Gmail has gone full Yair, and we need your help! Cannot change Gmail password without sending the code to the old device

We currently have a few tickets where we’re trying to transfer the OG-email (Gmail), but it seems something changed recently, as 9 out of 10 times Gmail won’t let us change the password without sending a code to the old phone on file. So, what’s the problem? Just change the phone number and remove the old one, right? Nope. No matter what we do, things still revert back to the old phone number on file.

Here is an example of what we did to tackle this:

  1. Seller removed old phone.
  2. We log in, try to change the pass. Nope, it asks for codes on the old phone.
  3. So we ask the seller to log in again from his device, and we remove his device from the device managers list. Then we try to change the pass, nope. It reverts to the old number again.
  4. We check all old browsers and unsync all of them. Nope, reverts to the old number again.
  5. We add our phone number. It saved. But even so, when we try to change the pass, it’s asking for codes on the OLD phone, despite the new number being on file.
  6. We turn 2FA on (via phone). Nope, still can’t change the password.
  7. We asked to remove the accounts from account lists on the sellers’ devices. Nope, didn’t work.
  8. One seller even formatted his phone. Nope, didn’t work.
  9. We’ve confirmed the code sent to the old phone, changed the password and logged out. When we log back in and try to change again, it’s still asking for codes on the old phone.

We’ve tried EVERYTHING we could. No matter what, since the past few days, all Gmail accounts are doing this. So, since I am up against the wall, I am reaching out to the community to see if anyone has any clue how to solve this. If not, let’s try to solve this pesky problem, otherwise, we will not be able to secure a single Gmail :confused:

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You need to mention my name when something good happens, not bad.

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A small reward will be given out to the first person who solves this.

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This happened to me also

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Did you solve it?

This is just a pain in the :peach:

I would also like to add that we had a one-time success with this, and here is what we did:

  1. We told the seller to log in.
  2. We’ve logged in at the same time.
  3. We’ve went into the Device Manager and removed the phone while the seller was logged in (Freshly)

Then the account didn’t ask for a code. But, this happened only once. So, I assume that it maybe it was the only device he ever used for Gmail. Perhaps Gmail saves all devices now and ties them to a phone number? Is there an effective way to remove previous computers/tablets? They’re in the manager list but you can’t remove them anymore, the button for deleting them was removed by Google. In the past there was always an option to remove them.

@SWAPD I’ve had this issue a few times as well the last few weeks. What I did to solve the issue was:
1/ Login to the original email
2/ Change the password
3/ Logout and give the new credentials to the buyer

Let me know if that works for you too.

The problem is, when the buyer goes to change the password again, it reverts to the phone number. So, I am not sure if I follow.

I have the same issue, but it won’t send an SMS instead it wants to do the recovery email which the extension is incorrect. I’ve been pulling my hair out for 2 weeks about this…

What happens if you stay logged in when the buyer changes the password?

Yes…!!!

@zerogravity - When the buyer tries, it still asks for code.

@MediaBoy - So how do you completely remove a device :frowning:

Did you try to use a VPN so that both you and the buyer are considered to be in the same country?

No. Let me try.

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VPN did not work.
The good news is, this isn’t as wide-spread as we thought as we had successful transfers today. But, some tickets are locked up. Also, other people are reporting the same problem on Google: There is something unusual about your activity. For your security, Google wants to make sure it's really you.gmail associated to gmail account. - Google Account Community

This is what they did to me. #MentalTorture

https://support.google.com/adsense/thread/1813810?hl=en

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They said they are investigating 1 month ago. no update from them so far?

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Just to clear this up are you trying to do this on a pc or an a mobile phone? It’s easy to remove the previous device if you’re doing it on a mobile phone than on a pc. At least that option always works for me

OK we will try this tomorrow. But as far as I know, the interface for managing Google accounts is exactly the same for mobile and PC. But, I will give it a shot, regardless.