When a customer can't sign in to their portal or doesn't receive their sign-in link, it's one of the most common support issues, especially at migration time when many customers try the portal for the first time. This article walks you through diagnosing the cause and sending the right email to unblock the customer.
Who this article is for
Diagnosing a sign-in issue starts on the customer's record, using the Activity tab and the Details tab. Every role can view it. Resending a link from the record typically requires the Owner or Manager role.
Diagnose a sign-in issue
Step 1.
Open the customer's record and look at the Account section on the right. If the customer already has a portal account, the button reads Resend portal link — click it to send a fresh link immediately, with no confirmation step. If the customer never had an account, the button instead reads Send portal invitation: clicking it creates the account and sends the first link in one step.
Step 2.
Click Resend portal link (or Send portal invitation). A confirmation message appears right away and the email goes out with nothing else to validate.
Step 3.
Verify the email address on file. In Details → Contact Information, compare the Email field with the address the customer says they're using to sign in. A different or mistyped address is the most common reason a link "never arrives." If it's wrong, correct it (Edit button) and resend the link.
Step 4.
Confirm the send actually happened. In the record's Activity tab, an entry appears right after the click confirming the portal invite was sent, with a preview link to review the exact email that went out.
Step 5.
If the activity entry exists but the customer says they never got anything, ask them to check their Spam / Junk folder, search for the sender (your brand or a Stortech domain), and check whether they have an active email filter.
Step 6.
Remind the customer of the two magic-link rules: it expires after 60 minutes and is single-use. If they click an old or already-used link, they'll see an error page — just ask them to request a new one from the portal sign-in page.
Step 7.
If the customer requested several links back to back, the portal may apply a rate limit. This is rare in practice — the customer just needs to wait a few minutes before trying again.
Special cases
Customer with two accounts
A customer may have created multiple accounts using different emails (for example a work address vs. a personal one). Each address is a separate account in the portal. Check the accounts tied to each address via the Contacts list. If the customer wants everything consolidated under one address, contact support.
Customer with rentals across multiple facilities
The portal is per-storefront: the same email can be linked to rentals at multiple facilities if they share the same storefront, and the portal shows all of them. A customer of one storefront can't sign in on a different storefront, though — check the exact URL they're using and resend it if needed.
Online sign-up with an email already in use
An existing customer who tries a new online sign-up with an email already in use sees a conflict error instead of an inline magic link — this is a known limitation. Direct them to the portal sign-in page: they can enter their email there and click Send sign-in link to get back into their account.
The customer is looking for a password
Stortech no longer uses passwords: sign-in happens only through a magic link. Explain to the customer that it's more secure and there's nothing to remember.
Safe actions (no approval needed)
Resend the portal link from the customer record as many times as needed (server-side limited if too frequent). Update the email address on the customer record if it changed. Explain the 60-minute expiry and the single-use rule to the customer.
Actions that need approval
Resetting an account (deleting and recreating it) goes through support. Merging two accounts if the customer accidentally created two goes through support. Changing the email address to take over a different customer's account carries a data-leak risk and goes through support.
What not to tell the customer
To avoid account enumeration (an attacker guessing whether an address exists), never confirm or deny that a specific address exists in Stortech. Always say "if an address matches, an email will be sent" rather than "your address doesn't exist with us." This rule applies to written conversations, phone calls, and automated replies alike.
Common issues
The customer never received a link.
What to check: is there a portal invite sent entry in the Activity tab? Is the address on the record correct?
What to do: click Resend portal link from the customer record.
The customer gets the link but clicks it too late.
What to check: the link expires after 60 minutes.
What to do: ask them to request a new link from the portal sign-in page.
The customer clicks an old, already-used link.
What to check: magic links are single-use.
What to do: ask them to request a new link.
The customer is on the wrong storefront.
What to check: ask them for the exact URL they're using.
What to do: send them their storefront's correct URL.
The customer tries to sign up online and gets a conflict error.
What to check: this is a known limitation when an account already exists for that email.
What to do: direct the customer to the portal sign-in page to use the magic link.
The customer changed email and wants their old account.
What to check: does the customer record reflect the new address?
What to do: update the address on the record, then resend a link after the change.
Common questions
The customer didn't get their sign-in link. What do I do? On the customer's record, click Resend portal link. If the button instead reads Send portal invitation, the customer doesn't have an account yet — clicking it will create one and send the first link.
The customer clicks the link and gets "Link expired." Why? Magic links expire after 60 minutes and are single-use. Ask the customer to request a new link from the sign-in page.
The customer has an account but doesn't remember creating one. Is that possible? Yes. A portal account is created automatically when the customer completes an online sign-up through the storefront, or manually the first time you click Send portal invitation. The account exists even if they never received a link.
The customer has two emails and doesn't know which to use. What do I do? Each email address is a separate account in the portal. Check the customer's record for the address on file. If the customer wants everything consolidated under one address, contact support.
The customer is on the wrong storefront. What do I do? The portal is per-storefront. A customer of one storefront can't sign in on another. Send them their storefront's exact URL.
The customer tries to sign up online with an email already in use and sees a conflict error. How do I help? Direct them to the portal sign-in page. They can request a magic link there to get their access back.
The customer is asking for a password. What do I do? Stortech no longer uses passwords. Sign-in happens only through a magic link. Explain to the customer that it's more secure and there's nothing to remember.