What to Do If You Can't Log In to Your Google Account | WIRED

Whether it's due a changed password, hacking of your account, or some other reason, you can't log in to your Google account and the many ... SkiptomaincontentBackchannelBusinessCultureGearIdeasScienceSecurityPodcastsVideoArtificialIntelligenceClimateGamesNewslettersMagazineEventsWiredInsiderCouponsIt’sFridaymorningandyouthinkyoucanmeetanimportantend-of-weekworkdeadlineifyoujustfocusandplowthroughforthenexteighthours.Skiplunch?Check.Turnoffsocialmedia?Check.NowtologinintoGmailandGoogleSheetsandGoogleDocstogetmovingonthis…Wait…Whattheheck?Ifyou’relikemanyofuswhorelyonGoogle’ssuiteofbusiness,academic,andpersonalproductivitytools,it’sthemomentthatcanbringyourdaytoascreechinghalt.Whetherit’sdueachangedpassword,hackingofyouraccount,orsomeotherreason,youcan’tlogintoyourGoogleaccountandthemanyservicesconnectedtothataccount.Whatnow?Thewebisfilledwithadviceandshortcutsonwhattodointhissituation,fromtappingyourpasswordmanagertoturningofftwo-factorauthentication(notrecommended!).RatherthanuseGoogle’smostpopulartool,Search,fortheanswer,wedecidedtoaskthecompanydirectlywhathappenswhenuserscan’tgetinandwhatstepstheyshouldtaketorecovertheiraccount.GuemmyKim,directorofaccountsafetyandsecurityatGoogle,guidedusthroughourquestions.HowDoGoogleAccountsGetDisabled?First,let’strytounderstandwhyyoumightbeinthissituationatall.Kimsaystherearethreemainscenarioswhereausercanfindthemselvesunabletogetintotheiraccount.Thefirstistheuserlosingtheircredentials.Thatcouldmeanyouforgotyourpassword,youchangedyourGooglepasswordononedeviceandforgottoreenteritonanotherdevice,oranyothernumberofcredentialsnafus.Thesecondscenarioiswhenauser’sGoogleaccountisdisabledduetosuspectedhacking.“IfGooglesuspectsthatanaccounthasbeenhijacked,wedisableitasaproactivemeasure,”Kimsays.“Thisissimilartohowabankwouldsuspendacreditcardiftheyidentifysuspicioustransactionsontheaccount.”ThethirdscenarioisthatGooglesuspendsanaccountthatisinviolationofitspolicies.Ifauserhaspostedabusivecontent,ortheiremailaddressisinvolvedinphishinghacks,thosewouldbeafewofthepossiblereasonsforanaccounttogetdisabledoverapolicyissue.SoIKnowWhyI’mLockedOut.WhatCanIDo?Forapasswordorcredentialsissue,youwouldgothroughthe“Forgotemail?”linkbelowtheloginpromptorstartGoogle’sAutomatedAccountRecoveryprocess,whichwalksyouthroughaseriesofquestionstoeitheraccesstheaccountthroughasecondarymethod(aphonenumberorotheremailaddress,forinstance)or,ifthesemethodsdon’twork,tocreateareplacementaccount.Thesamegoesforaccountsthataresuspectedofbeinghijacked;youshouldusetheAccountRecoverytool.Kimsaysthatanimportantpartofensuringasmoothrecoveryisthatyouhaverecoveryphonenumbersoremailaddressessetupinadvance.“Westronglyencourageeveryonetoaddarecoveryphonenumbertotheiraccount.”Kimaddedthatanyphonenumbersaddedfortwo-factorauthenticationarenotusedforanythingelse,soyoudon’thavetoworryaboutitbeingusedbymarketers.MostPopularScienceTheInfamous1972ReportThatWarnedofCivilization'sCollapseMattSimonGearThatWeirdSmellinYourHouseMightBeMold.Here'sHowtoCheckCarolMilbergerSecurityTheDangerofLicensePlateReadersinPost-RoeAmericaThorBensonGear14EarlyAmazonPrimeDayDealsonGoogleHardwareMedeaGiordanoAccountsflaggedforpolicyviolations,however,havetheoptiontohavethatactionreviewedupontheirnextlogin.Inthiscase,usersarestillincontroloftheiraccountidentity.KimsaysthatanyonewhorunsintothissituationshouldfirstreviewGoogle’spoliciestomakesuretheyunderstandwhytheaccountwasdisabledbeforeclicking.Insomecases,thenextloginattemptwilldisplaydetailsofwhytheaccountwasdisabled,suchassuspicionofphishing.