Changing ISP blocked me from my email account

I have a Google Gmail account

A few weeks ago I changed ISP from Plusnet to EE

Immediately after that, my account wouldn't let me log in

It kept saying it didn't recognise me as the account owner

I tried doing the recovery process, but that failed as it kept saying it didn't recognise me as the account owner

Why didn't anyone at Thinkbroadband and EE warn people that changing ISP would lead to people loosing their email account?

How can I get it back? Google doesn't have a telephone number or customer service department I can phone

I've already asked Citizens Advice but they said they can't do anything about it

https://i.imgur.com/E7YxFqR.png

https://i.imgur.com/CyBktX7.png

Changing ISP should not lead to your Gmail getting blocked as that is independent of the ISP, i.e. can check gmail from any location.

What you are seeing is the security measures Google has in place to try and stop third parties accessing your account. In short as your IP address has changed and you've probably only ever used the 1 IP address before it looks suspect.

Are you able to get the verification code sent to your phone?

I didn't make the account with a phone number provided

I was worried that if my account was hacked, the hackers would get my number and use it for identity theft

Alas this is firmly in the Google camp

https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/7299973
https://support.google.com/accounts/troubleshooter/2...

So I've lost my account forever?

Can you please add something to the Guides section then, to warn people that this will happen if they change ISP?

https://www.thinkbroadband.com/guides

I may well be wrong but feel that if people don't read or act on the advice given by their e-mail probvider they're hardly like to read and act on anything posted in a third party guide.

In reply to a post by zelly:

So I've lost my account forever?

Can you please add something to the Guides section then, to warn people that this will happen if they change ISP?

https://www.thinkbroadband.com/guides

Why would you want to change the guide for something that is just not true for most people. I have changed ISP twice over the last few years with no disruption at all to my Gmail access.

To try and resolve your situation, have you tried all of the measures laid out in the two links Mr. Saffron provided? Let us know in case anyone can come up with any more ideas to help.

This is the first time I remember anyone posting this here so is likely a pretty rare event. All of my family use Gmail and have changed ISPs a number of times and have never had an issue.

It is very unlikely that most people will read TBB guides before changing ISPs - generally most people come here after something has gone wrong rather than before.

if people don't read or act on the advice given by their e-mail probvider they're hardly like to read and act on anything posted in a third party guide

It isn't just guides this warning should be on, it should also be on the sales page of every ISP

The Advertising Standards Authority has a CAP code on adverts that applies to broadband websites and their phone number checker, broadband availability pages

https://www.asa.org.uk/type/non_broadcast/code_secti...

CAP 3.3 says
Marketing communications must not mislead the consumer by omitting material information. They must not mislead by hiding material information

Material information is information that the consumer needs to make informed decisions in relation to a product


ISPs should be warning people that if they change ISP, they could loose their email account

I agree it's not a common issue, Google ask on numerous occasions to enter recovery details....I can change ISP more than 5 times a day and still access my Gmail...I have NowTV and Virgin BB at home, I have Three and Sky as my mobile providers in dual sim phone, and if I go anywhere and use they're WiFi then that can be another ISP, no issue on any of them. Thay also know quite a lot about the device you use to login, they send emails when login on a new device telling you, maybe if never used before ISP and a new device being used for first time to access your Gmail they might ask for verification?

In reply to a post by GonePostal:

Why would you want to change the guide for something that is just not true for most people.

have you tried all of the measures laid out in the two links Mr. Saffron provided?

Isn't a guide suppose to warn people of what could happen?

Yes I have tried all of the things in the two links

In reply to a post by zelly:

ISPs should be warning people that if they change ISP, they could loose their email account

Can you please provide some stats to give an indication of the scale of this issue?

Can you please provide some stats to give an indication of the scale of this issue?

If it can happen to 1 person, it can happen to anyone

In reply to a post by gmangt4:

maybe if never used before ISP and a new device being used for first time to access your Gmail they might ask for verification?

