Hey everyone, I wanted to share my experience recovering my Google account after losing access. I know firsthand how frustrating and stressful it can be, especially since Google doesn’t offer direct support for this. And most people who post here don't give updates on their situation. I've read countless posts on here and other places and I have tried everything. Here's what worked, what didn’t, and what I learned. Hopefully, this helps someone in the same situation.

What Happened: My trusted devices were stolen. I didn't know my password and I had 2FA enabled with an authenticator app (I don't have access to) and a recovery phone number (I have access to), but no recovery email. I quickly realized that without access to at least one recovery method, getting back in is extremely difficult.

If you’ve lost your recovery phone number, here are some ideas how to recover it:

• Try calling the new owner of the number and see if they’ll help.

• If the number is inactive, visit your provider’s store and politely ask if they can reactivate it. They may refuse, but if you offer to sign up for a contract, they may be more willing to help as they get commission. (This worked for me for my pay as you go SIM that was stolen with my phone)

What I Tried (What DIDN’T Work)

• I subscribed to Google One, hoping to get premium customer support. After multiple chats, I found out Google One support doesn’t handle account recovery. They only provide generic advice (which you can already find online).

• I created a Google Workspace account and even bought a domain just to see if they offered better support. The support team was more responsive, they requested a call back from the YouTube support team in California. I spoke with them a few times but it became clear that they can not help with account recovery.

• Contacting @madebygoogle & @askworkplace on X (Twitter): No useful response.

• Posting on Google Account Help Forum: No replies or assistance.

What COULD Work for You Contacting @TeamYouTube on X (Twitter): If your Google account is tied to a YouTube channel and it was hacked, they might help. My mistake was sounding too desperate in my first tweet, so they ignored me. I changed my approach to something more casual, like: "Hey @TeamYouTube, my channel got hacked, can you help me get it back? 🤞" They DM’d me asking for a active Gmail account so they can grant it access to the account recovery form which also puts me in contact with the specialist team. They provided me with the link to the form that asked different questions: channel URL, devices info, IP, when I last used the account, etc. I was optimistic about recovering my account after completing the form. However, minutes later, I received an automated email stating, "Based on the info you gave us, our specialists couldn’t find evidence that your Google Account was compromised." I responded, explaining that my account wouldn’t show typical signs of hijacking since my trusted devices were stolen and therefore any access would look legitimate. To prove ownership, I created a detailed document with screenshots of my video editing files, a photo of myself, and even my ID. They said that they will review my case again but got back to me with the same decision. Despite multiple follow-ups providing more evidence, they continued to deny my request. Ultimately, it became clear that if your account wasn’t hacked but simply lost or locked out, YouTube support won’t assist with recovery even if you have YouTube channel featuring your face . If your account was actually hijacked and you have YouTube channel associated to it, this method could work for you.

What FINALLY Worked for Me

1. Understanding Google’s Recovery Loops For the first 2 weeks, I was stuck in the recovery loop where every attempt led to: "Try another way." "Sorry, you didn’t provide enough information." I learned that if you attempt recovery 6+ times using the same method (for me that was phone number), it locks that option for a period of time, you'll see a message saying: "Unavailable because of too many failed attemp, try again in a few hours". It turned out that a few hours is actually a week so I left my account for a week without trying anything.

2. Waiting for a Week to Reset Recovery Attempts After waiting 7 days, and multiple tries to recover my account, I got locked out from using my phone as a recovery option again . Exactly at that time a new option appeared that I haven't seen before: “Choose how you want to sign in:” My phone was listening as the only way to sign in. But because my phone number was locked due to too many attemps I could not click on that option. Again I had to wait a week, so frustrating.

3. Finally success After a week I tried to log back in and guess what after 4 attempts I did not get that option. I was back to the recovery loop. I started thinking about how to improve my chances to get back the option to sing in with my number. One of the tips is to use a familiar IP address. However, I found out that home internet providers including mine have dynamic IPs that change regularly. That's probably the reason why I was not presented with the option. But I also found that Businesses often use static IPs, and decided to try logging in from my workplace using incognito mode on Chrome browser, and success! On the first try after veryfing my phone the option was back! After verifying my phone number I saw this: "Get a link to recover your account.

You'll need to wait 48 hours for an email to help you sign in. Google needs time to make sure this account is yours.

Provide an email address you can check after 48 hours. This can be another address you use or one that belongs to someone you trust to help you. Google wil use this address to send you a link to sign in."

I provided my new email and verified it with a code. After anxiously waiting 49 hours, I got an email with a one-time sign-in link. This link allowed me to reset my password and regain access to my account. Oooo sweet success! After a total of 1 month and 3 days being locked out of my account I was finally back in.

Recovery Tips

• Try logging in from places you frequently visit and use WiFi (work, favorite café, etc.).

• Don’t lock yourself out by attempting too many recoveries in a row using the same recovery in method.

• If you do get locked out wait at least 7 days between attempts .

• Try different browsers, devices, and locations each time.

• If you lost access (but weren’t hacked), don’t waste time with Google/YouTube support—they won’t help.

• Google monitors inactivity and may remove 2FA barriers over time.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions or if you’ve had a similar experience. Stay patient, and don’t give up!

I was incarcerated from 8/12/21 till 8/12/24 I don't have my old number or access to my recovery email either. I know the password but the 2-step authentication is stopping me. Everytime I answer the questions correctly but it tells me that I haven't given enough information to verify my identity. Can anyone please give me some advice on this. I'd really appreciate it.

I changed my phone number and unfortunately I can't receive any code text from there. Also I didn't setup any recovery email.

I tried a million different things but sadly none of them worked.

Is there a way to contact Google support team to recover my account? I could easily proof my identity, if that's the case.