FAQ: I'm having trouble accessing an EBSCO database?

Clear Cookies and Cache

There are a couple different errors you could see when accessing an EBSCO database (like Academic Search Ultimate) or the Multi-Search. Most of the errors, such as the screenshot below, can be resolved by clearing the cookies in your browser.

Broken Link

Another error you may see is the result of having a broken link. This will look like the error below:

Permalink

If you save an article link from the URL, it will not work again. Instead, you want to save the permalink. If you have the URL link, a librarian may be able to help you locate the resource.  The URL links might contain something called the Accession Number (AN) which is a unique id for the article. For example:

Link with an Accession number (highlighted green) and a database code (highlighted blue)

https://eds.p.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=2&sid=e1359c3f-4e41-480d-835b-8af64b243e93%40redis&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLHNoaWImc2l0ZT1lZHMtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=127113531&db=f5h

The session link also has a database code, which can also help find the article. A list of codes and which database they correspond with can be found on the EBSCOhost Database Short Names List This link opens in a new window. 

If you are using an EBSCO database or trying to open a PDF from an EBSCO database and are unable to do so, please note that EBSCO's mobile platform does not currently work with smartphones (including iPhones and Androids).

If clearing your cookies does not work, check the status of the database you are trying to use to determine if the problem may be due to a known issue that we are working to correct.