Forgot your Google account password? Here is what to do
Your Google account is the same thing as your Gmail account, and it controls your email, Google Photos, the Play Store and the backup of an Android phone. If you have forgotten the password you can usually get back in within a few minutes, especially if your phone is still signed in.
Always type the password yourself. Never give it to anyone and never put it in a chat window. Google, Apple, your bank and Solvora will never ask for your password or for a verification code, and anyone who calls asking for a code is trying to get into your account.
One thing to know first if you have an Android phone: do not factory reset it while you are locked out. Device protection asks for the account password after a reset, and without it the phone cannot be used.
Try this first
- Go to accounts.google.com in a browser. On an Android phone you can instead open Settings, tap Google, and then Manage your Google Account.
- Enter your email address and tap Next. At the password prompt, tap Forgot password.
- Try the most recent password you can remember, even if you think it is old. Google often accepts a previous password as proof that it is you.
- If your phone is still signed in, a prompt saying Trying to sign in appears on its screen. Tap Yes, then tap the number shown on the computer. If the phone is on silent, unlock it and look for the prompt straight away.
- Otherwise Google can send a code to your recovery number or recovery email address. Type the code yourself. Never read it out to anyone who calls, even if they say they work at Google.
- Choose a new password of at least twelve characters. Three words joined into a phrase are easier to remember and harder to guess than something short and awkward.
- Write the new password on paper and keep it where you keep your important documents.
If that did not help
- Google has an account recovery form, which is where you end up when the usual routes fail. Fill it in from a computer or phone you normally use, ideally at home on your own Wi-Fi. Google recognises both the device and the network, and that counts for a lot.
- Answer as carefully as you can about when you created the account and which services you use. Approximate answers are better than none.
- If you are turned down, wait a few hours and try again from the same place and device rather than submitting over and over.
- As soon as you are back in: go to Security in the account, check that the recovery address and recovery number are yours, and turn on two-step verification.
If someone may have taken over the account
If there are sent messages you did not write, if the password changed without you doing it, or if an unfamiliar address has been added to the account, act quickly. Change the password first, then sign out all devices under Security, and go through forwarding and filters in Gmail, because whoever got in often leaves a rule behind that quietly forwards your mail onwards.
If you no longer have the recovery number or the old address, or the form is refused again and again, ask us in the chat before trying more. The order of the steps changes the outcome, and it pays to get it right the first time.