I've been using the same computer and same browser since I made the email account

The only thing I changed is my ISP

In reply to a post by zelly:

If it can happen to 1 person, it can happen to anyone

Maybe you could ask yourself, is it me?

We get lots of people here who move ISP's and then wonder/complain why their ISP provided email stops working but never in 30 years have I heard anyone say they lost there independent email

In reply to a post by zelly:

In reply to a post by gmangt4:

maybe if never used before ISP and a new device being used for first time to access your Gmail they might ask for verification?

I've been using the same computer and same browser since I made the email account

The only thing I changed is my ISP

Your first image says device not recognised so they seem to think its never been used to access that account before? I can't see it being an ISP personally, I used to travel worldwide with my job and was never an issue, Before I retired I used to have Gmail open on my work PC on employers VPN and on my phone on mobile data so would be a different ISP at the same time....as would many.

It is something that Google should be warning about rather than ISPs. If Google are going to block access because you have change ISP (or even just IP address) then they should make that clear. Google are the ones providing the service that has broken and seem to be applying over zealous security (unless there are other factors that we don't know about that have led to the account being blocked).

You simply need to follow the forgot password prompts. Keep pressing that I cannot do in the way that is requested (if you get the prompt about entering a 2 digit number ignore and you'll get another prompt up after about 30 seconds). Once you go through this rigmarole it will then ask you for a contact number so Google can call you back. If it's your account they will ask you questions about how the accounts been used and then get it unblocked for you.

In reply to a post by zelly:

ISPs should be warning people that if they change ISP, they could loose their email account

But you haven't. What you've done is blindly rushed forward without following information supplied, even on this topic.
I've had a Gmail account since the days of the trials, where a friend had to invite you to join. I've changed ISP's several times but never lost access.
Read what people are telling you here, especially the one here https://forums.thinkbroadband.com/general/t/4635939-... (click the link to read it) - gary333 has given the steps needed to get your account back.
It has nothing to do with changing ISP, the ASA or reading any sort of guide. It's because you have ignored warning messages.
Can't make it any clearer than that.

What has happened to you is rare, at least in terms of what we've seen i.e. a sample of 1 is not going to see us adding a warning to a guide.

Have also used devices on numerous ISP and numerous devices and not had a problem, but then do have two factor authentication and recovery options set.

In which case we should also warn that there is a risk of you getting hit by a lump of space debris when using email. This is a real risk too.

I have a couple of expendable Gmail accounts for forums etc and have quite often been asked to provide a recovery phone number. I don't give this because it's all part of Google's data harvesting. Just like yourself, I have been asked to prove my identity by receiving a code on my phone: no code, no access, so I launch a new one if necessary. Being charitable, Google is trying to protect your security. Friends who also use this system keep an old phone with payg sim which Google can track to its heart's content, assuming Google has a heart

For normal use my email is provided by an independent supplier. Well worth paying a few pounds a year to avoid being shadowed around the internet, the price charged by Google. In fairness, if you don't supply a phone as requested you cannot complain if you lose your email access.

In reply to a post by zelly:

I didn't make the account with a phone number provided

I was worried that if my account was hacked, the hackers would get my number and use it for identity theft

Well if your phone is an android device they probably already have your number, but that aside you should of at least added an authenticator to it.

As to your other posts, I have moved from ISP to ISP and have Gmail since the start and have never lost my account.

Granted I don't use Gmail for much, but I have never lost access to it.
Also the changing of IP Addresses shouldn't cause any issues when logging into Gmail, but using new / different devices could, this is why you should of added an authenticator to it.

There are security measures in place to protect your account that you seem to of neglected to setup and now you are having this issue.

If you follow the steps other people have said you "should" resolve your issue.

Paul

Just mash the mouse buttons above or below the number Gmail wants from you and after some time it�ll ask you to try another way.

