McGraw Hill Connect and SmartBook: login, grades and help

How do I log in to McGraw Hill Connect?

Log in from the course link your instructor gave you, not from a search result. McGraw Hill’s registration help says to “navigate to the Connect section URL provided by your instructor.” If your class runs through Canvas, Blackboard, D2L Brightspace or Moodle, start from the Connect link or a Connect assignment inside that course instead.

Use the same email address every time. The first question McGraw Hill’s student guide tells you to ask when you cannot get in is “Am I using the same email address I used when I registered?” If you forgot your password, use the Forgot Password link at your instructor’s Connect course web address. Once you are in, your classes are under Classes at connect.mheducation.com.

For account recovery, use McGraw Hill’s Connect student support hub rather than typing your password into an unfamiliar “Connect login” page. Silent Student is an independent product and does not operate McGraw Hill accounts.

How do I link McGraw Hill Connect to Canvas, Blackboard or Brightspace?

You link Connect by opening it once from inside your LMS course and registering there. McGraw Hill says “before you can register for Connect through your school's website, your instructor must first pair the course” (LTI Advantage registration). If your course has no Connect link or Connect assignment yet, ask your instructor.

In Canvas, McGraw Hill’s student pairing steps are:

1. Open your Canvas course and click the McGraw Hill Connect link in the course menu, or any Connect assignment link.
2. Click Begin.
3. Click Create Account if you are new to Connect, or sign in with your existing email and password.
4. Pick a registration option, click Confirm, then Complete Registration.
5. Go back to Canvas and open your Connect assignments from there.

Brightspace and Blackboard follow the same pattern: open Connect from the course, click Begin, then register or sign in. If you created a new account by mistake, McGraw Hill says “you can reset your account pairing and pair with a different account.” Its temporary-access help also recommends “using your school email address” when you register and when you buy, to avoid pairing problems.

Do you need an access code, and is McGraw Hill Connect free?

Connect is usually paid, though you may not pay at the Connect screen. McGraw Hill’s registration help lists three ways in: a 20-digit access code, a purchase by credit card or PayPal, or temporary access. If your school uses Inclusive Access, “your course materials may be provided automatically through your institution, and you may not need to enter an access code at all.”

Temporary access closes early in the term. McGraw Hill’s temporary access page explains that once the third student registers for a section within a seven-day period, a countdown starts, and “14 days later, the 14-day temporary access option is removed.” Work from those 14 days carries over when you buy with the same email: “If you re-register under a different email address, any work you completed during the 14-day free access window will not transfer to your new account.” If your Inclusive Access is still pending, McGraw Hill recommends temporary access while it is sorted out.

Two more rules. If you switch sections, “any assignment grades from your previous section cannot be transferred to a new Connect course.” And refunds for digital products bought directly from McGraw Hill go through its online return form, while bookstore purchases go back to the place you bought them.

Does Check My Work cost points in Connect? Attempts and Save & Exit

Check My Work costs points only if your instructor sets a deduction. When it is on, clicking it shows a check if your answer is right or an x if it is not, and “the actual answer won’t be given” (McGraw Hill). Your instructor can limit how many times you check each question and can set a percent deduction, which McGraw Hill says “is only applied one per question, regardless of how many times a student checks their work on that one question.” Hints can carry a deduction too, applied once per question. If you are not sure a deduction applies, check the syllabus or ask.

Each Connect assignment follows rules your instructor sets. McGraw Hill’s student guide says the assignment details show the “start and end date, point value, number of attempts allowed and more,” and its Completing Assignments sheet warns that some assignments “only allow a limited number of attempts or have a time limit, so be careful before jumping in!” Read the details before you click Begin.

Save & Exit keeps your work without submitting it; only Submit Assignment counts, and a timer keeps running while you are out. Our McGraw Hill Connect homework guide covers attempts, auto-submit, late penalties and scores in full.

Why won’t my Connect assignment open?

Usually the assignment is closed to you rather than broken. McGraw Hill’s Can’t Access Assignment article lists these reasons an assignment is not clickable, and its student guide adds the last two:

• The due date passed and the assignment was set to auto-submit.
• You scored 100% on an assignment that only lets you re-attempt questions you missed.
• You used all the attempts your instructor allowed.
• An essay question has to be graded by your instructor before your next attempt.
• The start date is still in the future (shown with a lock icon).
• Your instructor set a time limit and it ran out.

For a technical problem, McGraw Hill suggests refreshing the page, clearing your browser cache or trying another browser. Its system requirements support the latest and two previous versions of Chrome, Firefox and Safari, plus the latest Edge, and say “Internet Explorer is not supported.” Proctored question bank assignments run only on a desktop in Chrome, with a Chrome extension Connect prompts you to install.

