Fifteen notices, from routine to account at risk.
Pause
You've reached the weekly invitation limit
- What it means
- LinkedIn has stopped new invitations from your account for now.
- If you keep going
- Every new attempt fails the same way and adds nothing. Retrying on a timer does not bring the limit back sooner.
- Do this now
- Stop sending invitations from this account in every tool and campaign. If LinkedIn shows a date or time, wait until then. Otherwise wait, then try one invitation by hand.
- What people get wrong
- Withdrawing old invitations does not give you this week's capacity back. LinkedIn's own help says so. It is a common tip and it does not work.
LinkedIn help: linkedin.com/help
Stop
We've noticed unusual activity / Try again later
- What it means
- LinkedIn is throttling your account for a short time because of the pace of recent actions. The exact thresholds are not public.
- If you keep going
- Repeated attempts during a throttle look like more of the same activity.
- Do this now
- Stop all automated actions until LinkedIn works normally again when you use it yourself. Check for yourself whether your last invitation or message actually went out before you send it again, so the person does not get it twice.
- What people get wrong
- A limit error does not prove the last invitation failed. It can already be pending. Check the profile before you retry.
Pause
Too many pending or ignored invitations
- What it means
- LinkedIn limits invitations when many of yours stay unanswered, get ignored or get marked as unknown. No fixed number is known.
- If you keep going
- The restriction stays in place.
- Do this now
- Pause new invitations. Review your oldest unanswered invitations and withdraw the ones you sent through a campaign. Then send fewer, better aimed invitations.
- What people get wrong
- Withdrawing old invitations helps your list, but it may not restore sending right away. Plan for a wait.
LinkedIn help: linkedin.com/help
Routine
You can't invite this person again yet
- What it means
- You withdrew an invitation to this person. LinkedIn makes you wait before inviting them again, up to three weeks.
- If you keep going
- Nothing breaks. Every attempt before the wait is over simply fails.
- Do this now
- Take this person out of your campaigns for three weeks. Do not move them to another campaign to get around it.
- What people get wrong
- This only affects this one person. The rest of your invitations carry on.
LinkedIn help: linkedin.com/help
Routine
You've reached the maximum number of connections
- What it means
- LinkedIn caps first-degree connections at 30,000. This is separate from the weekly invitation limit.
- If you keep going
- No new connections are possible until you have room again.
- Do this now
- Stop invitation campaigns on this account. Removing connections to make room is your own choice and never something a tool should do for you.
- What people get wrong
- This cap counts accepted connections. Invitations still waiting for an answer are a separate matter.
LinkedIn help: linkedin.com/help
Routine
You've used your personalized invitations for this month
- What it means
- A free LinkedIn account can add a note to only a few invitations each month. LinkedIn's own help pages give three in one place and five in another.
- If you keep going
- You can still invite, but without a note. Your weekly invitation limit is a separate thing.
- Do this now
- Wait for next month, invite without a note, or move to Premium. Decide that yourself. A tool should never drop your note quietly.
- What people get wrong
- Running out of notes does not mean your invitations are blocked.
LinkedIn help: linkedin.com/help (1) · linkedin.com/help (2)
Routine
Your note is too long
- What it means
- A note on a free account can hold 200 characters. LinkedIn's comparison page mentions 300 for Premium.
- If you keep going
- The invitation does not go out until the note fits.
- Do this now
- Shorten the note after the names and variables are filled in, because that is the text LinkedIn counts. Keep a margin for emoji and line breaks.
- What people get wrong
- Your template can fit while the finished note for a person with a long name does not.
LinkedIn help: linkedin.com/help (1) · linkedin.com/help (2)
Routine
LinkedIn asks for this person's email address
- What it means
- For some people LinkedIn only accepts an invitation if you type their email address.
- If you keep going
- Without the address this invitation cannot go out.
- Do this now
- Enter the address only if you actually know it. If you don't, skip this person or find another way to meet them. Never guess an address.
- What people get wrong
- This only affects this one person.
Routine
The profile shows only "LinkedIn Member"
- What it means
- Your account cannot see enough of this profile. It is outside your network or hidden for your account.
- If you keep going
- You cannot be sure who you are writing to, so nothing should go out to this profile.
- Do this now
- Skip it until your own account can see who it is.
- What people get wrong
- It does not mean the profile was deleted.
Routine
Only InMail is offered, or you are out of credits
- What it means
- You are not connected, so a normal message is not possible. LinkedIn offers a paid InMail instead.
- If you keep going
- Nothing happens on its own. A tool that switches to InMail spends your credits.
- Do this now
- Decide yourself whether this person is worth an InMail. Otherwise invite first and message after they accept.
- What people get wrong
- A Message button on a profile is not proof that a free message is possible.
LinkedIn help: linkedin.com/help
Routine
There is no Connect button, only Follow
- What it means
- Often Connect is still there, one click away under More. Sometimes it really is missing: you are already connected, an invitation is pending, or LinkedIn wants you to confirm your own email address first.
- If you keep going
- Clicking Follow does not send an invitation.
- Do this now
- Open More and look for Connect. If LinkedIn asks you to confirm or fix your email address, do that first, because an unconfirmed email address blocks invitations from your whole account.
- What people get wrong
- A missing button on one profile does not by itself mean your account is restricted.
LinkedIn help: linkedin.com/help
Pause
You've been signed out
- What it means
- Your LinkedIn session ended.
- If you keep going
- Nothing can be sent until you sign in again.
- Do this now
- Sign in yourself, in the browser or app you normally use. Then check that the right account is signed in before anything resumes.
- What people get wrong
- Being signed out is routine. On its own it says nothing about restrictions.
Stop
Let's do a quick security check
- What it means
- LinkedIn wants proof that a person is behind the account: a puzzle, a code or an identity check.
- If you keep going
- Until you pass it nothing works. Do not let a tool retry the check or solve it for you.
- Do this now
- Stop every tool on this account. Complete the check yourself in LinkedIn. Resume slowly afterwards, and only once the account works normally by hand.
- What people get wrong
- Only a real screen or dialog from LinkedIn counts as a check. The word captcha inside someone's post does not.
Account at risk
Your account has been restricted
- What it means
- LinkedIn has limited your whole account or a specific action. Read the notice carefully: it says what is restricted and sometimes until when.
- If you keep going
- The restriction stays. Do not keep going, and do not switch to another tool or account to get around it.
- Do this now
- Stop all automation on this account now. Follow the steps in LinkedIn's notice yourself. Only resume once access is fully back, at a lower pace than before.
- What people get wrong
- A tool pausing for 24 or 48 hours does not mean LinkedIn's restriction is over. Only LinkedIn's notice tells you that.
LinkedIn help: linkedin.com/help
Pause
You've reached the commercial use limit on search
- What it means
- LinkedIn is showing fewer search results or profiles because your account searched a lot.
- If you keep going
- The limit stays. Do not search more, add accounts or use other tricks to get around it.
- Do this now
- Stop collecting profiles for now. Work with the people you already found and search again later.
- What people get wrong
- Fewer results only means your account sees less.
TetherReach stops by itself on invitation limits, security checks and sign-outs, and never tries to get around them. See how it works