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QUICKBOOKS HELP · BANK FEEDQuickBooks help reference
QuickBooks bank feed disconnected: reconnect & stop it recurring.
When the bank connection itself shows disconnected, flags “needs attention,” or keeps asking you to sign in again, the feed has dropped its authorization — new transactions stop until you re-authenticate. Most drops trace to a bank-side login, security, or feed-provider change, and the steps below reconnect the account in order of likelihood. Below that: when a connection that keeps disconnecting means the books behind it need a ProAdvisor.
QuickBooks · HelpBank Feed DisconnectedBy TechBrot2026-10-21
§ TL;DR
A “QuickBooks bank feed disconnected” message means the connection between your bank account and QuickBooks has lost its authorization — the account shows as disconnected or “needs attention,” and QuickBooks keeps prompting you to sign in again, so no new transactions arrive.
The most common single cause is that the bank now requires you to re-authenticate the connection — usually after a login, security, multi-factor, or feed-provider change on the bank’s side. Many cases clear by updating the account’s sign-in info and completing the bank’s re-authentication. Bank feeds exist in both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop; the reconnect steps differ slightly but follow the same order of likelihood.
§ 01 · Why the connection drops
Common causes, in order of likelihood.
The reconnect steps address these in the same order — so working through them in sequence restores most disconnected feeds efficiently.
Cause 01 · The bank requires re-authentication after a security or login change
The single most common reason a feed disconnects. Banks periodically force you to sign in and re-authorize the QuickBooks connection — often after a password change, a new multi-factor step, or a security update on the bank’s side. Until you re-authenticate, the account shows disconnected or “needs attention” and no new transactions arrive.
Cause 02 · The bank migrated to a new feed provider
When a bank moves to a different data provider behind the feed, the old connection breaks and can’t simply reconnect — you have to choose the bank’s new connection option from the list. Until you do, the account stays disconnected even though your credentials are correct.
Cause 03 · A multi-factor or repeated sign-in prompt the connection can’t satisfy automatically
Some banks add a multi-factor or one-time-code step that the feed can’t complete on its own, so it drops the connection and asks you to sign in again — repeatedly. The connection works only when you complete the extra verification interactively during the reconnect.
Cause 04 · Your online-banking credentials changed
If you changed your online-banking username, password, or security questions and didn’t update them in QuickBooks, the feed disconnects because the stored sign-in no longer matches. Updating the account’s sign-in info inside QuickBooks restores it.
Cause 05 · The bank or aggregator deprecated the connection
Occasionally a bank or the aggregator that brokers the data retires a connection method entirely, so the existing link stops working until it’s re-established through the bank’s current option. This is a bank/aggregator-side change — sometimes only the bank or Intuit can resolve it.
Less common · Less common: repeated disconnects from a duplicate or mis-mapped connection
If the feed keeps disconnecting after you reconnect it, the cause is often a duplicate connection to the same account or downloads mapped to the wrong register, leaving the connection unstable. This is where surface reconnects stop working and a file review is warranted.
§ 02 · The reconnect
How to reconnect a disconnected bank feed yourself.
Six steps, in order. Most connections come back within the first two or three — if all six don’t hold, or the books are already behind, stop and get the file reviewed.
- 1
Reconnect or update the account’s sign-in info
Open the banking / bank feeds area, find the disconnected account, and choose the option to update sign-in info or reconnect. Re-enter your current online-banking username and password. This alone restores the connection in a large share of cases, especially after a credential change.
- 2
Complete the bank’s re-authentication and multi-factor step
Follow the bank’s sign-in flow all the way through, including any one-time code or multi-factor prompt, during the reconnect. The connection only re-establishes once the bank’s verification is fully completed — don’t close the window before it confirms.
- 3
If the bank changed providers, pick its new connection option
If reconnecting the old link fails, search for your bank again in the connection list and look for a newer entry — banks that migrate feed providers appear as a new option. Choose the current one and authorize it; the old, deprecated connection won’t come back.
- 4
Remove a duplicate connection if one exists
Check whether the same account is connected more than once. A duplicate connection makes the feed unstable and can keep dropping. Remove the redundant link so a single, clean connection feeds the account — carefully, so you don’t detach the connection you intend to keep.
- 5
Verify the account mapping after reconnecting
Once reconnected, confirm the feed is mapped to the correct QuickBooks account so downloads land in the right register. A mismatch after a re-link sends transactions to the wrong place and can look like the feed is still broken even though the connection is live.
- 6
If it keeps dropping, disconnect and re-link carefully
As a last self-fix step, disconnect the account from the feed and re-link it fresh, taking care with the “from” date so you don’t re-import transactions you already have. If it still won’t hold — or you’re now facing gaps or duplicates from the time it was down — stop and get the file reviewed before the gap grows.
§ 03 · When to call
Three signals it’s a ProAdvisor call.