For loading errors and scores that look wrong, see why you can’t open a Connect assignment in our homework guide.

SmartBook grading, in short

SmartBook is graded on completion by the due date. McGraw Hill’s SmartBook student overview says “your assignment score is the percentage complete on due date as indicated by the progress bar,” and its grading and Recharge guide adds that “your score locks in when you either achieve 100% completion OR the due date arrives, whichever happens first.”

Completion moves one concept at a time: “You’ll need to successfully answer at least two questions related to a concept before that concept is marked complete in the Progress bar.” The confidence rating you pick “does NOT affect your progress bar,” although SmartBook uses it to decide what to ask next. For what instructors see, late work and confidence in more detail, read our guide How is SmartBook graded?

Is SmartBook the same as Connect homework?

No. SmartBook is one assignment type inside Connect, marked with an SB icon in your assignment list. It pairs adaptive reading with questions. Regular Connect homework is a set of questions with attempts set by your instructor. Recharge is what a SmartBook assignment turns into after its due date.

How long does a SmartBook assignment take?

There is no fixed length. When SmartBook opens, it shows the due date, the “expected duration of the task, and number of concepts covered” (McGraw Hill student guide). That duration is an estimate your instructor shapes: McGraw Hill’s assigning guide says lowering coverage depth “results in less time to complete” and helps “control the estimated Time to Complete.”

It often runs longer than the estimate. “SmartBook will continue to ask you questions until you’ve demonstrated mastery of each concept within the assignment,” and if you miss several questions on one concept, it may point you to a section of the text before you go on. McGraw Hill’s advice is to “always Start Reading first.” Answering the confidence question honestly also helps, because SmartBook uses it to choose what comes next. McGraw Hill’s other pacing tips are in our guide on how to finish SmartBook assignments faster.

Can you pause, save or redo a SmartBook assignment? Is it timed?

You can stop and come back. McGraw Hill’s Connect guide says that if an assignment is not timed, “you may click Save and Exit at any time to save your work and return to it later.” Its SmartBook page says progress in the ReadAnywhere app “syncs automatically, so they can pick up wherever they left off no matter what device they’re using.”

McGraw Hill’s SmartBook guides describe an expected duration and do not mention a timer. Time limits are an instructor setting on some Connect assignments, so check the assignment details. On a timed assignment the clock keeps running after Save & Exit.

You cannot redo SmartBook for a higher score. Once you reach 100% or the due date passes, the score is locked. After the due date the assignment “enters Recharge mode,” where you can keep practicing and getting feedback, “but progress is no longer recorded” (SmartBook 2.0 overview). Recharge has no set end; see how long Recharge lasts in McGraw Hill. An extension is up to your instructor.

What is SmartBook 2.0, and is it the same as LearnSmart?

SmartBook 2.0 is the adaptive reading and question assignment inside McGraw Hill Connect, marked with an SB icon in your assignment list. McGraw Hill’s SmartBook page calls it “an adaptive learning and reading platform built into McGraw Hill Connect.” If you are looking for LearnSmart, sometimes searched as “Connect Smart Learn,” this is usually the assignment you mean. LearnSmart was McGraw Hill’s earlier adaptive study tool, which “personalizes learning by continually assessing students' knowledge, skill and confidence levels,” and McGraw Hill’s March 2013 announcement placed SmartBook in its LearnSmart Advantage suite. McGraw Hill’s 2020 Enhancements Guide calls SmartBook 2.0 “the next generation of the original SmartBook,” and its 2023 student guide still says the sidebar that opens before SmartBook shows “details of the LearnSmart assignment.”

Each question page has three parts: the question, a confidence rating and a progress bar. The progress bar sorts concepts into not started, in progress and completed, and McGraw Hill’s product page says questions come in mini-cycles of “no more than five concepts at a time.” If you are clearly struggling, SmartBook 2.0 “will force a pause in the questions” and direct you to “Learn About This” in the reading.

What is Recharge in McGraw Hill SmartBook?

Recharge is the practice mode a SmartBook assignment turns into after it closes. McGraw Hill’s SmartBook User Guide says that “once the assignment due date (and extension date, if applied) has passed, SmartBook assignments will turn into Recharge mode for all students.” If you finish the whole assignment early, you can enter Recharge for it then. Connect marks it with a RECHARGE label under the assignment name. Our SmartBook grading guide covers when you can access Recharge mode.

