Bitcoin Forum

WARNING.  Do NOT use GMAIL for Exchange emails.

This happened to me recently, i have been locked out of my Gmail account with absolutely No way at all of ever getting "back in".  A quick search online and you will see posts from thousands of people worldwide, though absolutely no fault of their own, locked out of Gmail with absolutely no way of ever getting back in, even with 2FA on account.

Googles FULY AUTOMATED system is a nightmare and always leads to a dead end.

So PLEASE heed my warning and do not use Gmail.   I am currently locked out of my Bitrex account because i need to click a link in my email to log into account, you have to do this if

1. you are signing in from new location or your computer does not save locations, uses VPN.
2. you have not signed in for 30 days.

NOTE: Bittrex now for 4 days have not replied to my request for change of email, BUT obviously i had to make this request from another account as i can not log into Bittrex ZenDesk as i also need to click email link (thats im locked out of) to sign into help desk.

I am shocked that this is not more well known in Crypto, but believe me, there are going to be more and more posts about people getting locked out of account with no access ever again to funds.

If anyone here, has ever got back into a locked gmail account, please let me know how you done it.  Also to add, im signing in with same computer, location, ip as i have done so for the last 7 years, Gmail has gone "rogue".

How exactly did you get locked out of your gmail account? Did you forget your password or what is going on? Have you connected that gmail account to a phone number or alternative email account that you can use to recover it from?

A quick search finds a bunch or resources, here are just two that you can check:
https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/googleaccount/locked-out-of-your-google-account/1/
https://support.google.com/accounts/thread/2353456?hl=en

You can try to reach out to Bittrex or someone from their community over reddit. I am not sure if this is their official channel or not, but you can try it out since you can't access your exchange account.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Bittrex/hot/

I've been previously locked by Google as well. I hard bricked my phone and in order to prove that I'm the owner of my account, they requested me to log back into my old phone and give them a One-Time Password from it. And as I had it hard bricked, there was no way I could log back into it..

Google truly is a nightmare. Thanks God I got rid of their services entirely now.

I've also been locked out of Bittrex. In order to prove ownership of my account, they request KYC although I never completed it. Thanks God I have also gotten rid of their abusive exchange.

Don't you have a "backup email" like a second email for recovery? You should always have a backup plan in case of disaster. It should be possible to recover access you your account.
Never use the same email address for different services, at least for me it's more secure to have only one email for exchanges, different one for banking, third one for random browsing. It's a bit complicated but if you by mistake open some "shitty" link everything is "GONE".

To Add.

All i had was Email address and password.  
Using same computer, same location as last 10+ years.

Which is useless, But reading online many who have 2fa backups also face the same problem.

Yes, there are many links of "help" but trust me, NOTHING HELPS.  Gmail will put you in endless loop of "we need more time" "We cant verify you"  There are many stories like mine, accounts 10+ year old with absolutely no way of contacting anyone from gmail.

Looking on official threads, the "help staff" say "my hands are tied" "nothing we can do".

It a big problem for many, but a even bigger problem for people in Crypto who will find themselves locked out of exchanges.

Exchanges need to be warning people against using Gmail. Its really that bad.

I am also having my Gmail on my Android for half a decade now and I never faced any such issues with it?

I am having recovery email and verified mobile number which is not the case with you?

---

You will not be facing any issues when you are having 2FA via authentication apps instead of OTPs to your email or phone number so how exactly people got locked due to Gmail issue?

Yeah, i have Yubikey on email now.     There is zero explanation why people got locked out, they just did.

The Point is. Its impossible to get back into Gmail once you are locked out.
The links are useless as you end up stuck in a loop where Gmail says they cant verify its you and so on.

These are the countless posts im seeing from people and i now know this from personal experience. Gmail think, "just make another one" Which is all fine and well unless you need your email to log into exchanges.   :'( :-\

You opted for highest security with yubikey like gadgets but made mistake with logging in with wrong email, never trust google products for anything with your money is my recommendation for anyone in the future.

I never used Yubikey like authentication keys for accessing so not having much knowledge about it but if you added any recovery methods in the past then it is easier to recover right?

This happened to me a few years back with one of my unlinked accounts
very frustrating, seems like you are going around in circles trying to deal
with automation.

I pretty much have ditched Gmail, I moved to ProtonMail and havent looked
back although I do still have the Gmail account for what I class as non-critical
mail, News, Twitter etc.

For sensitive personal mail they go to PM

I can recommend ProtonMail, its a paid service though and they take Bitcoin payments

This only happened to me when I was new around gmail in 2009 I guess, this is why recovery emails are necessary when signing up for a new email, with recovery email as backup you won't be shut out of your email forever, also it's wrong to sign into your email from different locations, strictly to those who likes using VPN servers every time

I've been with Gmail for decades already and, quite frankly, I'm also kind of shocked that something like this is actually taking place. I haven't had any problem whatsoever with Gmail so I wasn't really thinking that it's possible to be locked out from it.

I'm now wondering what are the possible reasons a Gmail account is suddenly locked by its automated system. There must be triggers. I don't think the system would suddenly lock an account which has absolutely no suspicious activity observed as per its trigger system.

I use Gmail in my Binance account and the worst thing so far that happened is the spams for their events and such. So far, the best thing that I know to use for emails are Protonmail, pretty secure considering that the people who founded it are scientists who met at CERN. The only thing that I can think that will lock is you might be using it on multiple locations or devices, this happened to me although I can't vouch for you because I was on a vacation and I bought a device there so it had me locked for around 1 day.

I think the right warning is never to use vpn to log into your email, google takes location and ip very seriously, once you login from unknown location and you have no recovery email set up already you are in trouble, you will be locked out and you will have to go through some unsatisfying ways to get it back

Usually they lock out if you log in from a completely different country and i was locked out a few years back and since i included my phone number as one of the recovery options i was able to recover the account easily as they will send an OTP in your registered number. If you have not done that the only option is to wait for the response from their customer service representatives and they will ask you to verify your account by asking you to provide the recent mails you have sent or received.

that is why I use 2 email another one is from yahoo it solely purpose is for recovery email for my gmail and vice versa

I've been using Gmail on all my transactions and login confirmation and have not faced any issue, if you got locked they will ask you question like the month and date that you created your Gmail, they will also ask for your back up email also, it usually takes 3 days to get back your account if the information you provided is correct, to make your account secure always log in to the IP you are using, they will send you a notification if it is you if you are login to a different location, it's a safeguard that you need to understand.

Been using Gmail for almost 6 years already. All of them have a recovery phone number and email, also with 2fa (authy). Actually, I have more than 5 active accounts 2 of them used on exchanges including bittrex tho I'm not active in bittrex anymore. I also use VPN yet didn't face such a problem.

These are safety precautions or lets say their security in terms of changing device, changed IP or whatsoever. Gmail does usually asked out these kind of verifications and as an owner of said email you should really
know on what are those details even on the slightest which is connected into that email.

This is why when you do really make an email even that creation date would really be relevant to keep or remember because you would really be needing this one day if you would get locked or
need to verify that it is your email and not just trying to steal or bruteforce it.

Just like others been saying here is that ive been using gmail since i do know internet and i dont have any problems when it comes to locked up or not able to logged in.

This situation sucks.

In the future, you still can use GMAIL /software/ if you find it convenient and have some level of security and solution in these situations.

Here is what I'm using:

OWN domain + G Suite /paid/ thus I have a personalized email with the Gmail software /as I like it/. In case of any problems like getting locked out and so on, I can edit the domain MX record and forward the emails to any other mail provider.

Gmail is what I used for all exchanges I have accounts on, the fact is I don't leave assets on any exchanges either small or big exchanges and I also make sure I activate 2fa authentication code too, also it's bad habit to keep login into your exchange account with VPN, your IP address will constantly be different and this can make your account looks suspicious

Like it or not, there are no free alternative options for Gmail, some offer a lot of options, but I would be more afraid of it being their services or stealing data than I fear for it in Gmail (they are doing the same  :-X.)
They present an easy interface and have a lot of alternatives options. The most problematic are those who have multiple e-mails and have not prepared the appropriate alternatives options.

Generally protonmail is the best alternative if you are ready to pay.

I only slightly suspect that there must be an error in you so that it becomes a problem, even I have used GMAIL for many years on several exchanges, it is still safe, including the Bittrex exchange, which always has a confirmation link to log in there, so there is only a problem. some so not all have to avoid GMAIL for exchanges some people are also very important with these emails it's just that they are safer without clicking on those suspicious links.

Anyway, I use Gmail using VPN, it's not a problem, it's just that the most important 2fa must be active.

I've been in the exact same situation.

I put down some random mobile number when I signed up because I did not want to provide my actual number for privacy reasons, and one day I was just locked out of my account for no apparent reason (I didn't even use a VPN at the time).

I submitted a request to Google Support but haven't heard from them since. It's honestly a pain in the ass. Use Tutanota, Protonmail, etc. who actually respect your privacy and won't actually lock yourself out of your own account. Unless you are absolutely certain that your mobile, 2FA and recovery email etc. are all in order.

Now I'm really irritated, I also use gmail for a lot of exchanges and so far everything has been ok. May I ask why did gmail block you? Thanks for your warning, I will probably switch to protonmail

I don't know why, but I can't imagine my life without Google, I always use their mail, online documents, browser.  Gmail is generally a part of me, I can't imagine my work if I ever lose access to my account or block it.  To be on the safe side, I always add a backup email address, a valid phone number. I truly believe it will help me if something goes wrong.

Maybe it is the fault of op for not keeping proper record of his log in details. Usually the internet is not a place you don't put your records down accurately. Maybe this is the challenge that he didn't understand. backing your details up or having to save it is important. The solution is to try and change his passwords to the email through other means or device. I also understand that gmail is not easy to operate because it is tied to google and you have many paascodes to provide when their is issue like providing for your mail and google itself.

i got similar situation, even tho i can get my account back. but i dont  use it anymore for any crypto related stuff, because i realize the danger.

That's exactly what happened to me about 2 years ago.
Someday, there was nothing... I mean I did not do anything with my gmail.
That day, when I tried to login, it said my account broke their rules.
Which rules?
No explanation.
I got stressed like crazy. I used my Gmail account for banking, business, Binance, etc
I contacted Binance and they asked for KYC thing and a video of me tried to login to the account.
What could I do? I have no choice.
It took me about 1 month before I granted access to my Binance account.
Like OP said, there were no help. Nothing.
I have googled and tried any solution I encountered. Nothing worked.
I remember finding Gmail specific customer service.... no there is no such thing.
I went into loops many times.
Trus me guys, use other email service. I use zoho mail.

I believe the stress is so high that it decrease my imunity and I got hospitalized for 1 week.
Well, I have some money there that I have worked for years. It's not much for many people but for me it is my very first time I earn money by myself.

I also lost my old bitcointalk account. (username: Gondes21) hiks.

VintageBazaar. I feel you man.

I just want to share my experience. Thank you

When using up Gmail then you would really be needing to remember on what day you have created such account.The contact details you had inputted and

the alternate email when it  comes to recovery and there's no other way to retrieve it back once you had lost access or some sort.So far in using up gmail
i havent experience the similar scenario.Im not really that much off confident on using other email providers other than Gmail itself.