The short answer
- 1A device you have just logged in on cannot end older sessions.
- 2Telegram's documentation sets the limit at 24 hours after logging in.
- 3Use a device logged in longer, or wait, and secure the account meanwhile.
In this article
What you see
You open Devices, tap Terminate All Other Sessions or a single session, and it refuses. The message on Telegram Web and Telegram for macOS reads:
"For security reasons, you can't terminate older sessions from a device that you've just connected. Please use an earlier connection or wait for a few hours."
On Android the dialog can carry the title Unable to terminate. Nothing is broken. This is a deliberate rule, and it is there to protect you.
Why Telegram blocks it
Think about who usually logs in on a brand-new device and immediately tries to log everyone else out: someone who has just stolen a login code. If a fresh session could end all the others, an attacker with one code could lock the real owner out within seconds.
So a newly connected device cannot end older sessions. Telegram's developer documentation puts the limit at 24 hours: you can't log out other sessions if less than 24 hours have passed since you logged in on the current one. The app's own text says "a few hours"; plan for up to a day.
| From this device | Can it end other sessions? |
|---|---|
| Logged in for more than a day | Yes, any of them |
| Logged in just now | Not older ones, until the wait is over |
What to do
- Use a device that has been logged in longer. Your everyday phone, a work computer or a tablet that has been signed in for days can end any session at once. That is what "use an earlier connection" means.
- No older device? Wait it out. Come back after the wait and try again from the same device.
- Changing your phone number from a just-connected device is blocked by the same rule, with the same advice.
If you think someone else got in first
The rule works against you when an attacker logged in before you did and you are now on a new device. Their session is the older one. While you wait:
- Turn on Two-Step Verification, or change its password if it is already on. If their session ends for any reason, they cannot log back in with a code alone.
- Add a recovery email you control, so a forgotten or changed password can be reset by you.
- Do not reply to messages "from Telegram support" offering to log the other device out for you. Telegram never asks for your code or password.
- After the wait, open Devices again and end every session you do not recognise.
Next step: 'You can only send messages to mutual contacts'.
FAQ
Why can't I terminate other Telegram sessions?
You are on a device you have only just logged in on. New sessions cannot end older ones until up to 24 hours have passed.
How long do I have to wait to terminate Telegram sessions?
Telegram's developer documentation says 24 hours after logging in on the current device. The app says a few hours.
Someone else is logged in to my Telegram and I can't remove them. What now?
Turn on or change Two-Step Verification, add a recovery email, and end their session from an older device or after the wait.
Sources
At a glance
- 1Why
Stops someone with a stolen code locking you out.
- 2Fix
An earlier connection, or wait up to a day.
- 3Meanwhile
Two-Step Verification and a recovery email.
Updated
