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Ways to Access Gmail if You Forget Your Password

November 10, 2021

Losing access to a critical account is frustrating if not downright devastating. It is particularly important to understand how to recover access to your account if you forget your login credentials. Since many people utilize Gmail as their email service, don’t lose access just because you forgot a password. How-To Geek has a post outlining the various methods you can use to recover a forgotten password.

Using Google’s standard recovery method will send a recovery code to your alternate email address. Of course, this assumes you have defined a recovery email address (doesn’t need to be a Gmail address) and know how to access that email inbox. Google will send a six-digit code to that recovery email. A second option is to answer a security question. Like the recovery email, this assumes you know the answer to at least one of the questions. You can’t add any new security questions and can only delete ones that are already defined. This is because Google is phasing out the security question recovery method. Another option is to text a 6-digt code to your phone. Like the previous methods, you need to tell Google what your phone number is.

Now would be a good time to check your Gmail settings to make sure you have defined the various items needed to recover access to your account. Once you’ve signed into Gmail, click on the profile picture or initial in the upper right corner and click the “Manage your Google Account” button. Click on the Security option in the left side menu and then scroll down to the “Ways we can verify it’s you” section. Make sure you have a recovery phone and recovery email defined.

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