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Forum Discussion
No valid email address - no code
Hi, I have a personal free account, but also worked as a mentor in a school for a few years and created an account to save school files. I recently retired and lost the email address that I used with...
Nancy
Dropbox Staff
Dropbox StaffThanks for posting here, Vaughan W!
Just to clarify, you know the current password of your Dropbox account, but you’re being asked to insert a 6-digit code which is sent to the inaccessible email address, correct?
Does this happen no matter the web browser you try to access your Dropbox account from? Are you currently signed in to that account on any other devices/web browsers?
Let me know, and we can take it from there.
I'm having the exact same issue. I have a dropbox account associated with an email account I deactivated some time ago. I have the password, but when attempting to login, it sends a six-digit code to the deactivated account. Is there anyway I can gain access to my old files?
Sorry for the late reply - I work a shift. No, I have 2 accounts - the one is mine for my personal use, and the other I used when working as a mentor in the school, where I saved things relating to students, and a record of who I talked to and what I did. I left that position nearly a year ago and used an email address associated with the organisation I worked for within the school. I no longer have access to that email address and so cannot access the code that is sent to verify it is me trying to sign in. Therefore I am unable to change the email address and get the files I need to access.
- Megan
Hi Vaughan W, I'm afraid that without access to the email address itself, it wouldn't be possible to read this code. Is it not possible to recreate the email address and attempt to login again?
Do you happen to have any old, connected devices to that account, in order to access the files there?
Hi Megan, I don't have an older device - I updated my Mac and iPhone since then. I'll see if I can get my previous employer to temporarily recreate my email address and see if that works. These files are so important and need to be archived.
Regards
It sounds like your best bet may be to try contacting the school you mentored at, and ask them to forward the code from your old email (assuming they haven't completely deleted it -- if this is the case, they may still be able to either recover, or recreate the email address). If it's a time-sensitive code (as many of them are), you may also want to be on the phone with the person managing this so that they can forward it in a timely manner. You can explain that you have personal documents on there that you need access to, and reassure them that you will change the email associated with the account as soon as you get in. Hopefully things were amicable enough when you left that they'll be willing to take care of this.
*EDIT: Also, if the things on that account are actually yours (personal or otherwise), then those are probably covered under proprietary information, and they would be in the wrong for denying you access. If they decide to get testy about giving you access or helping you, then you should make sure that you make mention of that.
Hi Nancy, yes to your question about being asked to enter a code sent to the dysfunt email address, and no to your question about browsers. I'm on a Mac and have so far only used Safari.
I have 2 free DB accounts – a personal one and a work 1. I worked in a school and left that job but have some very important documents saved in that DB account. Without notification, DB created a safe way of getting into our accounts by sending a code to our email address. I no longer have access to that old work address email, neither can I recreate it (I tried by contacting my ex employer). DB will give me no help AT ALL but advise me to contact their forums or Facebook. I’ve contacted those and - along with others experiencing the same problem - am told there is nothing I can do about it. Where can I go for help or must I seek legal advice?
- Mark
Super User II
The email address is the only way to verify who you are. Without access to that it is very, very unlikely you will be able to get access to the account (the T&C's do state its your responsibility to ensure this is accurate).
The only thing you can do is contact support via www.dropbox.com/support and ask for help. Do this while NOT logged in to here, or any account.
More info is at: https://help.dropbox.com/account-access/lost-email-access
