OBS Stopped Connecting to Facebook Live Stream

[RVF]

I've been successfully streaming for several years, and three weeks ago the OBS would not connect to Facebook. Sometimes times out with the message "Could not access the specified channel or key". I tried a myriad of key entry options, including persistent key. I kept trying last night prior to a live broadcast today, and for a long time it wasn't working, but then it worked several times. Unfortunately, today it would not connect for my live stream. I've tried several browsers, and oddly once today the blue button came on Facebook, but when I clicked it, it just went spinning. I did a speedtest and have 90+M upstream and downstream. I am running OBS 31.0.1, however, I don't recall if that update was the beginning of my turmoil. Can I "easily" roll back to a previous version? Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Also I noticed that 'sometimes' when you click "start streaming" it immediately turns to "stop streaming" which made me think it was partially successfully through the connection process.

 

[PeaceAntigo]

I'm having the same issue, and it started with the previous version before 31.0.1. I updated my video drivers. I did speed test, and I have 500+M upload & download.

Occasionally, I don't get the error but the "Connect video source" does not get the green check mark and when I click on "Event logs" in Facebook, it says "Live Service received the video signal".

 

[Lawrence_SoCal]

Previous threads on this issue (last 4-5 years have consistently been related to Operating System certificates, if I recall correctly (could be wrong).

 

[Drummer2322]

I’ve been experiencing the same issue for the past few weeks. Whenever my OBS indicates that it’s streaming, I refresh Facebook, and it resolves the problem. Perhaps you could try this as well to see if it’s just a coincidence or if it works for you too?

I've been successfully streaming for several years, and three weeks ago the OBS would not connect to Facebook. Sometimes times out with the message "Could not access the specified channel or key". I tried a myriad of key entry options, including persistent key. I kept trying last night prior to a live broadcast today, and for a long time it wasn't working, but then it worked several times. Unfortunately, today it would not connect for my live stream. I've tried several browsers, and oddly once today the blue button came on Facebook, but when I clicked it, it just went spinning. I did a speedtest and have 90+M upstream and downstream. I am running OBS 31.0.1, however, I don't recall if that update was the beginning of my turmoil. Can I "easily" roll back to a previous version? Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Also I noticed that 'sometimes' when you click "start streaming" it immediately turns to "stop streaming" which made me think it was partially successfully through the connection process.

I’ve been experiencing the same issue for the past few weeks. Whenever my OBS indicates that it’s streaming, I refresh Facebook, and it resolves the problem. Perhaps you could try this as well to see if it’s just a coincidence or if it works for you too?

 

[TFlowers]

I’ve been experiencing the same issue for the past few weeks. Whenever my OBS indicates that it’s streaming, I refresh Facebook, and it resolves the problem. Perhaps you could try this as well to see if it’s just a coincidence or if it works for you too?

I’ve been experiencing the same issue for the past few weeks. Whenever my OBS indicates that it’s streaming, I refresh Facebook, and it resolves the problem. Perhaps you could try this as well to see if it’s just a coincidence or if it works for you too?

This morning I was experiencing a similar issue. After starting the stream, Facebook would never show that it was seeing the stream. I verified/reset keys and update OBS to 31.0.1 with not fix. Refreshing the Facebook page after starting the stream worked. Hoping there is a real fix soon. For those of us who have several volunteers working the system struggle when there are weird issues like this.

 

[Dewroc]

Thanks for posting this, I wish I had seen it this morning before several 100 people had to go without seeing our Church stream.... We too have seen the random error in OBS that the key isn't connecting to FB.. Then this morning, it connected but nothing showed up on Facebook's preview for us to Go Live.

I finally found a way to bypass OBS for an emergency bandaid.. But came back to research the issue and found your post. I updated OBS which didn't resolve the issue and started looking for others reporting this issue while it updated. So thanks for posting..

I will add another observation.. We closed and reopened FB streaming page multiple times this morning thining it would resolve the issue, to no avail.. However, I had not tried a simple browser page refresh.. That works in my tests at the moment!! I can't understand why a complete close/reopen would not also work.

Will be adding this bandaid / baling wire and duct tape method to our growing list of tips and tricks to make it work.

Frustrating, the OBS-FB connection worked flawlessly for us for years.. I really hope FB and OBS get this figured out..

 

[rayanPR]

I've been successfully streaming for several years, and three weeks ago the OBS would not connect to Facebook. Sometimes times out with the message "Could not access the specified channel or key". I tried a myriad of key entry options, including persistent key. I kept trying last night prior to a live broadcast today, and for a long time it wasn't working, but then it worked several times. Unfortunately, today it would not connect for my live stream. I've tried several browsers, and oddly once today the blue button came on Facebook, but when I clicked it, it just went spinning. I did a speedtest and have 90+M upstream and downstream. I am running OBS 31.0.1, however, I don't recall if that update was the beginning of my turmoil. Can I "easily" roll back to a previous version? Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Also I noticed that 'sometimes' when you click "start streaming" it immediately turns to "stop streaming" which made me think it was partially successfully through the connection process.

