One of the benefits of becoming a member is getting access to exclusive content via posts. If you’re not getting access to posts, there are a few things you can check to troubleshoot any issues.
Accessing posts from your emails? Links to posts in email notifications give you access once without being logged in. If you follow the link from your email again, you may need to log in to view the post.
How to check membership access
If a post is labeled as Locked, you can click the Locked button to check which tiers have access. If your tier isn’t listed, the creator didn’t include your membership option when publishing the post.
If your tier is listed, but you still don’t have access, please keep reading for other possible fixes.
Verify your payment status
By default, we lock a creator’s posts when a member’s payment declines. You can check your payment history to ensure everything is up to date.
Here’s how to verify your payment status:
- Click the Settings link from the left sidebar navigation
- From the menubar, click no More > Billing History link from the menubar
- Scroll through your past payment history — if you notice any declined bills, you can click the Retry button and go through the necessary steps to reattempt the charge
If you need any support with retrying a declined payment, please refer to this help guide: Retry my payment (decline)
Confirm your membership details
Creators can segment post access based on the membership tiers they offer. That means you could be in a creator’s highest tier and come across a post you won’t have access to. You can check your membership details to confirm your access level.
How to check your membership details:
- Click the Settings link from the left sidebar navigation
- Then click on the Memberships link from the menubar
- Click the View Details link to check your tier and membership details
- From here, you can click the Switch to another tier button if you’re in the wrong tier or if your membership is listed as a Custom pledge
You can switch to a different membership tier with the same cost at no additional charge. We will credit the amount you paid this month towards the new tier.
Have you recently canceled?
If your membership was charged upfront and you recently canceled, you’ll have post access for the remainder of the current month (e.g., if you cancel on Jan 15th, you’ll have access through Jan 31st).
If your membership was monthly (non-charge upfront), or per creation, you’d lose access to posts when you cancel. You can learn more about what to expect when canceling: What happens when I cancel?
If you were charged with Subscription billing and you recently canceled, you’ll have post access until your membership ends (i.e., if your membership began on Jan 1, you’ll have access through Feb 1).
Accessing content outside of Patreon
We offer a variety of posting options for creators to share their podcasts, videos, and images with members. Even so, we understand that many creators prefer keeping their exclusive content on a site they manage outside of Patreon.
If you find yourself locked out of content that your membership should give you access to, and you’ve gone through the checklist in this article, reach out to the creator for the next steps in regaining access.
FAQ
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If a post is locked for your membership, but you believe you should have access, please let your creator know. They’ll know more about what posts you should be able to access and can fix post access issues if there’s a mistake.
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Each creator has a unique approach to how they run their membership. Creators can set post access in the following ways:
- Everyone: A gift to the world from your creator! These posts are available to everyone.
- Paid members: All of a creator's paid members will be able to view the post's content — even folks with a custom pledge
- Select tiers: Creators can select specific tiers with access to the post. This means that even if you’re in a higher tier, you may not have access to the post's content. Read through your membership description for more information on expected access to posts. If you’re unsure, messaging the creator asking for clarification could clear things up.
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Check in with your creator if your membership mentions access to benefits from all lower tiers. The post locked to you may not be benefit-related (like a call to upgrade). It could be an easily fixed mix-up or a change to the membership structure.
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We give members the option to Choose what you pay at every tier. You can always give more than your tier costs, even if you don’t want to join a higher one.
We recommend upgrading your membership tier and not just the payment amount. Increasing your payment amount will not unlock new post content if you don’t select the higher tier.