It disconnects repeatedly after reconnecting
You reconnect the feed and it drops again within days or weeks. A recurring disconnect points to an underlying connection or account-mapping issue that a one-time reconnect masks rather than resolves — and each break leaves another gap in the books.Months of gaps or duplicates accumulated
The connection was down a while, and now you’re looking at weeks or months of missing dates, or duplicates that arrived when the feed came back, with a reconciliation that no longer ties. That’s bookkeeping damage — cleanup work, not a reconnect.Reconciliation no longer ties
The register and the bank statement no longer agree because of the gap or the duplicates the disconnect created. Once reconciliation stops tying, it’s the moment to have the file assessed before the discrepancy compounds month over month.§ 04 · Software, or the books?
When a disconnected feed is no longer a software problem.
Reconnecting the feed is the software fix. What the disconnection left behind — the gap and the re-download — lands in the books, and the feed cannot tidy that up for you.
- The reconnect pulled in transactions that were already entered by hand.
- Weeks from the outage never came through and are missing from the register.
- Months that used to reconcile no longer tie to the statement.
Start with the free QuickBooks file review — a limited review that identifies likely issues and the information needed for a written scope, with the findings in plain English. If the findings show that the books themselves need work, that is QuickBooks cleanup, quoted as a fixed fee against a written scope before any work starts.
Feed keeps disconnecting, or months are unreconciled?A QuickBooks ProAdvisor reviews the file free, then fixes the connection and the books behind it — a focused diagnostic is a fixed-fee scope from $450; bookkeeping cleanup runs $1,200–$15,000+ if the books are behind.
Get the free file review
§ 05 · Who fixes it
A QuickBooks ProAdvisor fixes the connection and the books behind it.
Reconnecting a feed is the easy part. The work that actually restores trust in the numbers is everything the dropped connection left behind: recovering the gap of dates that never downloaded, removing the duplicates that arrive when the feed comes back, re-categorizing what came in wrong, and re-running reconciliation until each month ties to the bank statement again. When a connection keeps dropping, a QuickBooks ProAdvisor also chases the root cause — a duplicate connection, an account-mapping mismatch, or a re-link that needs to be done carefully — against a written scope, and verifies the feed is stable before closing.
Freefile review first — we look before we scope
From $450fixed-fee diagnostic for a focused connection + reconciliation fix
§ 08 · Questions
What people ask about a disconnected bank feed.
Why does my QuickBooks bank feed keep disconnecting?
Most often because the bank now requires you to re-authenticate the connection — usually after the bank changed its login, security, multi-factor, or feed provider, which invalidated the old authorization. If it keeps dropping after you reconnect, the cause is often a duplicate connection to the same account, an account-mapping mismatch, or a re-link that needs to be redone carefully.
How do I reconnect a disconnected bank account in QuickBooks?
Open the banking / bank feeds area, select the disconnected account, and choose the option to update sign-in info or reconnect, then re-enter your current online-banking credentials and complete any multi-factor prompt. If the bank moved to a new feed provider, pick its new connection option from the list. If reconnecting doesn’t hold, you can disconnect and re-link the account — watching the “from” date so you don’t re-import transactions you already have.
What does “needs attention” or “action required” on a bank account mean?
It usually means the connection has lost its authorization and the bank wants you to sign in and re-authenticate — commonly after a password change, a new multi-factor step, or a security or feed-provider update on the bank’s side. Until you complete the re-authentication, the account stays disconnected and no new transactions download.
Is a disconnected bank feed a QuickBooks problem or a bank problem?
It can be either. A connection that needs re-authentication, a bank login or feed-provider change, or a bank/Intuit-side outage is on the bank or aggregator side — sometimes only the bank or Intuit can resolve it. The gaps, duplicates, and a reconciliation that won’t tie are inside your books, which is the operational work TechBrot does.
Does this affect QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop?
Both. Bank feeds (sometimes called Online Banking in Desktop) exist in QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop, and the same disconnect causes apply — a connection needing re-authentication, a bank login or provider change, a multi-factor prompt, or a duplicate connection. The reconnect steps differ slightly between the two but follow the same order of likelihood: update sign-in info, complete re-authentication, pick the new connection if the provider changed, then re-link if it won’t hold.
When should I stop reconnecting and call a ProAdvisor?
When the feed disconnects again every time you reconnect it; when months of gaps or duplicates accumulated while it was down; or when reconciliation no longer ties to the bank statement. That’s an underlying connection issue plus bookkeeping damage a reconnect can’t fix. We start with a free file review, then a focused diagnostic is a fixed-fee scope from $450, or a bookkeeping cleanup ($1,200–$15,000+) if the books are behind.
Can you reset my bank login or fix my Intuit account?
No — that’s an Intuit account matter, and an independent firm can’t access it. For an Intuit login, password, subscription, billing question, or an Intuit-side or bank-side connection outage, contact Intuit directly. We work inside your own QuickBooks file: fixing the connection’s effect on the books, the gaps, the duplicates, and the reconciliation.
TechBrot is an independent firm, not Intuit. We never ask for your Intuit login, remote control of your computer, or payment by gift card or link.Call (877) 751-5575Book a discovery call
Connection keeps dropping, or the books no longer tie?