Something looks broken. Let's narrow it down.

Symptom: I sent the mobile + email but never heard back

Check first: spam folder for a reply from stephen@thegrowthbully.com or kurt@thegrowthbully.com.

Fix: if no reply within 24 working hours, hit reply on the onboarding thread with "Did the contact details land?" and we'll confirm and move you on to Step 2 the same day.

Symptom: "You need to be Admin to do this"

Cause: your role on your own Business Manager is below Admin.

Fix: open Business Settings → People → your name → Permissions. If you're not Admin, someone who is needs to either promote you or grant us access themselves. Forward us their email and we'll write the request.

Symptom: "Partner ID not found" when pasting 570563043895208

Cause: typo, extra spaces, or pasting into the wrong field.

Fix: retype the ID by hand. The ID is fifteen digits, no letters: 570563043895208. Paste it into the Business ID field, not the Ad Account ID field.

Symptom: Partner request went through but TGB still doesn't have access

Check first: did you grant Ad Account permissions specifically, or just Page permissions?

Fix: we need Ads accounts (Manage), Pages (Create content + Moderate), and Pixel (Manage). If any of those three is missing, the launch is blocked. Edit the partner permissions and add the missing ones.

Symptom: I've never advertised before. I have no ad assets to partner with

Cause: you don't have an existing Facebook ad account or Business Manager.

Fix: skip the partner-add step entirely. We create your ad account fresh INSIDE our Business Manager and run campaigns from there. Your Page sits inside that setup, no partnership needed. The only thing we need: admin access to your existing Facebook Page (even a dormant one) so we can connect it as the publishing identity. Reply on your onboarding email with the URL of your Page and we'll send you the two clicks to grant Page admin access.

Symptom: "Number already in use" when adding the WhatsApp account

Cause: the number is registered somewhere else, usually on regular WhatsApp or on a different Business Manager.

Fix: do NOT factory-reset anything. Send us a screenshot of the error and we'll trace where the number is registered. Most cases unblock within an hour once we know.

Symptom: WhatsApp purchase done in HighLevel but no connection request arrived

Check first: force-close and reopen the WhatsApp Business app on your phone.

Fix: if still no request after 30 minutes, reply on the onboarding email with "WhatsApp request didn't arrive" and we'll re-trigger from our side.

Symptom: Connection request approved on the phone but CRM thread is empty

Cause: sometimes the first sync takes 30 to 60 minutes.

Fix: wait an hour, then send yourself a test message to your WhatsApp Business number from any other phone. If the test message shows in the CRM, you're good. If not, ping us with "WhatsApp sync not landing".

Symptom: Assigned number is US (+1...), I can't receive WhatsApp verification codes on it

Cause: the US +1 is a Twilio routing number, not a physical SIM. SMS to it forwards directly into your CRM's Conversations tab, not to a phone.

Fix: open your CRM's Conversations tab. Find the recent message from Meta containing the 6-digit verification code. Copy it, paste it into the WhatsApp setup verification field. The US +1 then becomes your WhatsApp Business identity. No need to buy another number or switch to your personal mobile.

Symptom: Web partner added the records but Step 4 hasn't ticked green

Cause: 90% of the time it's a typo, usually a missing trailing dot or a misspelled DKIM selector.

Fix: ask your web partner for a screenshot of the records as they were added. Send it to us. We diff it against what we sent and spot the issue in seconds. We'll send corrected records to apply.

Symptom: Web partner has gone quiet

Fix: forward us their last reply (or non-reply). We escalate with a templated "Blocked on your DNS work" follow-up. If they stay silent more than 5 working days, we'll propose moving you to Cloudflare DNS, which we can manage with you directly.

Symptom: You said it'd be 48 hours and it's been longer

Cause: DNS propagation outliers, occasional registrar caching.

Fix: ping us with "DNS still not verified" and the timestamp of when records were added. We'll force a re-check on HighLevel's side and confirm propagation through external tools.

Symptom: SMTP error 535 5.7.3 Authentication unsuccessful / EAUTH when adding Outlook in Email Services

Cause: Microsoft disabled basic-auth SMTP (username + password) on Outlook and Microsoft 365 mailboxes in 2024. The mailbox refuses AUTH LOGIN even with the correct password. This is by design on their side, nothing wrong on yours.

