Facebook’s professional mode allows users to separate their personal and professional profiles on the platform. This feature enables people to showcase a more business-oriented version of themselves to colleagues and clients, while still maintaining their normal Facebook profile for friends and family.
However, some users have reported issues getting professional mode activated on their accounts. There are a few potential reasons why you may be unable to turn on this feature.
You Don’t Meet the Eligibility Requirements
Facebook has set certain eligibility requirements that users must meet before they can enable professional mode:
- Your personal Facebook profile must be public.
- You need to have added your workplaces to your profile.
- Your account must be fully verified with your real name.
If your personal profile is private, or you haven’t added work information and gone through Facebook’s ID verification process, you’ll be ineligible to switch on professional mode. You’ll need to update your profile to meet these requirements first.
Your Workplace Isn’t Enrolled
In order for you to use professional mode as an employee, your employer needs to have enrolled with and been approved by Facebook as a professional workspace. This allows them to manage company profiles and integrate professional mode with their organization.
If your workplace hasn’t gone through this process yet, you won’t be able to turn professional mode on for your account, even if you meet the individual eligibility criteria. You’ll need to check with your employer to see if/when they plan to enroll with Facebook as a professional workspace.
You’re Using a Personal Facebook Account for Work
Facebook designed professional mode specifically for users who have both personal and business/work accounts – it allows you to differentiate these profiles.
If you only have a personal profile that you use for both personal and professional networking, you can’t enable professional mode for that single account. You would need to create a separate, dedicated Facebook profile just for your business/work connections to use this feature.
There’s an Issue with Your Account
In some cases, an unknown technical issue or bug could be preventing professional mode from activating correctly. Things to check in this instance:
- Make sure you don’t have any pending requests or required actions in your account settings or Help Center.
- Confirm your app and Facebook platform settings allow full integration.
- Check for any error messages you may have received when trying to turn it on.
If you’ve ruled out eligibility issues and there seems to be a platform problem, you may need to report the bug to Facebook directly so they can troubleshoot and fix it.
You Have a Fake or Duplicate Account
Facebook’s professional mode is only available for authentic accounts that comply with their Real Name policy. If you’re trying to use it with a fake or pseudo account, an account that’s been flagged for impersonation, or a duplicate account, you’ll be unable to activate it.
You would need to either use your real personal account (if you have one) or create a brand new legitimate account fully in your real name. Promotional, unofficial, parody, or other types of inauthentic accounts are prohibited from professional mode.
It’s Not Available in Your Region Yet
As of October 2022, Facebook’s professional mode has only officially rolled out in a limited number of countries so far. These include:
- Australia
- Canada
- United States
- Brazil
- United Kingdom
If you don’t reside in one of these areas, the feature simply may not have launched in your country yet. Facebook has stated they plan to expand availability globally but have not provided exact timelines. You’ll have to wait until professional mode officially becomes available in your region.
You Have Restrictions or Limitations on Your Account
In some cases, specific restrictions or limitations placed on your account could prevent you from being able to activate professional mode. For example:
- If you’ve been banned from certain Facebook features due to prior violations.
- If you have parental controls enabled that block access to this feature.
- If you’re using Facebook through a third-party app that doesn’t support professional mode.
You would need to resolve whatever restrictions are in place on your account before professional mode could be turned on. This may require getting the limitations lifted, using Facebook’s main platform instead of a limited app, or disabling parental controls.
You’re on a Personal Facebook Plan
Facebook offers different tiers of service for users, including free personal plans and paid plans for business/professional use.
If you signed up for and are still on a regular personal Facebook plan, you may not have access to certain business and workplace-oriented features – including professional mode.
To get these advanced tools, you may need to upgrade to one of Facebook’s paid subscriptions for business or professional accounts, such as Facebook Business Suite or Meta Business Suite. On these plans, you should then be able to enable professional mode.
Troubleshooting Tips
If you’ve reviewed all the potential reasons covered and are still having no luck turning on professional mode, here are some troubleshooting tips:
- Double check you’ve met all eligibility requirements for your personal profile.
- Log out then back into your Facebook account and try again.
- Clear your browser cookies and cache and attempt to enable it.
- Try turning it on from both desktop and mobile to see if one platform works.
- Reach out to Facebook support if available in your country for assistance.
Waiting for Widespread Availability
While frustrating if you’re eager to use it, keep in mind professional mode on Facebook is still relatively new and rolling out. As it expands, eligibility requirements may be updated or issues enabling it could be resolved.
If you aren’t able to turn it on yet, you may just need to wait until Facebook finishes expanding availability to all regions and accounts. Over the coming months, it should become accessible to more users globally.
Considering Alternatives in the Meantime
Until professional mode is fully available, you could look into some alternative options to separate your personal and professional presences on Facebook:
- Maintain separate personal and page accounts.
- Use Groups for your professional connections.
- Create professional Lists to organize work contacts.
- Use another platform like LinkedIn for your main professional network.
None of these achieve quite the same experience as professional mode, but they can help keep things a bit more segmented. You can then switch over once wider access to professional mode is enabled.
Conclusion
Facebook’s professional mode offers users a valuable way to distinguish their personal and work identities on the platform. But issues like eligibility restrictions, workplace enrollment requirements, location availability, and technical bugs may be preventing you from turning it on. With time though, most of these limitations should resolve as professional mode completes its global rollout. Trying alternatives like professional Lists or Pages can help manage things in the meantime until you’re able to activate this useful feature.