How To Recover Gmail Account

Have you been locked out of your Gmail account, having trouble verifying your account, and or just recovering your account? This article will walk you through the various means of recovering your Gmail account, whether you've forgotten your password and security questions, or you've become the victim of a hacked account.

Forgot Gmail Password

If you've forgotten the password to your Gmail account, you may recover your account by going to Gmail's web password recovery site and filling in its form.

The first window will resemble the following:

Enter your email address, and click next. Then, this window will appear:

Since you do not know your password, click Try a different question. In the process, you may be asked for either the answer to your secret question or your alternate email or phone number.

You Have Not Registered Alternate Recovery Options

Unfortunately, if when you created the account you did not register a secret question that you remember or an alternate recovery email address or phone number to which you have access to receive a reset code, you cannot prove that you are the account's legitimate owner. Hence account recovery is absolutely impossible, and there is no way around it.

Your Mobile Phone Number Has Been Changed

If you have changed your mobile phone number, you can still recover your account only if you remember your password. Head to this link to recover your account. A reset code will be sent to your alternate recovery address or phone. You will be asked for your password.

Your Gmail Account Has Been Hacked

If someone changed your account information, like your recovery phone number or recovery email, if someone deleted your account, or if you can’t sign in for another reason, Gmail offers a step-by-step recovery process. First, click the following link to gain access to the recovery page:

Type your email or phone number, and click Next. After you have entered your email address, Gmail will ask you for the last password that you have used and, then, will ask you where you wish to have the reset code sent to you:

If you do not have a mobile number or email address where you can receive a reset code, you should create one. If during the recovery process you do not know the answer, click Try a different question; you should then be able to enter an alternate email address or mobile phone number to get the code:

A reset code will immediately be dispatched to you. On the next page, you will be asked to enter the six digit reset code, and you will gain access to your account. Check your text messages or email for the code.

N.B. Once you have regained access to your account, we suggest that you immediately change your alternate recovery information and password.

Gmail Account Unaccessed for 9 Months

If you have not accessed your Gmail account for approximately 9 months, it has been deleted from the Gmail server. Deleted accounts and the data stored within are impossible to recover. Unfortunately, if this is the case for you, you must create a new account, taking care to note your password and security questions in a safe place.

Google couldn't verify this account belongs to you

If you are seeing the message: “Google couldn't verify this account belongs to you” this is because the account recovery information that you have provided in order to prove account ownership is insufficient according to Google. To make sure that you are giving as much possible information as possible follow these steps:

• Answer as many of the recovery questions as possible. Do your best to fill them all in and not skip them. It is best to guess if you are not sure than to leave one blank.

• Log in to your account from a device or location that you have already logged into your account from. If you are on holiday, or at a different address, then it is best to wait until you are home to try and reconnect. Similarly, use the same web browser. For example, if you usually use Google Chrome, don’t try to log in with Internet Explorer.

• When entering any passwords and security questions, make sure there are no typos, including uppercase and lowercase, because these are all important.

Image: © Alexey Boldin - Shutterstock.com