(Not find any Nvenc encoder or amd )

 

[RVF]

I’ve been experiencing the same issue for the past few weeks. Whenever my OBS indicates that it’s streaming, I refresh Facebook, and it resolves the problem. Perhaps you could try this as well to see if it’s just a coincidence or if it works for you too?

I’ve been experiencing the same issue for the past few weeks. Whenever my OBS indicates that it’s streaming, I refresh Facebook, and it resolves the problem. Perhaps you could try this as well to see if it’s just a coincidence or if it works for you too?

WOW !!!!! The refresh of the Facebook browser pages connect the OBS to the stream. Thansk so much for the workaround. I am attaching a PDF of my log file so that I could colour code my attempts, and I inserted comments/observations in red. I sure hope folks are able to find a permenant fix soon. At least now I won't miss livestreaming our Church services, instaed of just recording them and posting to Facebook later.

 

[DLCrouch]

Thanks to all for the browser refresh workaround. We broadcast our weekly church services and have seen this problem for a month or so. The refresh solution works with Safari and Firefox. Is this a Facebook or OBS problem? MAC specific?

 

[RVF]

Thanks to all for the browser refresh workaround. We broadcast our weekly church services and have seen this problem for a month or so. The refresh solution works with Safari and Firefox. Is this a Facebook or OBS problem? MAC specific?

I tried it on Windows 11 using both Google Chrome and Firefox, with the same results.

Hopefully the folks with the deep-dive skillsets will find time to do root cause analysis.

 

[RVF]

WOW !!!!! The refresh of the Facebook browser pages connect the OBS to the stream. Thansk so much for the workaround. I am attaching a PDF of my log file so that I could colour code my attempts, and I inserted comments/observations in red. I sure hope folks are able to find a permenant fix soon. At least now I won't miss livestreaming our Church services, instaed of just recording them and posting to Facebook later.

As another key observation - I was initially running 31.0.1 when we developed this problem, and then I rolled back to 30.2.3 and we still have the problem, which as noted above, the browser refresh facilitates the connection with OBS.

 

[MamaPearl]

Posting here just to say I'm having the same issue as of about three weeks ago.... no amount of refreshing, rebooting, or suggested troubleshooting fixes would connect OBS to FB this past Sunday (2/9/2025). Sunday's service is missing the first 30+ minutes. From my point of view, it seemed OBS was working as it should - the disconnect seems to be on the FB side. I don't feel confident that it's an OBS issue but reporting to FB gets you absolutely no where.
Windows 11/Edge
OBS 31.0.1

 

[RVF]

As another key observation - I was initially running 31.0.1 when we developed this problem, and then I rolled back to 30.2.3 and we still have the problem, which as noted above, the browser refresh facilitates the connection with OBS.

One more observation that perhaps someone on this forum could explain to me:

Facebook is set for a persistent key, and the RTMPS URL is "rtmps://live-api-s.facebook.com:443/rtmp/"

OBS is "Stream Service" is set to "Facebook Live", which means I don't get to see the RTMPS URL, however, when I look inside the logfile, it indicates that it is connecting to "rtmps://rtmp-api.facebook.com:443/rtmp/".

I tried setting the "Stream Service" to "Custom" so that I was able to paste in the Facebook RTMPS URL. Unfortunately, I get the same results, meaning it does not connect until I do a browser refresh.

Just thought this might help those more in the know on this issue.

 

[mixedzin]

TRY DUCKDUCKGO
I've had the same issues for weeks. While the occasional refresh of the browser fixed the issues... sometimes. This week, I tried a series of other browsers and to my shock, DuckDuckGo worked every time. While Chrome and Firefox completely failed at every attempt.

 

[iborg]

While I know this is the Windows Support page, I've also had this with a Mac. Mac is running 15.1. Internet connection speed is good. Did the laundry list of "fixes" ranging from restarting the browser and OBS to rebooting computer. The refresh the screen option was not tried as I'm not getting this on my Mac. I will try different browsers tonight and tomorrow. If you find possible solutions please let me know so I can try them.

 

[DIS12]

I also verified that refreshing the Facebook App is required to fix the problem when trying to connect OBS. I believe this is a Facebook issue for several reasons. When OBS is not connecting but indicates it is streaming to Facebook, a check of the Facebook Dashboard screen shows the three Stream metrics are active and look normal. The Video bitrate looks good, the Framerate looks right and the Audio bitrate looks right. If I stop OBS streaming, those 3 metrics drop to zero and show red. So Facebook IS receiving OBS but not broadcasting... until I hit the OBS refresh button. Being a Facebook issue/change would be consistent with back versions of OBS not fixing it, and also why it also occurs on MAC as indicated by iborg above. It's likely not an OBS cause at all. But many thanks to Drummer2322 for finding the refresh workaround! I've been fighting this for 3 weeks of failed church broadcasts as well, after 5 years of using OBS on Facebook!

