. The account travels to the new portfolio with all its conversations.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
- Trying to delete and reconnect the account. No need; moving or "Go there" does the job and your data stays put.
- Looking for "Move here" and not finding it. The button appears only to someone who owns both portfolios. If you don't, ask the portfolio owner to move it.
- Confirming the move without reading the preview. Team differences may hide the account from some people; the preview warns you in advance.
- Trying to force-connect an account someone else connected. Every attempt ends with the same notice. The other side has to disconnect first.
- Mistaking a broken record for "connected elsewhere". If there's a broken record in this portfolio, the selection screen says Will be reconnected and lets you pick it.
If the problem persists after every step, contact our Support team.
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