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Unable to connect & re-link to Principal Financial (edited to include topic)

mmeisler

I have been tracking a 401k account for a few years. i recently realized it hadn't downloaded updates in several months. I went to the account and tried to download but all it would do was go to the Principal Financial webpage and so nothing - even if I was logged in. I tried to deactivate downloads and then reactivate them. But when I try to reactivate, it asks me to name the account. If I use the existing name, it doesn't work because it exists. But I don't want to use a new name because that will create a new account - which it is not. I have tried multiple ways to get to the activation option but all come up the same. Any ideas?

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Comments

Greg_the_Geek

When you reactivate, you should have the option to LINK to the existing account.

mmeisler

That's what I thought but the option to link is not there.

Quicken_Tyka

Hello meisler,

Thank you for taking the time to come to the Community to post your issue.

Are you still experiencing this trouble with linking the account?

If so, please follow the steps outlined here.

Let me know how it goes!

Thank you,

-Quicken Tyka

mmeisler

Still doesn't work Problem is that when I try to activate it, it wants me to name the account (within Quicken). If I type the account name that I am using it says I can't use that. There is no option to Link to an existing Quicken account.

UKR

Before trying to (re-)activate an account, was the account successfully deactivated first? You can't link to an account that Quicken thinks of as being activated.

To deactivate an Account

Go to Tools > Account List.
Click Edit for the account you need to change.
Click Online Services tab.
If the account has been activated for Online Bill Payment, deactivate this service first.
Click Deactivate button in Online Setup box.
Repeat for any other accounts that need to be deactivated.
Restart Quicken to make sure that the changes are fully applied.

To (re-)activate accounts for downloading

Create a backup of your Quicken data file. This is will give you a restore point, should something go horribly wrong during the next steps.
If you normally automatically accept downloaded transactions into your registers I recommend you turn this feature off now. The first transaction download after every activation will download 60 - 90 days worth of transactions into your account(s). Auto-accepting them will most likely create a horrible mess that's difficult to undo. You're better off manually reviewing and accepting or deleting this first batch of downloaded transactions, one by one. Go into Edit / Preferences / Downloaded Transactions. Remove the checkmarks from both "After downloading transactions" settings.
Go to Tools / Add Account to reactivate the accounts. As you go thru the setup process, Quicken will identify all accounts it can download.
Select an account type, e.g. Checking
Enter the name of your bank and click Next. Some banks have multiple choices, Consumer vs. Business accounts, Express Web Connect vs. Direct Connect. Be sure to pick the correct one.
Enter your credentials, select Save this password (if using password vault) and click Connect.

You should now see a list of all accounts found at your bank that you can activate.
If you are activating an existing account, make sure the dropdown button for that account says LINK. If it says ADD, change it to LINK and select the correct Quicken account. If it already says LINK, click the button and select the correct existing account register. If you do not do this, then the account will be added as a new account instead of being linked to the existing account register.

Repeat this step for each account listed.
Change ADD to IGNORE for any account on the list that you do not want to activate at this time. You can always come back and activate more accounts later.
Click Next to continue.

mmeisler

Nope. I just don't get it but it's the same thing over and over. I can't get to the option of Link. Whatever I do to add an account with that financial institution, it only gives me the option of choosing a name which then doesn't work because that name exists. I am completely stumped here. Everyone is making pretty much the same suggestion which seems like it should work. But it doesn't.

Quicken Sarah

Hello @mmeisler

I'm sorry to hear that you are continuing to experience issues linking the account and apologize for any frustration or inconvenience experienced.

If you are still needing assistance with re-linking the accounts, I recommend contacting Quicken Support.

Support has the ability to view your screen (view only, they cannot take control) to see what is happening and help troubleshoot in real time.

Please let us know how it goes with Support, thank you.

Sarah

mmeisler

I actually did the other day. The Support person did share my screen. He had me repeat the same steps repeatedly while insisting the response would be different. It wasn't. He then told me it was a problem on the end of the financial institution which it clearly wasn't because it didn't even get to the point of connecting with them. But he told me to contact them.
It was a useless call. Fortunately I tried one more thing on my own and figured it out.

UKR

mmeisler said:

I actually did the other day. The Support person did share my screen. He had me repeat the same steps repeatedly while insisting the response would be different. It wasn't. He then told me it was a problem on the end of the financial institution which it clearly wasn't because it didn't even get to the point of connecting with them. But he told me to contact them.
It was a useless call. Fortunately I tried one more thing on my own and figured it out.

May I ask what you did that finally resolved your issue?
We'd like to learn from your experience.
Thank you.

mmeisler

I reversed the process. I went to the financial institution webpage and let it download into Quicken. Quicken then asked me if it should create a new account or link to an existing one. I linked and I was fine.

Would have thought Quicken Support might have thought of that as well.

Austin@

I also use Principal for my 401k and you do have to download the transaction file from their website and import it into Quicken (using Web Connect). Automatic download methods that can be set up and used entirely from within Quicken (without going to Principal's website) such as Quicken Connect, Express Web Connect, and Direct Connect are only supported by Principal for investment accounts, not employer-sponsored 401ks. I learned this after several hours on the phone with both Quicken Support and Principal support.

mmeisler

Would be nice if that information was put out there by the companies for users/customers to know. It's easy to work with if you know. But if you don't and are trying to make it work, one could spend hours trying to figure it out - as some of us seem to know. Would save us all a lot of aggravation!