So I’m clicking “Add Friend” and nothing happens. Or it says “Request Sent” but the person never gets it. Or I’ve got like 50 friend requests stuck in pending forever that nobody’s responding to. Like what’s the point of having a friend request button if it doesn’t actually work??
I’m not playing…
And checking forums shows thousands of people dealing with this garbage. Friend requests that disappear into the void, buttons that grey out randomly, or Facebook straight up blocking you from sending requests without explaining why. Making friends on a social network shouldn’t be this complicated!
Facebook Blocked You From Sending Requests
Here’s the thing nobody warns you about – Facebook has daily limits on friend requests. You can only send about 20 requests per day. And if you go over that? Facebook temporarily blocks you from sending any more, sometimes for days or even weeks!
And it’s not just about quantity. If too many of your past requests got ignored or marked as “I don’t know this person,” Facebook flags your account as potentially spammy. Then they restrict your ability to send new requests even if you haven’t hit the 20-per-day limit.
This is so stupid…
So basically Facebook punishes you for trying to make friends on their social network. Makes total sense right? They want you to connect with people but only at the exact pace they decide is acceptable!
Check If You’re Actually Blocked
To see if Facebook blocked you from sending requests, try adding someone you definitely know. If you get an error message like “It looks like you may not know this person” or the Add Friend button is just missing entirely? Yeah, you’re blocked.
The block usually lasts 7-30 days depending on how “bad” Facebook thinks your behavior was. And there’s no way to speed it up or appeal it. You just have to wait it out like you’re in timeout!
Your Pending Requests Are Piling Up
Facebook lets you have up to 1,000 pending friend requests at once. But here’s where it gets weird – if you’re anywhere close to that number, Facebook might stop letting you send new ones even though technically you haven’t hit the limit yet.
Go check how many pending requests you have: Click Friends > Friend Requests > View Sent Requests. If you see like 800+ requests sitting there from months or years ago? That’s probably why new ones aren’t going through.
Cancel old requests that clearly aren’t getting accepted. If someone hasn’t responded in 6 months, they’re not gonna respond. Free up space for new requests by cleaning out the dead weight!
They Changed Their Privacy Settings
Some people set their Facebook privacy so only “Friends of Friends” can send them requests. If you don’t have any mutual friends with someone, the Add Friend button literally won’t show up on their profile.
Or they disabled friend requests completely and you can only Follow them instead. This is common with semi-public figures or people who got sick of random friend requests.
- No Add Friend button = privacy settings blocking you
- Only Follow button = they disabled requests entirely
- Add Friend button greyed out = you already sent a request that’s pending
- Button missing after you sent request = they probably declined it
There’s nothing you can do about someone else’s privacy settings except maybe send them a message asking them to friend you instead!
You Already Sent Them A Request
If the Add Friend button is greyed out or says “Friend Request Sent,” that means you already sent this person a request and it’s sitting in their inbox waiting for them to accept or decline.
Facebook doesn’t let you send multiple requests to the same person. You gotta wait for them to respond to your first one. And if they decline it? You can’t send another one for a whole year! Yeah seriously, Facebook locks you out from re-requesting for 12 months.
Why a full year though…
Nobody knows! It’s one of Facebook’s arbitrary rules that makes networking way harder than it needs to be. Like maybe I sent a request to someone before we actually met, they declined, and now a year later we’re actual friends but I still can’t send a request. Great system Facebook!
They Hit The 5,000 Friend Limit
Personal Facebook profiles max out at 5,000 friends. If someone you’re trying to add already has 5,000 friends, your request will fail or just sit in pending forever because they literally can’t accept any more.
The only way around this is if they enable Professional Mode which removes the friend limit. But most regular users don’t even know that exists so they’re just stuck at 5,000 unable to accept new requests.
If you keep trying to friend people who are at their limit, Facebook might think you’re a bot and restrict your account. So maybe check if the person is a super popular account before sending!
Cache And App Glitches
If friend requests aren’t sending at all – like you click Add Friend and literally nothing happens – corrupted cache or an outdated app could be blocking the action.
Clear your cache: On mobile go to Settings > Apps > Facebook > Storage > Clear Cache. On desktop clear your browser cache through Settings > Privacy > Clear browsing data.
Update the Facebook app: Check App Store or Google Play and make sure you’re running the latest version. Old versions break in weird ways when Facebook changes their backend systems.
After clearing cache and updating, restart your device completely then try sending requests again. And if you’re still having issues with Facebook features not working, check out this guide on notifications that aren’t working since it’s usually related to the same cache problems!
Try Desktop Instead of Mobile
Sometimes friend requests work on desktop but not mobile, or vice versa. Facebook’s interface is buggy enough that one platform might have issues while the other works fine.
If mobile isn’t working, log in through a desktop browser and try sending requests there. If desktop is broken, use the mobile app. It’s annoying but switching platforms fixes issues more often than it should!
You Blocked Them Previously
If you ever blocked someone on Facebook, you can’t send them a friend request until you unblock them first. Even if it was months or years ago, that block is still active preventing friend requests.
Go to Settings > Blocking and check if the person is on your blocked list. If they are, click Unblock next to their name. But heads up – after unblocking someone, you have to wait 48 hours before you can send them a friend request! Another arbitrary Facebook rule that makes zero sense.
Their Account Is Deactivated
If someone deactivated their Facebook account, their profile basically disappears and you can’t send them requests. The Add Friend button won’t show up because technically the account doesn’t exist at the moment.
Wait until they reactivate their account, then you can send a request. There’s no way to know when that’ll happen unless you contact them outside Facebook!
Network Connection Issues
If your internet is unstable, friend requests might look like they sent but actually failed in the background. Then when you check later, the request never went through and you’re left confused.
Make sure you have strong WiFi or good cellular signal before sending requests. And wait for the confirmation that it actually sent before closing Facebook or navigating away!
I’ve had requests fail silently because my WiFi was being trash. Clicked Add Friend, saw the button change to “Request Sent,” assumed it worked. But my connection dropped and the request never actually reached Facebook’s servers. Had to send it again later!
Facebook’s Servers Are Having Issues
Sometimes the problem is 100% on Facebook’s end. Their friend request system glitches out or goes down, and nobody can send or receive requests properly.
Check Downdetector to see if thousands of other people are reporting friend request problems. If they are? Just wait a few hours and try again. Making yourself crazy won’t fix Mark Zuckerberg’s broken servers any faster!
What Actually Fixed It For Me
After getting blocked from sending requests (thanks Facebook), here’s what I learned: Only send requests to people you actually know or have mutual friends with. Don’t blast out 20 requests a day to random strangers. Space them out over time instead of all at once.
And clean out your old pending requests regularly! I had like 600 requests sitting there from years ago that were never getting accepted. Cancelled them all and suddenly I could send new requests again without issues.
It shouldn’t be this complicated…
But Facebook’s anti-spam measures are so aggressive they end up blocking regular users just trying to connect with people. You gotta game their system by being strategic about when and who you send requests to. Or just use Instagram DMs like everyone else does now because Facebook’s friend request system is broken as hell!
The most annoying part? This problem has existed for YEARS and Facebook refuses to make their limits and restrictions clear. They just secretly block you then leave you guessing why requests aren’t working. For a company built on connecting people, they sure make it unnecessarily difficult to actually connect with people!
If this article helped you figure out why your friend requests aren’t working after hours of confusion, share it with someone else who’s probably stuck in pending request hell wondering what they did wrong!!