This is embarassing, as I am (in theory) an IT professional.
Last year, I was hospitalised, with a disease that causes serious memory problems (Wernike-Korsakov).
On discharge, I found I had forgotten my gmail account password. OK, there is a way to recover the account. In fact several ways. But…
expecting either my memory or just muscle memory to work, I have a complex password. I do use software to remember passwords, but I specifically set it so it would not remember either gmail or my bank, the two most important accounts in my life
this is a fatal flaw. I own a personal domain. At some point I redirected all traffic to gmail. I forgot to change the “reset” email address. The reset email address directs to gmail, so when they send me a password reset email, it automatically redirects to the very gmail account I am locked out of.
2.b) that domain is suspended, so I can’t even use that domain’s admin area to read my mails.
Using the suggestions in the “try another way” dialog, I can have the details sent to my phone number, but they never arrive. Not sure if this is supposed to be an SMS or a push notification.
3.b) My ex-wife’s phone number is listed as an alternative choice to send the details to, and she gets a code I am supposed to enter, but if I follow through, I immediately get to a screen asking for my password, the very thing I cannot remember.
my phone was stolen. One thing gmail uses is a system of trust, if you have logged in succesfully on this specific device, you probably are who you say you are. But this is a new phone, nothing links it to the old one from Google’s perspective.
my laptop, which is a trusted device, is refusing to charge, so I can’t use it to reset the password.
I know all of this is for my protection, but it is incredibly frustrating…
(P.S. sorry about the list formatting. It seems unfixable)
It might, but it has been supended for several months now. Due to the disease, I have been unemployed (and probably unemployable) for about a year, and without access to gmail to see the status of the domain hosting - which is very much suspended. I can’t afford to “unspend” it due to unemployment.
It is a stupid problem, entirely of my own making with a bunch of “catch-22s” thrown in for good measure.
If the laptop has been off for a long time, the battery may have died and needs to be replaced. If it’s a common laptop, you might be able to take it to a local computer repair shop or discount computer reseller. They might happen to have a compatible battery they could swap in to test it out. If it is a bad battery, you might be able to find a cheap battery on ebay or amazon.
Is this a password you have had a long time? If so it is possible a long time ago your method of remembering passwords was entering them in a text file which you also printed out and posted near your computer. Browse through your documents directory and backups. It may be under a title Passwords or something else which jogs your memory. Or the printed paper may still be around your house somewhere.
Macbook Pro 2019, until recently working fine. I am right now using a different cable and charger in a different to normal USB port with fingers crossed that the problem lies in one of the cheaper options…
I tried on my phone (Android, not that it matters) on a network where I have successfully connected in the past, but perhaps there is a time-limit to trust.
I had a problem with getting a code recently - turns out that unknown to me, an update had added “spam” and “unknown senders” folders to the Messages app and that’s where the codes ( I must have tried 10 x) were.
If the laptop is plugged in, it should bypass the battery and boot. But I think it needs a battery properly connected and not vented (expanded). You can try Force Restart (holding the power button) in case it is locked-up. Obviously don’t do the Factory Reset.
You can try swapping batteries as @filmore suggested. If that doesn’t work and you think the laptop is bad, you could move your HD to another Mac. I’m not sure if that will invalidate your keystore though.
I’d try swapping batteries, first. Actually, I’d start by cleaning the power port, and trying a variety of charging cables, including both Apple’s magsafe one and some of the USB c ports with usb c chargers at a suitable power for the laptop. If that didn’t work, I’d try getting a new battery.
Fwiw, I’ve fixed a number of cell phones that stopped reliably charging by sticking a sewing needle into the USB C port and scraping off the packed-on crud.
Hmm, I’m not sure if a Mac does it differently, but a Toughbook I’ve had for a little over a decade began refusing to boot recently, even plugged in. I ordered a new battery and swapped it out (just a press of the button to remove the old one and slide the new one in on the Toughbook), plugged it in again, and the issue was resolved.
Yeah, I think if the battery has failed it won’t boot because it doesn’t want to put a load on the battery. Since it is a potential safety issue, the classification of failed might be pretty conservative.
I would think a laptop with a good charger and a solid electrical connection should be able to boot with the battery disconnected, but I really don’t know. For booting phones without a battery, we would often have to add a big ole capacitor to get over the initial current draw. Could be the same on a laptop and they could be using the battery to do that.
If you have an iphone, check iMessage on your Mac for the gmail texts. Perhaps they’ll show up there.
Look around to see if you happen to have any old phones or laptops hidden away somewhere. If it was a trusted device at one time, perhaps it might help get back. If you have another phone, you could try getting your SIM into that and see if the texts show up in that other phone.
Are you locked out of gmail until you do the recovery steps? Or is it just that you just forgot the password and can’t log in? If you had the password, would you be able to log in and everything would be fine? The difference is that sometimes the system will lock the account if there are too many invalid attempts and then additional steps have to be taken to unlock the account. Just having the password wouldn’t be enough in that case.
If it’s just that you don’t have the password, an old phone or your laptop could help. The gmail app on an old phone might still be able to access your account. The browser on your laptop might still have a valid gmail session that could still work.
Not sure. I assume if I correctly recalled the password, it would let me in. Right now it wants a bunch of additional steps anyway.
Murphys law dictates that, “if it can go wrong, it will go wrong”…
This is a cascading set of classic PEBKAC * errors…
Anyway, trying to charge the laptop with a totally new setup, if that fails the iStore suggested I go to the place that last repaired it, as they won’t touch a machine that has been worked on by others.
* for those who don’t know the acronym, " Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair"