DEO website crashing when trying to claim weeks - anyone else locked out?
Just spent 3 HOURS trying to claim my weeks on the CONNECT site and keep getting error messages! Every time I get to the final submission page it crashes and logs me out. Called the helpline 12 times today but can't get through to anyone. My rent is due next week and I'm seriously panicking. Is anyone else having this problem right now? The website was working fine 2 weeks ago when I claimed, but now it's completely unusable. This feels intentional - like they're making it impossible to actually get benefits we qualify for. How is Florida getting away with such a broken system in 2025??
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Rita Jacobs
same here!!!! been trying since 7am this morning. get to the work search page then BOOM - error message. this state doesn't want us to get paid
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Manny Lark
•Glad it's not just me (well, not glad but you know what I mean). Have you found any workaround? I tried using different browsers, clearing cookies, even tried on my phone. Nothing works!
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Khalid Howes
The CONNECT system is having scheduled maintenance right now. It was announced last week on their Twitter account that they'd be updating the system from April 13-15 between 8pm and 6am each day. Try logging in after 6am tomorrow morning and it should work. They're supposedly improving the site stability and adding new features to make it easier to upload work search records.
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Manny Lark
•OMG I had no idea! I don't follow their Twitter. You'd think they'd put that info right on the login page or send an email. Thanks for letting me know - I'll try again tomorrow after 6am.
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Ben Cooper
HAHAAA scheduled maintenance my a**! They ALWAYS claim "maintenance" when the site crashes! Been dealing with this garbage for 8 months. The real problem is they built this system to FAIL. I've worked in IT for 15 years and this is the worst government website I've ever seen. It's designed to frustrate people into giving up!
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Khalid Howes
•While I understand your frustration, this actually is scheduled maintenance. They're upgrading from the legacy system components that were causing the timeouts during high traffic periods. The DEO director mentioned this in the March press briefing. The old system was definitely problematic, but they're genuinely trying to fix it this time.
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Naila Gordon
try claiming ur weeks between 11pm and 5am thats what i do and never have problems
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Manny Lark
•That's a good tip, thanks! I'll try that approach if tomorrow morning doesn't work out. At this point I'm willing to set an alarm for 3am if that's what it takes to get my weeks claimed.
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Cynthia Love
I had the same issue last month and found a solution. First, try clearing your cache AND cookies specifically for the connect.myflorida.com domain, not just all browser data. Second, use Chrome in incognito mode. Third, don't rush through the pages - wait about 10 seconds on each page before clicking next (the system gets overloaded when people click too quickly). If you still can't get through and need to speak with a DEO agent about your claim, I recommend using Claimyr (claimyr.com). After being on hold for hours multiple times, I tried their service and got through to DEO in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/UzW_hbUy-ss?si=zORd51jeq1GX5Ldj The service basically calls DEO for you and then connects you when they get through. Saved me hours of frustration.
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Manny Lark
•Thank you for the detailed advice! I'll definitely try the incognito/waiting approach tomorrow. And I've never heard of Claimyr before but it sounds like exactly what I need if I still have issues. I've literally spent more time trying to contact DEO than at my actual last job!
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Darren Brooks
I'm having a different but related problem - I can log in fine but when I try to update my work search activities, it says "invalid date range" no matter what dates I enter! Has anyone else seen this error? Not sure if it's related to the maintenance or if my account has some other issue. I've completed all 5 work search activities for each week but can't submit them!
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Rosie Harper
•That happened to me too! Make sure you're entering dates within your current claim week. The system is super picky about the date format too - use MM/DD/YYYY with the slashes. If you use dashes or dots it gives that error.
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Rosie Harper
When I had all these CONNECT problems, I started documenting EVERYTHING. Take screenshots of errors, write down times/dates you tried to access the system, and keep a log of all phone calls. If they try to deny your claim because you "didn't submit on time" you'll have evidence that you tried. Florida DEO is known for blaming claimants for their system failures!
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Manny Lark
•That's smart, I'm going to start doing this. I've been taking random screenshots but not in any organized way. Going to create a folder just for this purpose now. Thanks for the tip!
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Khalid Howes
Quick update - just checked DEO's Twitter and they posted that maintenance finished early. The system should be back up now. Give it a try again!
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Manny Lark
•YOU ARE AMAZING! Just tried and got in successfully! Was able to claim both weeks without any errors. Thank you so much for following up - you literally saved me from hours more frustration.
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