How to recover your Gmail account when you’ve forgotten your Email ID/ password

Gmail, powered by the same Google account that also likely syncs files across your devices for services Google Keep, Google Drive, Google Photos and more, is the most important ID for a lot of people. As a result, losing access to it because you forgot the password can be quite stressful. Here’s how to recover your email ID in such cases.

When you can’t remember your password

When you cannot remember your Google account password, but do remember your email address, you can head over to the Google Account Recovery page to recover your account.

Step 1: Open up any browser and search for “Google Account Recovery” and head to the first link in the results. On the Google Account Recovery page, enter your email address.

Step 2: Google will now ask you for any previous password that you remember. If you do remember a previous password, enter it here and follow the rest of the instructions. If not, choose the ‘Try another way’ option on the bottom left.

First, enter your email ID, followed by the last password you remember. (Express Photo)

Step 3: Google will now begin asking you security questions to verify that it is you trying to recover the account, and not someone else. Answer your preset security questions and follow the instructions to change your password and recover your account.

Proceed by entering the verification code you received on your mobile number to change your password. (Express Photo)

Alternatively, if your Google account is linked to a phone, you may see a notification on the phone instead of a security question to verify your identity. The notification will ask you if it is you trying to change the password. Proceed by tapping on the ‘Yes’ button and your original browser window should now straightaway take you to the password change screen.

Once you reach the new password screen with any of the methods, enter a strong new password that you aren’t likely to forget. Try to write your password down on a piece of paper that is safe, or use a password managing tool.

When you can’t remember your Email account

Things are a little bit more tricky when you can’t remember your Google Email ID itself. However, it is still possible for you to recover your account if you do remember a phone number or recovery Email ID that is associated with the Google account you’re trying to recover.

Most people who also use an Android phone will have their phone numbers linked to their Google Account for services like two-factor authentication. If you do, here’s how you can proceed.

Step 1: Head over again to the Google Account Recovery page. Instead of adding your email ID, choose the “Forgot email?” button on the bottom right.

Step 2: Enter your registered phone number or recovery email ID. A subsequent screen will ask you to enter your full name. Enter the same name here that you entered while creating the account you’re trying to recover.

First, enter a recovery email ID or password. (Express Photo)

Step 3: Google will now send a verification code to your mobile number or recovery email ID. Enter the code you receive on the next screen.

Step 4: After successfully entering the correct six-digit code, Google will show you your email IDs registered with that particular phone number or recovery email. In case you have that number linked to multiple Google accounts, you will find them all listed here.

Enter the six-digit verification code to see which Google accounts are registered with the phone number/ recovery email ID. (Express Photo)

Step 5: Choose the account you want to recover. Proceed by entering your password. If you don’t remember the password for this account either, you can proceed by selecting the “Forgot Password” button on the top left, and referring to the above section to change your password.

Tip: If you do not have a recovery email ID or registered mobile number, it may still be possible to find your forgotten email ID. In case you have accessed that email ID via a browser, you still might have the browser history from that day.

If you do, go to the browser history for that day and try finding your Gmail tab(s). The Gmail tabs will likely have your email address as the tab names. From here, you can get your email ID and proceed with the password recovery section of this article to change your password too.