New Horizon Experience. This article describes the New Horizon Experience, which is available now. As of September 28, 2026, New Horizon is the default starting point on a computer or laptop. In the Horizon WebRef mobile apps for Android and iOS, New Horizon is already what you see. If you still have the older layout, choose Switch to New Horizon from the banner or the top-right account menu (or top-left for RTL language users). You can switch back to Legacy Horizon from that menu any time during the transition.
This article is about the temporary Locked Out page Horizon shows after too many failed sign-in attempts from your connection. The heading is Locked Out, and the next line says You've tried too many times. Anyone trying to sign in to Horizon WebRef (or Horizon Staff Scheduler) can land here, whether you are an official, an assignor, a coach, or an organization administrator. There is nothing to turn on or set up. Horizon shows the page on its own when it needs to protect accounts.
Use this article when that Locked Out page is on your screen, when you still have a screenshot of it, or when you are asking whether you are truly locked out versus another reason you cannot sign in.
First: are you actually locked out?
People often say they are "locked out" when Horizon has not locked them at all. A real lockout is only the temporary security stop after repeated invalid sign-in attempts. If you do not see the Locked Out page with You've tried too many times, you are not in that lockout. Waiting one hour will not fix a different problem.
Common situations that feel like a lockout, but are not:
You do not know your username or password. That is a credential problem, not a lockout. Use How to reset your username or password (or choose Forgot your password? on the sign-in page) before you keep guessing and risk a real lockout.
You lost the phone or app that makes your multi-factor Authentication PIN. That is an MFA recovery problem, not a lockout. See How to use Multi-Factor Authentication, including Lost your PIN? on the sign-in screen when that link appears.
Your officiating organization deleted your account. That is not a temporary lockout. Horizon support cannot restore a membership your organization removed. See How to activate my user account for what to do next (often registering again).
Your account has not been approved yet by your officiating organization. New registrations wait on organization approval before you can sign in with credentials. That wait is not a lockout. See Registering for a new user account, and check with your organization if you are still waiting for approval.
If one of those matches what you are facing, follow that article instead of waiting for a lockout timer.
What a real lockout looks like
When Horizon has locked your connection after too many failed attempts, you see a page titled Locked Out. Under the Horizon mark it says You've tried too many times. Then it says you can try again after a date and time, with a countdown while you wait.
The picture below is only an example screenshot from Help Center. It is not your personal unlock message, and the blurred date and time are not the time you must wait until. Your real unlock time appears only on the Locked Out page on your own device after a real lockout.
On a computer, the same Locked Out card appears in a wider layout. The words stay the same, and the Help Center example still is not your personal unlock time.
What to do if you are locked out
There is only one option for a real lockout: wait until the time shown on your Locked Out page. That wait is at least about one hour from when the lockout started. This is temporary. After that time passes, you can try to sign in again.
Horizon technical support cannot shorten the window or remove the lockout early. Please do not contact support only to ask for an override. The timer has to finish.
While you wait, do not keep submitting more invalid sign-ins from the same connection. That will not unlock you sooner. When the countdown ends, sign in carefully. If you are unsure of your username or password, use the forgotten-password recovery path rather than guessing again.
Why Horizon locks the connection
Horizon locks a connection after repeated failed sign-ins so unauthorized people cannot keep trying passwords against your account all day. The stop protects your information from automated guessing and similar attacks. It can be inconvenient when you reached it by accident, and that protection is still the reason it exists.
If you still see the older layout
On the older legacy layout, the lockout screen may use different wording, such as a message that your computer is temporarily blocked from logging in, with a yellow box for the time you can try again. The rule is the same: wait until that time, and support cannot remove the temporary block early. The same distinction still applies: forgotten credentials, lost MFA, an account your organization deleted, or a registration that is not approved yet are not that lockout.