Website Login Loop: Why a Site Keeps Sending You Back to Sign In, and the Fix

A website login loop is one of the most maddening things a browser can do. You type your password, the page flashes, and you are back on the sign-in screen. Again. No error, no message, just the same form.

The good news: when only one site does it, the fix is almost always the same, and it takes a minute. This guide explains what is actually going on, then gives you a six-step fix that starts with the smallest change and only goes further if it has to.

The short answer#

• Clear that one site's cookies, close its tabs, and sign in from a single fresh tab.
• Test in Incognito. If it works there, an extension or cookie setting is to blame.
• Check the login domain. Many sites sign you in on a separate site. Clear that one too.
• Still looping in Incognito? The problem is on the site's side. Contact its support.

What a login loop actually is#

Signing in to a website works in a simple handshake:

1. You send your username and password.
2. The site checks them and gives your browser a session cookie: a small note that says "this person is signed in".
3. On every next page, your browser sends that cookie back, and the site lets you in.

A login loop happens when step 3 fails. The site never sees a valid session cookie, decides you are not signed in, and sends you to the sign-in page. You sign in, and the same thing happens.

Why would the cookie not come back? The most common reasons:

• An old cookie is in the way. A leftover session from last week, or from a different account, conflicts with the new one.
• The cookie is blocked. A setting or extension stops the site from saving it.
• The sign-in happens on another domain. Many sites send you to a separate login service and back. If that domain's cookie is broken or blocked, the hand-off fails every time.
• Two tabs are fighting. An old tab of the same site keeps writing its own stale session.

Step 1: Close every tab of that site#

Before clearing anything, close all tabs of the site, including ones in other windows. An old tab can quietly refresh and overwrite your new session. Then open one new tab and try again. Sometimes that alone fixes it.

Step 2: Clear that one site's cookies#

This is the fix for most loops. Clear only the site that loops, so you stay signed in everywhere else.

1. Open the site.
2. Click the View site information icon to the left of the address.
3. Click Cookies and site data, then Manage on-device site data.
4. Delete the entries for that site, then Done.
5. Close the tab, open a fresh one, and sign in.

Clearing the cache alone will not help here. The problem is in cookies. If you are not sure what the difference is, our guide on clearing cache without losing passwords explains it.

With our free extension, Cleaner, this step is one click: open it on the looping site and choose Sign out & reset. It clears that site's cookies, cache and storage, reloads the page, and shows you what it removed. No other site is touched.

Step 3: Test in an Incognito window#

Open an Incognito window (Ctrl+Shift+N, or Command+Shift+N on a Mac) and sign in there.

• Works in Incognito: the problem is in your normal profile. It is an extension, a cookie setting, or leftover data you have not cleared yet. Go to step 4.
• Loops in Incognito too: the problem is very likely on the site's side, or on your network. Skip to when the loop is the site's fault.

Incognito blocks third-party cookies by default, so a site that needs them may loop there for a different reason. Keep that in mind if the result is confusing.

Step 4: Turn off extensions#

Ad blockers, privacy tools and cookie managers can block the cookie or script a sign-in page depends on. Open chrome://extensions, turn them all off, and try again. If the loop stops, turn them back on one at a time to find the culprit. Then add the site to that extension's allow list.

Step 5: Clear the login domain too#

Watch the address bar while you sign in. If it jumps to a different domain, such as a company's login portal or an account service, that domain holds cookies too. Clear its data the same way as in step 2.

Be careful with shared login domains. Clearing a Google or Microsoft account domain signs you out of every site that uses it. That is fine if you expect it, annoying if you do not.

Step 6: Check third-party cookies and your clock#

If the sign-in crosses domains, it may need third-party cookies. In Chrome, go to Settings, then Privacy and security, then Third-party cookies, and add the site under Sites allowed to use third-party cookies. Allow it for that one site only.

Also check your computer's date and time. A clock that is far off can make cookies look expired the moment they are set.

When the loop is the site's fault#

If the loop continues in Incognito with extensions off, after clearing cookies, the site is the problem. Common server-side causes include a broken redirect after a site update, a misconfigured login service, or a cookie set for the wrong domain. When the site ends up redirecting in a circle without ever showing the form, Chrome shows a different error. Our ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS guide covers that case.

Contact the site's support and tell them what you tried. "It loops in Incognito with extensions off" saves both of you a lot of back and forth.

How to stop it happening again#

• Sign out properly before switching accounts on the same site.
• Keep one tab per account. Two tabs signed in as different people is a classic loop trigger.
• Do not clear everything to fix one site. Clear one site, as above, so your other logins survive. Our guide on why Chrome keeps logging you out covers the settings that cause wider sign-outs.

A login loop feels like the site is broken. Most of the time it is just one stale cookie, and clearing it is a one-minute job.