We are aware of the issue with the badge emails resending to everyone, we apologise for the inconvenience - learn more here. 

Forum Discussion

Pb17's avatar
Pb17
Explorer | Level 4
9 months ago

Change my email address without having access to email account used to create the Dropbox account.

I changed the linked email for my free Dropbox account and cannot access my old files. How do I recover them?

  • Hey Pb17, it sounds like you might have created a new Dropbox account, instead of changing the email address to your existing one.

     

    Had your files been deleted, then you should be able to see them when accessing your events page. 

     

    When you say the usual ways to access the old account are gone, can you clarify more? I suggest that you either sign out of the current Dropbox account, and then try to sign into the old one, or you can do this using an incognito tab on your browser. 

     

    If you have any problems when doing that, please let me know.

  • Megan's avatar
    Megan
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

    Hi Pb17, welcome to our Community!

     

    Just to clarify: did you manage to change the email linked to your Dropbox account hence you no longer have access to your account, or you no longer have access to the old email address, in order to receive the 6-digit-security code and access it? 

     

    Is it not feasible to recreate the email address and attempt to login again?

     

    Another thing you can perhaps try is to check whether you had previously installed the desktop app on one of your computers. If you had, then there’s a chance your local Dropbox folder is still located there, along with your files.

     

    I hope this clarifies!

    • Pb17's avatar
      Pb17
      Explorer | Level 4

      That was a great idea to use an old computer. Unfortunately my 2013 MacBook is maxed out at El Capitan OS. When I tried accessing Dropbox on the old computer is says there is an updated version of Dropbox and it looks like the current version of Dropbox is not supported by my old iOS10. Any solution?

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

        Access it via the website instead from that device Pb17 ? It should still auto log on

  • angelaaltman's avatar
    angelaaltman
    New member | Level 2
    I need to talk to someone from Dropbox. I unlinked myself from Dropbox, because Dropbox was attached to an old email that I no longer have access to. Now II need to talk to someone from Dropbox. I unlinked myself from Dropbox, because Dropbox was attached to a old email that I no longer have access to. Now I can’t get access to all my documents in the old. Dropbox. Customer service told me to set up a new dropbox I did. How do I get all my old information out of the old dropbox into my new dropbox
    • Hannah's avatar
      Hannah
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

      Sorry to see you're having this issue, angelaaltman.

       

      When you say that you unlinked yourself from Dropbox, can you clarify what steps you followed exactly?

       

      Do you have any devices still linked to the old account?

  • gsrude's avatar
    gsrude
    New member | Level 2

    You can contact the support team for it. You need to open a support ticket and try to retrieve your information. One more thing, you can just provide them with your email and details so that dropbox support can help you get your account back. 

  • PetermHart's avatar
    PetermHart
    Explorer | Level 3

    I have been trying to change the email address on my Dropbox account for months without having access to that email address because it was cancelled due to a business restructure.  I forgot to change the details before the email address disappeared. I keep paying Dropbox for this account and don't want to loose the stored data. I have sent Dropbox details of the CC payments, etc. I can't get a real person to respond. I always need to use a security code sent to the old address. Can anyone help me find a real person in Dropbox?

    • Rich's avatar
      Rich
      Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II

      PetermHart wrote:

      I forgot to change the details before the email address disappeared. I keep paying Dropbox for this account and don't want to loose the stored data.


      You can try contacting Support, but without access to the email account you may not be able to gain access to the Dropbox account. You need to maintain an active email address on your account so you can receive password resets and one-time security codes used during sign in.

       

       

      To contact Support, visit the Support page while you're NOT signed in to a Dropbox address, including these forums, and you'll see an option for sign in issues. It's best to use an Incognito or Private browsing session to make sure you're not signed in.

       

       

      If you're unable to gain access to the account, Support will at least be able to cancel any future payments if the account is on a paid subscription.

      • PetermHart's avatar
        PetermHart
        Explorer | Level 3

        Hello Rich,  Thanks for your response.  I also have a private Dropbox account with a valid (private) email address.   I did contact support and did provide the credit card details of a recent auto payment. I received an email (to my private email) titled: "Oops Did something go wrong ? You deserve to have the right plan."  I concluded that my request for review was interpreted by a chat bot as a sale opportunity.   I can't access the existing Dropbox account because I need a security code that keeps getting sent to the old email address. Peter

    • Walter's avatar
      Walter
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

      Hey PetermHart - did you try to contact our support team as Rich suggested?

       

      If you did and got a ticket ID, please share it with us here so that we can look it up in our system. 

      • PetermHart's avatar
        PetermHart
        Explorer | Level 3

        Hello Walter,  No haven't got a ticket because I haven't got a working email address. My impression is that without a working email address, the only thing that will keep working is the credit card charges.

  • DAJ1's avatar
    DAJ1
    New member | Level 2

    my dropbox account is associated with a now defunct email address. I can use it without problems unless I want to make changes.  I can't change to a new email address because the verification goes to an address I can no longer access - it doesn't exist.  Any ideas? TIA

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

      Firstly download everything immediately to make sure its safe. If you accidentally get logged out your data and account is very likely lost. There is no way to change an email on an account with a defunct email. 

       

      You can try and contact support to ask for help, but, you may be better off just setting up a new account. 

      www.dropbox.com/support

About Settings and Preferences

The Dropbox Community is here to help if you have questions about your account settings and preferences. Learn and share advice with members.

Need more support

If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X or Facebook.

For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.

If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!