# QuickBooks Error 179: Signed In Too Many Places

- Author: SimpleBankConvert (https://simplebankconvert.com)
- Published: 2026-10-17
- Category: Import errors
- Canonical: https://simplebankconvert.com/blog/quickbooks-error-179

> QuickBooks error 179 means the bank sees too many sign-ins: sign out of other sessions, wait, then update the bank feed in QuickBooks Online.
QuickBooks error 179 means your bank sees the same online banking login active in too many places at once, so it blocks the sign-in QuickBooks Online makes for the feed. Sign out of the bank on your phone, browser and other apps, wait a while for open sessions to end, then update the bank feed again.

## What does QuickBooks error 179 mean?

Error 179 is a session conflict. Intuit's [guide to fixing bank error 179](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-global/help-article/bank-connectivity/fix-bank-error-179-quickbooks-online/L2fJJdwSZ_ROW_en) says it means the bank's website rejected the login attempt because you may already be signed in elsewhere. Your password is fine, but the bank has decided that one more sign-in on top of the ones already open is too many.

When QuickBooks Online signs in on your behalf to fetch transactions, that sign-in is the one that gets refused, so the feed stops and the code appears on the account.

The difference from a password error matters for what you do next. The first goal is to close the other sessions, give the bank time to forget them, and then let QuickBooks try again. Intuit keeps a password change as the last resort, because changing the bank password signs you out of every other session.

Banks set their own rules on how many sessions a login can hold and how long an idle one stays open. QuickBooks can't change those rules, so every fix for error 179 happens on your side of the login.

## Where the extra sign-ins behind error 179 come from

The extra sign-ins behind error 179 are usually ordinary ones you forgot about. A banking app left open on a phone, a browser tab from this morning, or a budgeting app that checks balances overnight each count as a session. So does anyone else in the business who shares the same online banking login.

QuickBooks itself can be one of them. A business that keeps one company in QuickBooks Online and another in QuickBooks Desktop, with both reaching the same bank, has two outside services signing in. The Desktop side works differently and is covered in [how to download bank transactions into QuickBooks Desktop](/blog/how-to-download-bank-transactions-into-quickbooks-desktop#direct-connect-or-web-connect-which-desktop-download).

## Signing out and waiting before you retry error 179

To clear error 179, end every other session on that login, then wait before you touch QuickBooks. Signing out properly matters more than closing a window, because a closed tab can leave the session open at the bank until it times out on its own.

Use the table below as a checklist. The rows are examples of common places a session hides. Your own list may be shorter or longer.

| Where the session is | How to end it |
| --- | --- |
| Bank's website in a browser | Select the bank's sign-out link, then close the tab |
| Bank's phone app | Sign out from the app's menu, not just swipe it closed |
| A second computer or tablet | Sign out there too, or ask whoever uses it |
| A colleague on the same login | Ask them to sign out until the feed has updated |
| A budgeting or expense app linked to the bank | Pause or disconnect it while you fix the feed |
| Another QuickBooks Online company on the same bank account | Intuit's guide asks you to confirm the account is connected to only one company |

After that, wait. Intuit's error 179 guide says bank servers can take up to 15 minutes to recognise a sign-out, so stay signed out for more than 15 minutes before you retry. For an account you have just connected, it suggests waiting 15 to 30 minutes, and it notes that some accounts update overnight on their own. If the error survives all of that, change the bank password, which ends the other sessions, then update the sign-in details in QuickBooks. Repeated attempts in quick succession look like the very behaviour the bank is guarding against.

## Updating the bank feed once error 179 has cleared

Once the other sessions are closed and you have waited, ask QuickBooks Online to download again. Intuit's article on [getting a bank error when you download transactions](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/banking/get-bank-error-download-transactions-quickbooks/L5Tek4yh7_US_en_US) gives the order to follow.

1. Go to Bank transactions in QuickBooks Online.
2. Select Update.
3. If the update fails, sign in to QuickBooks from a private or incognito browser window and select Update again.
4. If you changed your bank password while fixing the problem, open the account card, select Edit, then Edit sign in info. Enter the new details and select Save and connect.

The same article notes that transactions older than 90 days can't be downloaded through the feed. If the block lasted weeks, check that nothing near the start of the gap was lost. Older lines need to come in by hand or from a file.

## Why does error 179 keep coming back every week?

Error 179 that returns on a pattern almost always has a regular cause, such as an app that syncs on a schedule or a colleague who signs in at the same time each week. Find the repeating session and the error stops.

Look at when the error shows up. If it appears every Monday morning, think about who signs in to the bank first thing on Mondays. If it appears overnight, look for a linked app that refreshes balances while you sleep. Many banks let a business create separate logins for different people. Asking your bank about that, so the person who handles QuickBooks has a login of their own, removes the shared-login problem at its root.

## When error 179 is not the real problem

Some messages look like error 179 but need a different fix. If the bank has a notice waiting for you, the code is usually 108, and [what QuickBooks error 108 means](/blog/quickbooks-error-108) walks through reading and clearing the bank's message. A bank outage can also block sign-ins for everyone at once.

For outages, Intuit's article says to sign in at the bank and look for a maintenance notice, and that outages usually clear within 24 to 48 hours. Waiting is the whole fix there.

If the feed stays blocked and you need the month's transactions anyway, a file upload is the fallback. Some banks only give you a PDF statement. QuickBooks Online's upload accepts a PDF statement, or you can turn it into a CSV or QBO file you can check line by line first. SimpleBankConvert is being built to turn that PDF into a file QuickBooks Online can upload; [sign up to hear when accounts open](/get-started). If a file you made yourself is refused, [why QuickBooks rejects a converted QBO file](/blog/converted-qbo-file-rejected-by-quickbooks) explains the usual faults.