Troubleshooting
They tell me the link does not work
Five causes, and the commonest has nothing to do with the link.
"The link doesn't work" is one of the biggest time sinks, because it covers five different situations and only one is fixed by sending another link.
The five causes, by frequency
| Cause | How to recognise it | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| They opened an old link | They got two emails and clicked the first | Tell them to use the latest email |
| The link expired | The send's window passed | Resend: a new one is generated |
| They already used it | It shows as signed or supplied | Check: it may already be done |
| Their mail client broke the link | It arrives split across two lines | Send it by another channel |
| They are not the right person | Forwarded by a colleague | Send it to whoever must act |
Important
The first is by far the commonest and the most invisible: if you sent a reminder, they have two emails and no reason to open the right one. Telling them "use the latest" resolves half the cases in one message.
Before resending, check this
- 1
Whether it is already done
It happens more than you would think: they did it and report out of habit.
- 2
Who opened what
If it shows opened by someone else, the link works and the problem is the recipient.
- 3
And whether the send is still live
An expired send is not fixed by insisting: it must be sent again.
Watch out
The fifth causes the most confusion. If a colleague forwards the email to someone else, the link still belongs to the first person: they may open it and see something that is not theirs, or be unable to do anything. The answer is not more forwarding: it is sending to the person who must act.
How to stop it happening
Worth knowing
Every resend consumes like the first. Checking the status before resending is not only efficiency: these are paid actions that often were not needed.
›How long does a link last?
It depends on the send; reminders keep it reachable within the window.
›Can someone else sign with that link?
The link belongs to whoever it was sent to; if another person must sign, send it to them.
›What if they say nothing arrived?
That is a different problem, checked through the send status.
A real case
The situation
A supplier insists the link does not work after two reminders.
What you do
- They are told to open the most recent email
What you get
They sign immediately: they had been opening the first send's link.
The situation
The recipient opens the link from a forwarded email.
What you do
- Sends them the link directly
What you get
Access works because it is issued in their name.
The situation
The link was opened weeks ago and has expired.
What you do
- Resends the request from the same file
What you get
The new link arrives without rebuilding anything.
The situation
The supplier's mail client truncates the link.
What you do
- Sends it another way or as plain text
What you get
The link arrives whole and works.
The situation
The supplier already completed the request and tries again.
What you do
- Confirms it is already delivered
What you get
The doubt closes without issuing a new link.
The situation
The link is tried from a network that blocks external domains.
What you do
- Tries from another connection
What you get
The block is located before it is reported.
This article answers
- the signing link does not work
- the supplier says they cannot open the link
- expired link what do i do
- they cannot access the document i sent