When a student can't get in, two things tell you almost everything: how their account was made, and the exact message on the login page. This article starts with those two questions, then walks through each message students see, what it means, and how to fix it, usually in under a minute.
Start here: how was the account made?
Students get into Intertwined in one of two ways, and the fix depends on which one applies.
The student signed up with your class code. They chose their own username, email address, and password. They can log in with either the username or the email, and they can reset a forgotten password themselves by email.
You created the account for them. These are the accounts you made with numbered usernames (like Apple01, Apple02) or with usernames you picked yourself. They have a username and a password from your list, and no email address. That means Forgot password? can't help them; the password lives in the file you downloaded when you made the accounts.
If you aren't sure, open your class and look at how the student's name appears on the Students tab. Teacher-created accounts show the username you chose (Apple01 and so on) as the name.
Everyone logs in at the same place: app.intertwinedfinance.com/login. The page says Welcome back! and has one box labeled Email or username and one labeled Password.
"The email or password you entered is incorrect. Please try again."
This is the most common message. It appears whenever the username (or email) and password don't match an account, so it covers a simple typo as well as a student typing into the wrong account.
Likely causes, in the order we see them:
A space at the end of the username or email. Phones and tablets often add one automatically after a suggested word, and it's invisible.
Capital letters in the password. Usernames and emails ignore capitals, but passwords don't: "Tape-139" and "tape-139" are different.
A teacher-created account logged in with the student's own email. These accounts only work with the username.
The student has two accounts (for example, one from last year and one they made today) and is using the password for the other one.
To fix it:
Have the student click into Email or username, press End (or tap at the very end), and delete any trailing space.
Click the eye icon in the Password box so they can see what they typed, and check it letter by letter against their password, including capitals and symbols.
For a teacher-created account, open the file you downloaded when you made the accounts and confirm the username and password together.
For a student who signed up themselves, try their email address instead of their username, or the other way around.
If it still fails, have them click Forgot password? (self-signed-up students only) or see Helping a student with a forgotten password, username, or email.
"Password must be at least 8 characters"
This appears under the Password box before anything is sent. Every Intertwined password is at least 8 characters long, so the student has typed only part of theirs. Click the eye icon to show the password and compare it with the one they were given or chose.
"We couldn't sign you in. Please try again."
This message means the login didn't finish for a reason other than a wrong password. Two things cause it:
The connection was too slow to finish in time. Trying again usually works.
That browser was used earlier for a sample (demo) account, for example during a product walkthrough, and the sample account is still signed in. While it is, real logins in that browser fail with this message, even with the right password.
To fix it:
Click Log in once more. If it works, you're done.
Open a private or incognito window on the same device and log in there. If that works, the regular browser has something left over in it.
In the regular browser, go to app.intertwinedfinance.com/profile. If a profile opens, click Log out at the bottom of the page, then log in as the student.
If the profile page doesn't open, clear the saved site data for app.intertwinedfinance.com in the browser's settings (look for cookies and site data), then log in again.
"We couldn't reach the server. Check your internet connection and try again."
Despite the wording, this rarely means the student's internet is down. It means the browser couldn't get an answer from Intertwined at all. That happens when a school network or web filter blocks Intertwined, or when our service is temporarily unavailable.
Check whether other students in the room can log in. If nobody can, and other websites work, wait a few minutes and try again. Our service may be temporarily unavailable.
If only school devices fail (the same student can log in at home or on a phone using cellular data), the school's network is likely blocking part of Intertwined. Share School networks, devices, and browsers: what Intertwined needs with your IT team.
If one device fails while others work, try a different browser on that device or restart it.
The student logs in and sees someone else's name
The last person on that computer didn't log out, so the browser opened their account. Intertwined keeps people signed in for a few days, even after the browser is closed. Have the student click the name at the bottom of the left-hand menu, then click Log out on the My profile page, and log in as themselves.
The student logs in, but your class or course isn't there
The login worked; the problem is which class the account belongs to. The student may have joined with a different code, may not have joined yet, or may be using a second account. See A student can't see a course or assignment and A class code or join link isn't working.
The student was logged out in the middle of class
Students stay signed in for a few days at a time. After that, Intertwined asks them to log in again, and this can happen in the middle of a lesson. Nothing is wrong with the account. Once they log in, they go back to the page they were on. Finished lessons and submitted quiz answers are already saved.
A student forgot their password or username
Signed up with your class code: they click Forgot password? on the login page, enter the email they signed up with, and click Reset password. The email comes from [email protected] with the subject "Reset Your Password - Intertwined Finance". If it doesn't arrive, check spam, and ask your IT team whether school email filters hold messages from that address. A forgotten username isn't a problem for these students: they can log in with their email instead.
Teacher-created account: look the student up in the file you downloaded when you created the accounts. Passwords are shown only once when you create accounts, so if you no longer have the file, see Helping a student with a forgotten password, username, or email.
Prevent most login problems
Keep the downloaded file of teacher-created logins somewhere safe, and print a copy or hand out login slips.
Ask students who sign up themselves to write down their username and the email they used.
Remind students on shared or library computers to log out from My profile when they finish.
Have students bookmark app.intertwinedfinance.com/dashboard. If they're signed in, it opens their dashboard; if not, it asks them to log in first.
Students who already have an account from another class or an earlier year should log in and use Join a class on their dashboard instead of signing up again. A second account is the source of many "my password doesn't work" mysteries later.
Still stuck?
Message us from the chat bubble in the corner of any Teacher Portal page. Tell us the student's name, their username, your class name, how the account was made, and the exact message they see. A screenshot helps. Never send us a student's password. More on reaching us is in Getting help: chat, bug reports, and feature requests.
Students can also read I can't log in, which walks them through the same messages in student-friendly language.