Edited by gary333 (Wed 05-Feb-20 22:13:58)

To be fair to Google, they do ask you to link the account to a telephone number or alternative email address. It's a sensible precaution to avoid this sort of situation. Not doing so is a bit like having only one key to your house - lose it and you have a problem.

In reply to a post by zelly:

if people don't read or act on the advice given by their e-mail probvider they're hardly like to read and act on anything posted in a third party guide

It isn't just guides this warning should be on, it should also be on the sales page of every ISP

The Advertising Standards Authority has a CAP code on adverts that applies to broadband websites and their phone number checker, broadband availability pages

https://www.asa.org.uk/type/non_broadcast/code_secti...

CAP 3.3 says
Marketing communications must not mislead the consumer by omitting material information. They must not mislead by hiding material information

Material information is information that the consumer needs to make informed decisions in relation to a product


ISPs should be warning people that if they change ISP, they could loose their email account

All well and good but the IPSs are still giving you perfectly good internet access to attempt to log into your Gmail account. It's not the ISP's fault that Google incorrectly identifies access attempts from the new ISP to your existing Gmail account as potentially fraudulent. The ISPs are not doing anything misleading that would require a warning. Their end works.

Feel free to make a complaint to the ASA. I've made quite a few in the past and it's an excellent service but you're going to find that it won't be upheld because the ISP isn't doing anything misleading. You can still access the login page of Gmail - that's where the ISP's responsibility stops.

The problem is with Google's Gmail and the way it determines whether attempts to access an account are likely to be unauthorized. You have to contact Google.

There's a simple answer: If you want reliable email without this sort of problem the proper way to do it is to register your own domain name and pay for hosting. That way, you are in control - not Google or an ISP. If you're not paying for it, you're not in control. You will also have support available and you can change your ISP and email provider as many times as you like - your email address will stay the same.

At the moment you're using a service which costs nothing and you can now see one of the side effects.

In reply to a post by TinyMongomery:

To be fair to Google, they do ask you to link the account to a telephone number or alternative email address. It's a sensible precaution to avoid this sort of situation. Not doing so is a bit like having only one key to your house - lose it and you have a problem.

Simply set up a 2nd gmail account and link the 2 together.

Bonus is you can use one for real emails. The other you can use for forum signup's .

TBH. Anyone worried about google tracking them, better not be using the internet.

In reply to a post by JohnR:

Simply set up a 2nd gmail account and link the 2 together.

If the theories about why the OP can't access their email is correct (changed IP address) then that wouldn't really help, would it. Two locked-out accounts are no better than one.

Better to have another mail account from a different provider. (Better still - if you're not paranoid about Google having your phone number - is to link the account to your mobile.)

Difficult to link if you can't log in.

It's not rocket science. You link to the mobile before you have problems.

Much like backing up your PC before the hard disk crashes. Or making a duplicate of your house key before you lose it.

Edited by TinyMongomery (Thu 06-Feb-20 15:18:22)

It's the old prevention is better than the cure.

In reply to a post by TinyMongomery:

It's not rocket science. You link to the mobile before you have problems.

Much like backing up your PC before the hard disk crashes. Or making a duplicate of your house key before you lose it.

As has been the subject of discussion for a while in the thread.

It is of no use to the OP, and everyone else here knows what the OP should have done. Give google a phone number.

Quite apart from the fact that if the OP had set up two gmail addresses and linked to them in the way you say, it is reasonable to assume both addresses would have had the same problem.

Please stop stalking me and coming up with fatuous replies.

Edited by RobertoS (Thu 06-Feb-20 17:22:49)

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

In reply to a post by TinyMongomery:

Quite apart from the fact that if the OP had set up two gmail addresses and linked to them in the way you say, it is reasonable to assume both addresses would have had the same problem.

True. But I didn't suggest that.

Please stop stalking me and coming up with fatuous replies.

Should I link to the Wikipedia entry for "paranoia"?

You're the one who tried (and failed) to contradict me.

Edited by TinyMongomery (Thu 06-Feb-20 17:42:27)