Potential Portal issues and how to fix them
What “You don’t have access to this Portal” means — and how to fix it
Problem description
You may see this issue when an external user follows a Portal link or signs in, but cannot open the Portal. It typically appears as “You don’t have access to this Portal.”
Cause
The user has not been granted Portal access, or the access path has been broken (for example, the user was removed or the collaboration policy no longer grants access).
Solutions
If the user has never had access:
Confirm the user was invited to the Portal by email.
Confirm the user accepted the invite using the same email address they were invited with.
If the user had access previously:
Confirm the user has not been removed from the Portal.
Confirm the Portal is still enabled and active for your organization.
Remove the user from the Portal and re-invite them to generate a fresh invite link.
If an internal user says they “can’t find the Portal” in the sidebar:
Confirm they are the Portal creator or have been explicitly invited. Portals may be hidden in the sidebar if the user is not the creator or an invited member.
If the user is an admin, have them open Org settings → Portals to see all portals.
What “A client can’t see a shared file, workflow, or database” means — and how to fix it
Problem description
An external client user can access the Portal, but cannot find a specific item (file, workflow, tabular review, or Org DB) you expected them to see.
Cause
Portal permissions are item-specific and not inherited. Each resource requires explicit sharing to the external user via collaboration policies.
Solutions
Re-check sharing settings for the specific resource.
Confirm the external user is included in the external member selection for that resource.
If the item is inside a project, remember that sharing a project does not automatically share other items inside that project.
Use View as Client to validate the guest experience.
If the item is a workflow, confirm it has been explicitly shared to the Portal and not only shared internally.
What “Portal guests can’t upload files” means — and how to fix it
Problem description
An external client user tries to upload a file and cannot.
Cause
Portal guests can only upload files in their private project. They cannot upload files outside that private area.
Note: This behavior may change as Portal settings become configurable (for example, per project or per database). If you believe uploads should be enabled for a shared area, confirm the latest Portal configuration options.
Solutions
Confirm where the user is trying to upload the file.
If they need a file available to a shared workflow or shared work area, have a firm-side user upload it to the appropriate shared location (or share the appropriate file) and confirm the sharing settings.
What “A Portal guest can’t complete MFA setup or is blocked at login” means — and how to fix it
Problem description
An external client user cannot complete MFA setup or is blocked when attempting to sign in.
Cause
Common causes include SMS rate limits or authenticator app compatibility issues. This is often caused by setup friction or user error, since the underlying MFA methods are standard (for example, Auth0 with common authenticator apps such as Microsoft Authenticator or Google Authenticator).
Solutions
Remove the user from the Portal and re-invite them to generate a fresh invite link.
If the user is using SMS-based MFA, have them wait and retry if they hit a rate limit.
If MFA is required, confirm the guest is using a supported authenticator method.
If the issue persists, contact Support and include the Portal name and the affected user email.