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Forum Discussion

Balawayne's avatar
Balawayne
Explorer | Level 4
4 years ago

Lost phone with Google authenticator and couldn't sign in now

Hi, I have a Dropbox account in which I have enabled 2 step verification by google authenticator. I lost my phone and I couldn't access my Google Authenticator for Dropbox. Because of that when I t...
Account Access
Account Settings
Dropbox Basic
Security
  • Mark's avatar
    Mark
    4 years ago

    No, the account is totally lost without those codes or the backup ones. 

     

    It is not possible to get in without either. 

Mark's avatar
Mark
Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II

I'm afraid that without either the phone and the codes OR your backup codes the account is lost. Are you logged in anywhere already? That will help you download everything to set up a new account.

 

Simply put you told Dropbox to only allow people in who had one of those two things - you now dont have them so it cannot let people in. 

 

Also, I have found before that if you re-add the Google Authenticator app to a phone it restores all previously set up 2FA - have you tried that?

Balawayne's avatar
Balawayne
Explorer | Level 4
4 years ago
Mark, I didn't login anywhere with that account. That's the issue here. I tried installing google authenticator but it was not showing up the codes.
But I do have the same number now. I have the same number. Is there any way we can login using our mobile number or with OTP sent to registered mobile number? I can do that if it is possible.

I don't want to lose the data in my dropbox. Please help.
  • Mark's avatar
    Mark
    Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II
    4 years ago

    Unless your phone was set up as a backup on the account, no, I'm afraid not. 

     

    The Authenticator App does not link to phone numbers so unless you explicitly added your number to Dropbox it wont know it.

    • Balawayne's avatar
      Balawayne
      Explorer | Level 4
      4 years ago

      So what is the solution for this? What can I do? 

      • Rich's avatar
        Rich
        Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II
        4 years ago
        Balawayne wrote:

        So what is the solution for this? What can I do? 

        Unfortunately, nothing. Mark is correct. Without your emergency backup codes there's no way to access the account. Even Dropbox won't help you gain access. It would be a serious security issue if they did.

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