“However,therearesomecircumstanceswherewecannotprovideadditionaldetailsduetosafetyconcerns,”Kimsays.Inappealingthisdecision,“userscanprovideadditionalcontexttohelpourreviewersdecidewhethertorestoreaccesstotheiraccount,”Kimsays.Thatprocessofreviewcantakeabouttwodays.CanISpeaktoaHumanatAll?Theshortanswerinmostcasesisno.You’reprobablynotgoingtogetapersononthephoneviasomekindofGooglehotline.Buttherearecaseswheresomeusersmaygetextrahelpdependingonthenatureoftheaccount.KimsaysthatthosewhohaveaGoogleaccountthroughtheirwork,school,orothergroupareencouragedtoreachouttotheiradministrator,whomaybeabletomanageusersviatheirAdminConsole.Iftheiradministratorisstumped,theyhavetheirownsupportoptionsaswell.OtherGoogleusers,likepeopleintheYouTubePartnerProgramorsubscriberstoGoogleFiorGoogleOne,mayhavededicatedsupportteamstohelpthroughthoseproducts.Theymightbeabletoofferguidanceorprovidegeneralhelp,butKimsaysyoushouldn’texpectthemtohaveamagicaccountresetwand.“Forsecurityreasons,theseagentscannotrestoreaccesstotheaccount,”Kimsays.HowDoesGoogleDecidetoSuspendanAccount?Kimsaysthatdifferenttypesofsignalsandpatternscanfactorintothedecisiontodisableorflaganaccount,whichisn’tterriblyclear,butalsoshowshowbroadlythecompanylooksatpotentiallydamagingactivity.Someofthosepatternsincludesigninginonacomputerornewphoneforthefirsttime,changingpasswords,orothereventsthatuserscanalsoreviewontheiraccountsecuritypage.Alertssentoutinthesecasesallowtheaccountownertocheckfirsttoseeifsomethingfishyisgoingon“andifourdetectionlogichasnotpickeduponityet,”Kimsays.Whenbehaviorpointsmoretowardanaccounthijackingorsomethingnefarious,GooglecanforcetheaccountholdertogothroughtheAccountRecoverytooltoverifytheiridentityandchangetheirpassword.Kimsays,“TheideaistolettherealuserbackintotheirGoogleaccountwhileblockingthehijacker.”Ofcourse,thisallonlyworksifyou’vesetuptheappropriatemeasuresbeforeyouraccountgetshacked.Ifyou’vealreadylostit,theremaybecaseswhereifyoudon’thaveadvancedsecuritymeasuressetupalready—likeusingyourphoneasatwo-factorlogintoolorkeepingyourrecoveryphonenumbersupdated—theremaybenowaytogetitback.Kimsuggests“ounceofprevention”measureshere,asin,taketimenowtowalkthroughGoogle’sSecurityCheckuptoolbeforeanythingbadhappenstoyouraccountinthefirstplace.MoreGreatWIREDStories📩Thelatestontech,science,andmore:Getournewsletters!SoberinfluencersandtheendofalcoholFormRNA,CovidvaccinesarejustthebeginningThefutureofthewebisAI-generatedmarketingcopyKeepyourhomeconnectedwiththebestwi-firoutersHowtolimitwhocancontactyouonInstagram👁️ExploreAIlikeneverbeforewithournewdatabase🏃🏽‍♀️Wantthebesttoolstogethealthy?CheckoutourGearteam’spicksforthebestfitnesstrackers,runninggear(includingshoesandsocks),andbestheadphonesOmarL.GallagaisaTexas-basedcultureandtechwriterwhowasalongtimereporter,podcaster,andcolumnistattheAustinAmerican-Statesman.He'swrittenforNPR,CNN,TheWallStreetJournal,TexasMonthly,TheWashingtonPost,andthepioneeringTV-recappingsiteTelevisionWithoutPity. ContributorTwitterInstagramTopicssecuritycybersecurityhackingGoogleHowtoAvoidtheWorstInstagramScamsMattBurgessHowtoPasswordProtectAnyFileDavidNieldParentsNeedtoKnowWhat’sGoingOnInsideTheirDayCareAppsAlexisHancockHowtoMoveYourWhatsAppChatsAcrossDevicesandAppsMattBurgessYouNeedtoUpdateWindowsandChromeRightNowKateO'FlahertyHere’sWhyYou’reStillStuckinRobocallHellLilyHayNewmanApple’sLockdownModeAimstoCounterSpywareThreatsLilyHayNewmanHackersCanStealYourTeslabyCreatingTheirOwnPersonalKeysDanGoodin,ArsTechnica