Quick Answer

Most standalone KnowledgeSmart sign-in failures come down to using an email address instead of a KnowledgeSmart username, an expired invite, or a disabled user page; on a tenant with KnowledgeSmart User Sync enabled, however, signing in successfully but landing on the Pinnacle Series Home page instead of the intended assessment is expected behavior, not a login failure.

What This Article Helps With

This article helps you work out why you cannot access a KnowledgeSmart service - a Skills assessment, a Survey, a Skills audit, your user page, or the Admin Area - and how to resolve it. It applies to all KnowledgeSmart users, including Administrators and people taking an assessment, survey or skills audit, on both standalone KnowledgeSmart accounts and tenants integrated with Pinnacle Series.

What You Might See

• You try to sign in to a KnowledgeSmart service and are not let in.
• You sign in successfully after following an assessment invite link, but land on your Pinnacle Series Home page instead of the assessment.
• You are asked for a KnowledgeSmart username and password even though your organization uses Pinnacle Series.
• Your account does not appear to exist in KnowledgeSmart yet, even though you were recently added to Pinnacle Series.

How to Fix It

Before working through the causes below, check one thing: did you actually fail to sign in, or did you sign in successfully and end up somewhere unexpected? They look similar and have different answers.

If you signed in successfully but landed somewhere unexpected:

If you followed an assessment invite link, signed in successfully, and arrived at your Pinnacle Series Home page rather than the assessment, nothing has gone wrong - this is how it is meant to work on a tenant with KnowledgeSmart User Sync enabled. The invite link points at the Pinnacle Series login URL, so signing in from it puts you inside Pinnacle Series, where your assessment lives alongside the rest of your learning. You do not need new credentials or a new invite.

1. Open Assignments in the left-hand navigation.
2. Look under Currently Enrolled for the assessment.
3. Alternatively, start it from the Assignments carousel on your Home page.

If your organization uses Pinnacle Series and sign-in was rejected:

What you sign in with depends on whether KnowledgeSmart User Sync is switched on for your tenant - not simply on whether the integration is configured. An organization can use both platforms with the integration configured but User Sync not enabled, in which case sign-in still works the standalone way described further below.

• With User Sync enabled: you normally sign in through Pinnacle Series - commonly using your organization's SSO - and do not need a separate KnowledgeSmart password when arriving via an assessment invite link or the KnowledgeSmart Admin Area item in the Pinnacle Series Admin Portal. Signing in directly at online.knowledgesmart.net still requires a KnowledgeSmart username and password; if your account was created by the sync, you may never have been issued one, since sync-created users receive no welcome email.
• Without User Sync enabled - including on a tenant that also uses Pinnacle Series: assessment invite links open the KnowledgeSmart sign-in page as normal, and you need your KnowledgeSmart username and password to get in. See the standalone section below.

Pinnacle Series SSO does not extend to the KnowledgeSmart login page itself - it only removes the need for a KnowledgeSmart password when you arrive via an invite link or the Admin Portal, and only where User Sync is enabled. If you find yourself at a KnowledgeSmart username and password prompt after following an invite link on a tenant where User Sync is enabled, you have probably taken the wrong route in; if User Sync is not enabled, that prompt is expected.

If You Cannot Reach the KnowledgeSmart Admin Area

The KnowledgeSmart Admin Area item only appears for people who are both an administrator and a user in the target KnowledgeSmart account. This depends on your KnowledgeSmart permissions, not on whether User Sync is enabled. See How to log in to the KnowledgeSmart Admin Area for the full check.

If Your Account Doesn't Seem to Exist in KnowledgeSmart Yet

On a tenant with KnowledgeSmart User Sync enabled, users are created in KnowledgeSmart by synchronization from Pinnacle Series rather than by hand.

1. Give it time. Synchronization runs roughly every 15 minutes, so a user added moments ago may not have reached KnowledgeSmart yet.
2. Ask your administrator to check the sync. They can review KnowledgeSmart Users Sync History for errors, and confirm synchronization is switched on in the Pinnacle Series Admin Portal. Invalid or duplicate email addresses in Pinnacle Series are a common cause.
3. If a name or email is wrong, have it corrected in Pinnacle Series - changes made in KnowledgeSmart do not sync back and will be overwritten.

If you use KnowledgeSmart on its own and sign-in was rejected:

1. Your password may no longer be active. Reset it using How to reset your KnowledgeSmart password.
2. Check you are using your KnowledgeSmart username, not your email address — an email address is not accepted in the username box. Your username has a format like TonyBrown or TonyBrown2, from your welcome email or invite email.
3. Confirm your invite has not expired. Invites to an assessment or Skills audit carry an expiry date, set by your organization's KnowledgeSmart Administrator and shown in the invite email. Once it passes, the link no longer works - contact your Administrator, who can extend the expiry date or issue a new invite.
4. If you cannot reach your user page specifically, your organization's KnowledgeSmart Administrators may have disabled that feature. Contact them for more information.
5. Once you've made a correction, sign in again to confirm you can reach the service you need.

Helpful Tips

• Password requirements are configured separately for each account - follow the rule shown on the password-reset page rather than any you've seen elsewhere.
• Not sure whether KnowledgeSmart User Sync is enabled for your account? Try your assessment invite link. If it opens a Pinnacle Series sign-in page, User Sync is enabled. If it opens the KnowledgeSmart sign-in page instead, either your organization does not use the integration, or User Sync has not been switched on.

Common Questions

I signed in but can't find my assessment - where is it?

Open Assignments in Pinnacle Series. It's listed under Currently Enrolled, or you can start it from the Assignments carousel on your Home page.

Why am I being asked for a KnowledgeSmart username and password when my organization uses Pinnacle Series?

If your organization has KnowledgeSmart User Sync enabled, this should only happen when you sign in directly at online.knowledgesmart.net — Pinnacle Series SSO does not extend to the KnowledgeSmart login page, though an invite link or the Admin Portal route bypasses it. If User Sync is not enabled, you'll be asked for your KnowledgeSmart username and password everywhere, including from an invite link - that's expected, not a fault.

I was just added as a user - why can't I sign in to KnowledgeSmart yet?

On a tenant with KnowledgeSmart User Sync enabled, synchronization runs roughly every 15 minutes, so a newly added user may not have reached KnowledgeSmart yet. Give it a little time, then ask your administrator to check the sync FAQ or Sync History if it persists.

Still Need Help

Log a support ticket