Arrgh! Could a mod fix the title? I hit the spacebar too soon and it posted while I was editing the title.
I signed up for an account in Google Drive for my daughter for the purpose of automatically backing up her photos (beyond what DropBox could hold under its free account limit).
Today, her phone was stolen. I went into Google Drive from my computer, to make sure her photos were safe. It *refuses *to allow me to log in, despite having the correct login and password, because I’m not on a device it recognizes, and it ONLY recognizes the stolen phone. It will ONLY allow me to verify the account via the stolen phone - text or phone call. WFT??? I’ve searched and searched and can’t find any way to log into my own account without the stolen phone.
I’ll try again tomorrow, in case it somehow changes its mind, but this is crazy! Her Google mail and Android accounts all have numerous email account backups in place, so I just assumed the Drive account was part of the same network. And Drive never requested any additional backup phone numbers or email accounts. There were some irreplaceable recent pictures on there that I’d assumed were safely backed up.
Sorry, can’t help. Just wanted to wish you luck, and to chime in with a sarcastic, “Fuckin’ geniuses” aimed in the direction of Google. So secure, you can’t use it.
You install Google Drive on the new computer or device because the phone is stolen.
Does the prompt give the option to send a verification code to your phone (which is stolen) or an email for the account?
Or does the prompt just say that it’s not verified? With no option to verify the new computer or device?
I’m very glad that I read this because I have Google Drive. I’ve never tried to access it from another computer or device before because I assumed it was safe and easy. Now I’m going to have to go to the library and use a computer to check this out myself.
Go to the phone store, tell them to disable the SIM card they have on file, and reassign the number to a new SIM (which they will give you right there). Either buy a new phone, or if you think there’s a chance the phone will be recovered and you want to wait, stick the SIM in someone else’s phone (same carrier). Do the verification thing and the text will come to you. In fact the guys at the store will be happy to install the SIM in one of their phones on a temporary basis. You can do the account login right there.
Would you mind telling me what happens with a laptop? I don’t have a smartphone.
If my harddrive on my current computer dies can I access my files from a new computer?
After I install Google Drive on the new computer does it ask for a verification code? Sent to my phone or email? And that’s how I verify the new computer?
Somehow, the OP managed to set up the Google account without an email as a recovery option. Generally they allow an email account and a phone; either can be used (and the phone can be called or texted). But they have to know where to mail/call.
As long as you set up your Drive account with an email address that you can log into from a different machine, there is no problem. If the laptop is stolen or dies, you just set up Drive on a new computer, and when it asks to verify the new device it’ll email you a link to click on. All your stuff will still be there. You can even revoke privileges to the old computer so that the thief can’t access it.
I use an even beefier security setup called 2-step verification. There is a smartphone app that has a rotating code that I type in when I’m on a new computer. I have it installed on a second phone as a backup, but there are also one-time codes that I can use (which I have printed out and stored in a safe). It’s easy and quite safe but you do need a phone.
By the way, to check this stuff, click on your user icon in the upper right from any Google service and hit “My Account”. Then click “Signing in to Google” under “Sign-in and security”. Scroll down a bit and you should see a listing for “Account recovery options”. Make sure you have both an email and phone there.
Now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure that for the email option they require a second email address; i.e., one that’s not tied to the Google account. I just have a separate Gmail account. For people that don’t have that, it’ll probably just require a phone since that’s more convenient. I’d recommend setting up a dummy account used just for recovery. Always good to have more options.
Sure thing. One thing I forgot to emphasize: the phone can be a normal landline phone if that’s how you roll. Just tell it to call the number instead of texting, and you’ll get a nice computer lady reading the code.
Yeah. There’s nothing wrong with the way they have done it. To prevent those rampant hackers from getting your data (or deleting it), you have to have the userid, password, and prove you have the phone number you set the account up with. The only reason you are having a problem is you haven’t gone to the phone company and mapped a different phone to use the same phone number, something you can do since you can prove you are the original account holder of that number.
I do it with the two back up email addresses. When I switched phones temporarily I got messages in three different places that an unrecognized device logged in. I don’t have two factor login to the account so I wasn’t stopped. Same thing when I started to use my laptop.
The OP should have logged in from his computer while he still had the phone.
Thanks for all the suggestions! I’ve had to deal with other things right now so haven’t been able to get back to this yet, but will try these as soon as I’m able. You all are the best!
I second Dr. Strangelove’s opinion on the matter. There should be some setting available to blacklist or prohibit certain devices, and if not readily available in your settings, an e-mail to google support usually will take care of the problem relatively fast.