Recharge does not change your grade: “Work completed in recharge mode will not affect your original score” (McGraw Hill). It has no set length either. McGraw Hill says “Recharge is not points-based,” and students “decide how much time they want to spend in Recharge mode.” The Completion figure in Results includes Recharge work, so open “See report” next to the assignment title to read your actual score. More in our guide does Recharge on McGraw Hill change your grade?

Does McGraw Hill Connect have an app or work on an iPad?

Connect runs in a web browser, and McGraw Hill’s free ReadAnywhere app covers the eBook and SmartBook. McGraw Hill says that with ReadAnywhere “you can now read and complete SmartBook assignments both online and off-line” (Completing Assignments).

On a tablet, McGraw Hill supports New Connect in a browser on iPad and Android, but its system requirements list Quest, proctored question bank and file attachment assignments as unsupported on tablets. Do those on a Windows or Mac computer. A proctored Connect test runs Proctorio in Chrome or Edge; what it can record is in Is McGraw Hill Connect proctored?

Why is my Connect grade missing in Canvas?

Check Connect first. If Connect still shows the work as incomplete, finish it there. If Connect shows a score and Canvas does not, that is a grade-transfer or course-setup question for your instructor. Write down:

• The course section and exact assignment title in both systems.
• The Connect score or completion status and the time you checked it.
• The Canvas entry that is blank, different or missing.
• Any error message, with account details and access codes removed.

Send that comparison to your instructor. Do not spend another graded attempt just to force a sync.

Is there an AI that does McGraw Hill Connect or SmartBook?

Disclosure: we make Silent Student. It is a desktop app for Mac and Windows that opens each McGraw Hill activity from its Canvas link. In Blackboard Ultra courses it opens Connect links the same way, but Blackboard usually doesn’t tell it whether the work counted, so check your score in Connect. Its SmartBook solver answers and submits each question and stops when the concept counter is full, and its McGraw Hill Connect assignment bot works homework and worksheets. You can watch it work a Connect-style accounting replica on our benchmark. Its answers can be wrong, it does not take proctored exams, and plans start at $11.99 a month (pricing).

Read the rules first. McGraw Hill’s Terms of Use bar using “any third party software, AI agent, AI-enabled browser, browser extension, or other automated or AI-powered software” to “view, complete, answer, or submit any assessment, assignment, or other activity” unless McGraw Hill authorizes it in writing. Our guide to the best AI for McGraw Hill Connect and SmartBook covers the other tools and our reading of those terms. McGraw Hill’s own study tool, McGraw Hill AI Reader, explains a passage you highlight, and McGraw Hill says it “gives students clarification, not answers.” If you found the open-source Auto-McGraw extension, see Auto-McGraw on GitHub: does it still work? If you use Silent Student, your school password stays on your computer (see security and privacy).

For McGraw Hill bots, SmartBook solvers and auto answer extensions compared, with McGraw Hill’s Terms quoted, see McGraw Hill bot and SmartBook solver options.

Sources

Checked October 20, 2026. Every quotation on this page was re-read against its source that day.

• McGraw Hill, Connect: Access Code and Registration Support
• McGraw Hill, Connect: What Is Temporary Access
• McGraw Hill, Connect: How to pair an account in Canvas as a student
• McGraw Hill, Connect Student Registration: LTI Advantage
• McGraw Hill, Connect: Registration from Brightspace (student)
• McGraw Hill, Connect: Tips & FAQs
• McGraw Hill, Connect: Can’t Access Assignment
• McGraw Hill, Connect: Resource assistance types (Check My Work, hints)
• McGraw Hill, System Requirements (Higher Ed)
• McGraw Hill, Refund requests for product purchases
• McGraw Hill, Completing Assignments: Student (PDF)
• McGraw Hill, SmartBook Overview: Student (PDF)
• McGraw Hill, SmartBook: Grading and Recharge for Students (PDF)
• McGraw Hill, SmartBook 2.0: Instructor Overview (PDF)
• McGraw Hill, The Student Guide to Using SmartBook (2023, PDF)
• McGraw Hill, Assigning SmartBook (instructor guide, PDF)
• McGraw Hill, SmartBook product page
• McGraw Hill, Terms of Use
• McGraw Hill, SmartBook 2.0 User Guide (PDF)
• McGraw Hill, SmartBook vs. SmartBook 2.0 Enhancements Guide (2020, PDF)
• McGraw-Hill Education press release, McGraw-Hill LearnSmart, Proven Adaptive Study Tool, Now Available for Use with Any Higher Education Course Content (March 28, 2013)
• McGraw Hill blog, McGraw Hill’s AI Reader: The Study Tool for Better Grades (November 2024)