 

[Lawrence_SoCal]

Facebook App on a Windows PC? not just a browser session? I guess, but probably not wise to use Facebook App for security reasons, and usually best to connect using Browser Incognito/InPrivate mode (we ALWAYS do, and I occasionally check and clear Cookies/Cache for volunteers who aren't attentive/follow instructions)

Anyway, the OP issue of "Could not access the specified channel or key", would NOT apply to Don's observation of FB receiving video (and visible in /live/producer preview window ) but not sending out to clients [in which clearly a FB issue, not OBS Studio]

On Win10, using Chrome (of course, have Edge, but for historical reasons (piss poor Facebook web page coding), not used for Facebook)
I've noticed for last month or two, Facebook is clearly changing the both the web page code (and presumably the back-end) of /live/producer
- we've had times with the FB bitrate monitor (stream, video, and audio) has NOT updated, despite stream working fine... hitting browser refresh would update, but those bitrate metrics not live as they have been historically. This has fluctuated week to week, but was ok last Sunday
- We have had once or twice where /live/producer preview window did NOT appear, but stream was working... hitting browser page refresh button resolved
- Because Scheduled Broadcasts can be watched at a Public URL (no logon required, only to comment), our HoW service broadcasts are always Scheduled, and do NOT use a Persistent Stream Key [Acting as Service's Digital Usher using /live/producer, so getting unique stream key per stream/service is a non-issue (takes only seconds]

So , don't ignore
- Many users are not attentive to Browser cookies and cache content, to their detriment
- And then there is the challenge of streaming video vs what unsophisticated malware data exfiltration might look, meaning some cheap/poorly written security software can interfere with livestream session. Or this interference could come from your LAN's router/firewall
- Then there is the whole OS/Browser certificate mgmt (new certs, revocations, etc) consideration

 

[i8abug]

I’ve been experiencing the same issue for the past few weeks. Whenever my OBS indicates that it’s streaming, I refresh Facebook, and it resolves the problem. Perhaps you could try this as well to see if it’s just a coincidence or if it works for you too?

I’ve been experiencing the same issue for the past few weeks. Whenever my OBS indicates that it’s streaming, I refresh Facebook, and it resolves the problem. Perhaps you could try this as well to see if it’s just a coincidence or if it works for you too?

I tried refreshing and thought that it worked once. But I realize now that it didn't. We stream FB and YT simultaneously through OBS with no issues weekly. YouTube is continuing to stream flawlessly. FB just happened to connect 1/12 tries. I also tried:
-using the FB url instead of the Facebook Live stream setting in OBS (I was able to do a test broadcast)
-changing the streaming key

 

[PDXSteve]

Again thanks to Drummer2322 for browser refresh workaround. It worked for me this morning! Interestingly, I had done perhaps a dozen test attempts during past week and each time "Start Streaming" resulted in FB receiving and activating "Go Live." Then this morning when I am getting ready to do the church service, it fails. Strange. Just removed in and tested. Streaming was normal, again.

 

[DIS12]

Facebook App on a Windows PC? not just a browser session? I guess, but probably not wise to use Facebook App for security reasons, and usually best to connect using Browser Incognito/InPrivate mode (we ALWAYS do, and I occasionally check and clear Cookies/Cache for volunteers who aren't attentive/follow instructions)

Anyway, the OP issue of "Could not access the specified channel or key", would NOT apply to Don's observation of FB receiving video (and visible in /live/producer preview window ) but not sending out to clients [in which clearly a FB issue, not OBS Studio]

On Win10, using Chrome (of course, have Edge, but for historical reasons (piss poor Facebook web page coding), not used for Facebook)
I've noticed for last month or two, Facebook is clearly changing the both the web page code (and presumably the back-end) of /live/producer
- we've had times with the FB bitrate monitor (stream, video, and audio) has NOT updated, despite stream working fine... hitting browser refresh would update, but those bitrate metrics not live as they have been historically. This has fluctuated week to week, but was ok last Sunday
- We have had once or twice where /live/producer preview window did NOT appear, but stream was working... hitting browser page refresh button resolved
- Because Scheduled Broadcasts can be watched at a Public URL (no logon required, only to comment), our HoW service broadcasts are always Scheduled, and do NOT use a Persistent Stream Key [Acting as Service's Digital Usher using /live/producer, so getting unique stream key per stream/service is a non-issue (takes only seconds]

So , don't ignore
- Many users are not attentive to Browser cookies and cache content, to their detriment
- And then there is the challenge of streaming video vs what unsophisticated malware data exfiltration might look, meaning some cheap/poorly written security software can interfere with livestream session. Or this interference could come from your LAN's router/firewall
- Then there is the whole OS/Browser certificate mgmt (new certs, revocations, etc) consideration

We use Chrome to run Facebook but I was wondering if refreshing the app had the same effect as refreshing the browser, and yes it does. Similarly to our refresh testing during the week, we were able to stream the church service this morning after Facebook failed to connect, by again refreshing the browser. I have tried the browser refresh probably 25 times in the past week and it works every time for me running Chrome. I also agree regarding "Could not access the specified channel or key" did not show normal Facebook metrics. But, that was not our primary issue although it was seen several times after stopping and restarting OBS streaming multiple times during the Facebook failure. Exiting OBS and reloading always fixed that condition. So, how do we know if Facebook is taking this seriously and trying to reproduce the issue?