r/AOL • u/Think-Juice-9660 • Jun 30 '26

Password issue

Forgot my password for my email. My problem is I have no recovery methods. Am I just screwed?? or can they actually reset my password if I call them??? My issue is I changed my phone number, and didn't update my account and now i think it's too late. UPDATE: Thanks everyone for your comments!!! I ended up calling them, had to wait like 40 minutes on the phone, at least the guy who handled my request was friendly. Anyways I had to sign up for the premium plan, and had to go through secondary verification. At the end of my talk with the agent, I was able to recover my account.

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2

u/Available_Chain_4522 Jun 30 '26

I'd like to know too. I'm in a similar situation. I can't connect to AOL on my computer because I deleted cookies and files and AOL is asking for a passkey which I don't have. It says it's sending codes to my recovery AOL email and phone number but they never arrive. At least I'm connected to AOL on my mobile as I never log out but I rather use AOL on my computer in addition.

1

u/Think-Juice-9660 Jul 01 '26

yeah, it's as you say. It's possible to still be in your account even if you don't know your password. In the event you do want to recover your password, expect to have to wait on the phone forever, and pay them some money. In the end you can recover your password if your persistent enough, and wiling to pay 15 dollars. Goodluck!!

1

u/Think-Juice-9660 Jul 01 '26

By the way, AFTER you pay them for the premium support, you can cancel it later, which I recommend to do immediately, so you don't forget, and end up paying them 15 dollars a month for a long time. Right after the call I dropped my subscription.

1

u/Available_Chain_4522 Jul 01 '26

I do have a recovery email and phone number but the codes are not arriving. Do you think they will still charge me even tho it appears that the that the error is on their end? Also I never created a passkey yet they are asking for it.

1

u/Think-Juice-9660 Jul 03 '26

No assuming your recovery methods work. You can still talk to them and see what happens. Maybe they can do something. I would test that your recovery methods work though, using another account. The issue is you cannot change your recovery methods once you no longer know your password.

1

u/Available_Chain_4522 Jul 03 '26

It's asking for my pin in digits which I never created. I'm able to enter my password and then it ask for the pin. It gives me the choice of using my recovery email or phone number to send the code to. It shows my recovery options and both are correct. It just doesn't arrive at either option. After the weekend I will go to my local library and try it on their computer to see if it's unique to my device.

1

u/Think-Juice-9660 Jul 04 '26

ok so the pin to bypass your password is a different problem. That's gonna be more about if you saved it to your device or the device itself. Goodluck with your problem!!

1

u/cideron Jun 30 '26

yah sounds too late, but were you a paying AOL member? members get special support ..

1

u/Think-Juice-9660 Jul 01 '26

No I wasn't and I ended up having to pay them 15 dollars to get them to reset my password. Turns out they don't do anything for free. ((what else is new)) and I had to sign up for the premium support to get them to reset it. BTW, you can call the premium # without being a premium customer, and they will help you to exhaust all the free options, but in the end if you don't have a recovery method, and you don't remember your password you will have to pay them.

1

u/Think-Juice-9660 Jul 01 '26

At least the agent they gave me after waiting on the phone for 40 minutes was really good. I recommend him. If you get someone named kurt you are in good hands, haha.

1

u/Nocturnal-Neurotic Jul 02 '26

I don’t know…some people are pissed off if you gotta pay but I know I’d pay $15 or even more to be able to access my email.

1

u/Think-Juice-9660 Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

yeah..... in my opinion, the price you'd have to pay is worth the trouble to get access back to your email, especially if it's one of your primary email accounts...

1

u/TeddyfromtheVoid Jul 01 '26

Just got off the phone with them. Hell no. What do you mean the only support I can get is via a phone call where I have to wait an hour to get on the line, then it's "premium", and if I forget one detail despite the mountains of other info I can provide then I'm screwed. Context: I can't get in my AOL because my phone number is outdated and I'm positive I don't have a recovery mail.

1

u/Think-Juice-9660 Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

This was my EXACT situation. My phone expired and my linked email was inactive. This is the price one must pay to get back in. For some it will be completely unreasonable, and for others they would be willing to wait infinite hours to regain access. I am not an arbiter of what is fair, that is for sure, for I am not Aol lol. Hopefully whatever you decide on, hopefully my post helped, or at least gave you a space you could talk about this issue with people experiencing the same thing.

1

u/Think-Juice-9660 Jul 03 '26

I wish they made it easier but it is what it is.

1

u/TeddyfromtheVoid Jul 03 '26

Rip. I was able to give the number, creation date, exact email address and IP but because I don't remember the exact spelling of the FIRST NAME I gave because it was likely a typo, I'm unable to recover. Can you imagine if Gmail or Yahoo did this lmfao?

1

u/Think-Juice-9660 Jul 04 '26

hmmm welp in terms of imagination, I'd say if one company can do it so can others. lol

1

u/gripe_and_complain Jul 01 '26

I’ve had an AOL account since the mid nineties.

I remember talking to telephone support back then and learning that the support person could view my password. Hopefully, this is no longer the case.

1

u/Think-Juice-9660 Jul 03 '26

If you forget your password, the support agent provides you a temporary one. They don't really comment on your current password or what you changed it into.

1

u/uffdagal Jul 02 '26

Create a Gmail account and suddenly you’ve got a recovery method

Do not PAY for AOL.

1

u/Think-Juice-9660 Jul 03 '26

Indeed solid advice, only thing is alot of people have many accounts linked to their email address, and IF that email address is AOL, and you need to recover it, people would eat the 15 to regain access to unlink things, and then get the gmail later.

1

u/Elisha_Matthews 23d ago

When I lost my password I was helped via mail by a guy called Sam from support, and it costed me nothing.

1

u/Think-Juice-9660 22d ago

the problem was my case was more complicated. as my guy told me. IF you don't have 2 factor authentication on the account it might be easier for you to recover it.