Why Can’t I Send Friend Requests on Facebook And How to Fix It

Key Highlights

• Your friend requests may be pending for a long time or you may only be able to follow individuals instead of adding them as a friend.
• This could be because of privacy settings, a limit on friends, or due to a bug in the Facebook app.
• Try signing in and out of Facebook or updating the app to be able to send friend requests again.

Why Can’t I Add Friends on Facebook?

There are times when Facebook restricts your account from sending friend requests. Here are some of the factors that lead to such limitations.

1. Is Your Friend Request Pending?

If you see a Cancel Request option in place of the Add Friend button on your friend’s profile, you’ve already sent this person a friend request. Wait it out till they accept the request or resend the request if they deny it on the first attempt.

2. Can You Only Follow Them?

Celebrity pages generally have a mere follow button. If you can only see a follow button in place of an add friend option, your only way out is to follow this person.

3. Unable to See the Add Friend Button?

You can tweak Facebook’s settings to allow friend requests from mere friends of friends. If you’re unable to see the Add Friend option in a profile, chances are they’ve triggered this option. You’ll have to wait until you have mutual friends with the person.

If you too want to enable this feature to restrict your friend requests to close friends, here’s how.

Step 1: Open Facebook. Tap Menu. Select Settings.

Step 2: Now, scroll down to locate How people can find and contact you. Now, select Who can send you friend requests?, and then tap Friends of friends.

4. You or the Other Person Has Reached the Friend Limit

You can have up to 5,000 friends on Facebook. If you still wish to connect with more, you can unfriend someone else and send a request to a new person. Or, trigger the professional mode to connect with over 5,000 friends on Facebook. If the other individual has reached their maximum limit of Facebook friends, you’d have to wait for them to either trigger professional mode or unfollow someone.

5. Has Your Friend Blocked You?

If you’re unable to see a friend’s profile, chances are they have blocked you. In such instances, you would have to wait for them to unblock you before you can send a friend request.

6. Have You Blocked Your Friend?

When things go south with someone on Facebook, you may block the person on the platform to cut all the ties. Facebook then removes the person from your friend list. To resend a friend request, you have to unblock the person.

Step 1: Open Facebook and go to your profile. Select Settings and privacy and tap Settings.

Step 2: Select Blocking. Now tap the Unblock option beside the individual’s name.  

7. Has Your Friend Deactivated Their Facebook Account?

If you’re unable to see your friend’s profile, another chance is they’ve deactivated their account. Hence, you can send them a request once they’re back on Facebook.

8. Facebook Has Restricted Your Account

Did you send friend requests to several unknown profiles? You see, chances are Facebook may have flagged your account as a bot and restricted it. So, you will have to wait for Facebook to remove restrictions on your account before sending friend requests again.

How to Fix Unable to Send Friend Requests on Facebook

If the abovementioned reasons don’t suit your case, it is probably your Facebook glitching. Here are some ways to fix the issue.

Fix 1: Sign out and Re-login

Facebook not sending friend requests can be related to an authentication error. You should sign out from your account and sign back in.

Step 1: Launch Facebook and go to Menu > Log out. Now, sign back in and check if you’re able to send friend requests.

Fix 2: Clear Facebook Cache (Android Only)

Facebook collects cache to improve the app performance on Android. The built-up cache can lead to issues with sending friend requests. You can follow our guide on how to clear Facebook cache.

Fix 3: Update Facebook

Updates remove bugs. So, you may be unable to send friend requests due to a bug. Consider updating Facebook to the latest firmware from the App Store or Google’s Play Store.

Last but not least, check Facebook server status on Downdetector. You may face issues sending friend requests if the app servers are down. We hope this guide helped you diagnose and solve the issue.