Ask HN: Google login has circular dependency

11 points

a year ago

I just changed to a new iPhone. After setup, the gmail app requires me to confirm using two factor authentication using one of the following methods:

1. Tap Yes on a notification on my iPhone, which I don't receive because I am not logged in into any google accounts

2. Verify using prompt on the Gmail App on my phone (I can't use gmail on chrome on my laptop), which I can't use since I am trying to login into Gmail anyway

3. Authenticator App, which I am signed out of and if I try to sign in, needs me to verify using 2FA

4. Get an SMS. This option is disabled because other secure options are available.

5. Contact Google support, this will take 3-5 business days.

How do you sign in into Google products on a new device if you don't have access to your old device? At the very least 2FA should support email code or text code as a backup.

Found a useful discussion: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255403865?sortBy=rank

10 comments