{"article":{"id":15854454981143,"url":"https://plaid.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/articles/15854454981143.json","html_url":"https://support.plaid.com/hc/en-us/articles/15854454981143-Why-is-an-Item-returning-an-INVALID-CREDENTIALS-error","author_id":396033157154,"comments_disabled":false,"draft":false,"promoted":false,"position":2,"vote_sum":0,"vote_count":0,"section_id":15991464436119,"created_at":"2023-07-07T12:42:33Z","updated_at":"2026-05-31T03:46:10Z","name":"Why is an Item returning an INVALID_CREDENTIALS error?","title":"Why is an Item returning an INVALID_CREDENTIALS error?","source_locale":"en-us","locale":"en-us","outdated":false,"outdated_locales":[],"edited_at":"2026-05-31T03:46:10Z","user_segment_id":null,"permission_group_id":1121774,"content_tag_ids":[],"label_names":[],"body":"<p>This error is returned when the credentials provided by the user to Link are invalid. It is also returned when the user's credentials were previously valid but have since changed — for example, after the user changed their password at their institution.</p>\n<h2>Recovery: send the user through Link in update mode</h2>\n<p>The recommended way to resolve this error for an existing Item is to launch <a href=\"https://plaid.com/docs/link/update-mode/\">Link in update mode</a> so the user can re-enter their credentials. After the user successfully re-authenticates, the existing Item resumes working and you do not need to create a new Item or migrate any data.</p>\n<h2>Have the user verify their credentials at their institution</h2>\n<p>If the user repeatedly fails to authenticate through update mode, ask them to:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Confirm they are selecting the correct institution in Link — institutions with similar names (for example, a regional bank and its national parent) are a common source of confusion.</li>\n<li>Log in directly at their institution’s website to confirm their credentials are correct and their account is in good standing.</li>\n<li>If they are using a password manager that autofills the password, ask them to enter the credentials manually so they can confirm exactly what is being submitted.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Once the credentials are confirmed to be working at the institution, the user can re-enter them in update mode to restore the Item.</p>","user_segment_ids":[]}}