RESOLVED: Unable to log in to Facebook or stream to Facebook Groups / Events (April 2018) – Teradek

UPDATE: June 27, 2018

Firmware version 7.3.16 has been released for older generation products, this will allow streaming to personal Timeline, Pages (as long as the account is an admin of the Facebook Page), and Groups (as long as the account is an admin of the Facebook Group) on the following:

Bond II / Bond Pro
1st and 2nd generation Cube encoders (e.g. Cube 105, Cube 155, Cube 205, Cube 255, etc.)
1st generation Slice encoders
1st generation T-RAX encoders

UPDATE: May 1, 2018

Live:Air Solo version 1.15.0 has been released on the iTunes store, and one of the changes in this release is to use a new authentication method with Facebook's login method for iOS devices

Once the Live:Air Solo app is updated, streaming to personal Timeline, Pages (as long as the account is an admin of the Facebook Page), and Groups (as long as the account is an admin of the Facebook Group) will work with the app.

UPDATE: April 27, 2018

Afternoon Update:

Access from Teradek products and services to some Facebook Live destinations has been partially restored by Facebook.

Facebook has indicated that they do not plan to restore access to Events for streaming Live Video at this time.

Streaming to personal Timeline, Pages (as long as the account is an admin of the Facebook Page), and Groups (as long as the account is an admin of the Facebook Group) will work with the following:

Core
Sharelink
600 and 700 series encoders (Cube, Slice, Bond)
Live:Air Action and Live:Air Action Bundle
VidiU Pro with firmware 3.0.2 and VidiU (original) or VidiU Mini with firmware 3.0.3

However, the following devices or apps are still affected

legacy Teradek encoders including 1st and 2nd generation Cube, 1st generation Slice, 1st generation T-RAX encoder, Bond II, Bond Pro, etc. will not be able to able to obtain a device code and associate with a Facebook account. There is no ETA on updated firmware which would allow these legacy devices to generate a device code; use the manual RTMP method described further below as a workaround.
Live:Air Solo - an updated version of Live:Air Solo is in progress; in the interim, use the manual RTMP method.
Live:Air : the Live:Air app has been discontinued for some time, and no updates are planned; use the manual RTMP workaround listed further below.

Morning Update:

Live:Air Action and Live:Air Action Bundle version 1.5.0 have been released.

One of the changes in this release is to use a new authentication method with Facebook's login method for iOS devices instead of using a device code to associate with a Facebook account.

Once the Live:Air Action or Live:Air Action Bundle app is updated, customers will be able to stream to either a personal Timeline or to a Page where they have Admin access.

However, access to Groups and Events is still not permitted per Facebook's recent changes, and Facebook has not given Teradek an ETA on when they will allow third parties to re-submit for access to Groups and Events with Live Video.

UPDATE: April 13, 2018

Adding to the previously-documented issue, new updates from Facebook will prevent customers from logging in to a Facebook account using the built-in integration.

No authentication code will be shown, and/or an error will be generated when you try to link a Facebook account.

Facebook is still not permitting App Review, so if you're unable to log in to a Facebook account you will need to use the workaround below to stream to any Facebook destination -- personal Timeline, Page, Group, or Event -- until Facebook once again allows third parties to submit and receive approval through Facebook's App Review process.

UPDATE: April 12, 2018

Overview

Facebook has made changes to restrict access to customer data through their platform.

These changes have immediately blocked streaming access to Facebook Groups and Facebook Events, and can block access to Facebook Pages in the near future.

These changes are outside of Teradek's control, and affect all Teradek hardware encoders with integrated Facebook streaming access including the Cube, Bond, Slice, T-RAX, the VidiU product series, as well as the Live:Air family of apps, and the Core and Sharelink platforms.

Facebook requires that all third parties submit their integration (referred to as an "App" in Facebook terminology) for an official App Review process to regain access to Facebook Groups and Pages.

However, Facebook has suspended their App Review process at this time, and Teradek does not have information on when Facebook will resume their App Review process.

Until Facebook resumes the App Review process, customers will need to use the workaround described below to stream to these Facebook destinations.

Workaround

Facebook's changes only apply to the integrated Facebook streaming mode used by Teradek, so you can configure your encoder / app / cloud service destination to use manual RTMP settings with the RTMP server URL and stream name / stream key.

Step 1: log in to the Facebook account which has Admin access to the Facebook Group / Event / Page.

Step 2: access https://www.facebook.com/live/create to generate an RTMP stream key for the Facebook destination. When creating the Stream Key, ensure that "Secure connection (SSL)" is not selected.

Facebook has full documentation for using this method to generate a stream key -- including a Persistent Stream Key which may simplify future broadcasts -- at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/help/587160588142067.

Step 3: configure your encoder to use the manual RTMP settings received in step 2. Below are sample articles showing this process.

Step 4: configure your encoder to meet Facebook's requirements on video resolution (1280x720 or lower), video bitrate (4 Mbps or less), video frame rate (30 fps), and audio bitrate (128 kbps).

Facebook has full documentation on their requirements for encoded video at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/facebookmedia/get-started/live#live-video-specs

Step 5: start the broadcast of the RTMP stream from the Teradek encoder / app / Sharelink or Core service.

Step 6: once Facebook has recognized the incoming RTMP video stream and is showing it in the preview area, the Go Live button at the bottom right of the Facebook stream creation page will allow you take the broadcast live to the Facebook destination.

Step 7: when the stream is finished, use the End Live Video button at the bottom right of the Facebook stream creation page, and stop the broadcast of the RTMP stream from the encoder / app / Sharelink or Core service.