Fix: close that custom SMTP panel without saving. Leave the default LeadConnector Email System selected as your provider. We handle email authentication via DNS in Step 4 of your DMP onboarding (DKIM/SPF/DMARC on the sending sub-domain), which is the actual deliverability layer. Custom SMTP isn't needed for your campaign to work.

Symptom: SMTP error 535 5.7.139 "user is locked by your organization's security defaults policy"

Cause: your Microsoft 365 tenant has Security Defaults enabled, which blocks third-party SMTP logins at the policy level. Slightly different mechanism from the basic-auth deprecation, identical answer.

Fix: same as the other SMTP error. Close the panel without saving, leave LeadConnector Email System selected as the default provider. We handle email authentication via DNS on our side. Custom SMTP isn't needed for your campaign to work, regardless of which Outlook variant is throwing the lock.

Symptom: Email Services → Add new domain shows "Domain Validation Failed"

Cause: two things stacked. The Email Services screen is for the email-sending subdomain (Mailgun-style, like mg.yourdomain.com), not the funnel subdomain (go.yourdomain.com). Entering the funnel subdomain here triggers the validation failure. Also, this screen is entirely optional.

Fix: skip this screen. Close the panel without saving. The default LeadConnector Email System sends emails fine without it. Email authentication via DNS (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) happens in Step 4 of your DMP onboarding, separately, and that's something we handle on our side. If you want branded email sending later, use a different subdomain like mg.yourdomain.com (not the one you use for funnels).

Symptom: I need the DNS records for my funnel subdomain. Where do I find them?

Where to look: in your CRM, go to Settings → Domains (not Email Services). Click Add Domain. Enter your funnel subdomain (e.g. go.yourdomain.com or promotions.yourdomain.com).

What you get: a single CNAME with the target sites.ludicrous.cloud (TGB's white-label routing host). Add it in your DNS panel: Type CNAME, Host = your chosen prefix, Value = sites.ludicrous.cloud, TTL = Auto or 3600. Save, wait 1 to 4 hours for propagation, click Verify in the CRM. Landing page goes live automatically once it verifies.

Shortcut: reply on your onboarding email with "send me the records" and we look them up on our side and pass them to your DNS team directly. No CRM-clicking from your end.

Symptom: Calendar connected but bookings aren't blocking my calendar

Check first: in HighLevel under Calendars → Settings, the integration shows a green Connected tick AND the correct sub-calendar is selected as the busy-time source.

Fix: if green-tick but bookings don't block, disconnect and reconnect the calendar. Google/Outlook OAuth tokens occasionally drift; reconnect refreshes them.

Symptom: Leads coming in but no SMS or email alert

Check first: open the lead in the CRM. Does the activity feed show "alert sent"?

Fix: if yes but you didn't receive, check spam + Gmail Promotions/Other tabs. If no, the alert routing got broken. Send us "alerts not firing" and we'll trace + repair within the hour.

Symptom: Dashboard numbers don't match what I'm seeing in the pipeline

Cause: dashboards refresh every 15 minutes, pipeline updates instantly. Brief lag is normal.

Fix: wait 15 minutes, refresh. If still off, reply with "dashboard mismatch" and a screenshot of both views. Usually a stage was renamed and the dashboard formula needs updating.

Symptom: Phone System shows "A2P 10DLC registration incomplete, please go to the trust center tab"

Cause: A2P 10DLC is US carrier compliance for sending OUTBOUND SMS via US 10DLC numbers. Registration requires a US EIN and US business address, which non-US businesses generally can't complete.

Fix: ignore the banner. We don't send outbound SMS at all. Client communication runs on WhatsApp + email. The only thing the US +1 does is receive the inbound WhatsApp verification code (which lands in your Conversations tab and triggers WhatsApp setup). The banner stays in your CRM permanently but is safe to ignore. No registration needed.

Symptom: Forgot password to the CRM

Fix: use the "Forgot password" link on the login page. Reset email lands within minutes. If it doesn't, check spam, then reply on the onboarding thread and we'll resend the welcome invite from our side.

Symptom: "Account not found" or "Access denied" when logging in

Cause: usually a typo in the email field, or you're using the wrong login URL.

Fix: double-check the login link from your welcome email. The URL is sub-account-specific and won't work from the generic app.gohighlevel.com entry page.

Symptom: I added a team member but they can't see anything

Cause: permission scope set too narrow on add.

Fix: open the user in Settings → My Staff, scroll to Permissions, and tick at minimum: Conversations, Opportunities, Calendars, Contacts. Save. They re-login and see the pipeline.