Update, Jan. 25, 2025: This story, originally published Jan. 24, has been updated with a way of getting Google customer support by call, chat or email as well as more information about how to provide a phone number to Google and how this is used to protect your Gmail account.
Google is a great proponent of best practices when it comes to user security, be that the introduction of exciting new identity check features on your Android 15 smartphone, and automatic updates to patch Chrome browser vulnerabilities. When things go wrong, however, such as an inability to recover a hacked Gmail account, then users can get understandably frustrated. And that’s what is happening to a number of Gmail users who have found themselves in the unenviable position of having given Gmail their phone numbers, as requested by Google, and then finding they are being told they cannot be used when the security need is greatest. Here’s what you need to know.
Gmail Wants Your Phone Number—Here’s Why And How
Your Google account is the gateway to your Gmail account, break into one and get access to the other. The problem here is that your Gmail account is a true treasure-chest of valuable information for any hacker or cybercriminal who gains such access. Which is why it needs to be protected as best as it can, and that includes handing your phone number over to Google. Yes, I know that there are all sorts of reasons that people balk at the idea, but I’m looking at this purely from the security perspective, and there are way more compelling reasons to comply than deny, in my never humble opinion.
To add a phone number to your Gmail account, you need to head for your Google account and then the personal info settings, which you should see in the navigation panel options. From here, look for contact info, and then it’s the rather obvious route of “phone” followed by “set up” in order to enter the phone number you want to use for recovery and verification purposes. Google advises that, for recovery and verification purposes, you should always choose a phone number that is able to receive SMS text messages, is used exclusively by yourself alone, as well as used regularly and kept with you. In other words, your primary smartphone that is always nearby and isn’t accessible to others, which could open the verification process up to potential risk.
A Gmail recovery phone number is essential when you consider that account compromise attempts have become increasingly more sophisticated over the years. Everything from AI-driven phishing attacks to the use of infostealer malware can be used as part of the account takeover attack methodology. “Extra confirmation by phone helps keep spammers from abusing our systems,” a Google support document said, explaining why it sometimes asks for a verification phone number before you can sign into your Gmail account. Substitute spammers with hackers at your leisure, as the protection applies to both in equal measure.
Google said that this Gmail recovery phone number can be used in a number of ways, including:
- To send you a code to get into your account if you’re ever locked out
- To block someone from using your account without your permission
- To make it easier for you to prove that an account is yours
- To tell you if there’s suspicious activity on your account
A Google spokesperson once told me some years ago, and it remains as true now as it was then, that “adding a recovery phone number to your account is much like putting on your seatbelt when you ride in a car: it drastically improves your safety when you use it.”
Which is great until that seatbelt breaks.
This Gmail Phone Number Cannot Be Used For Verification
One user recently posted their frustrations with the Google phone number account verification process to the Gmail support subreddit complaining they had “tried every phone number I know” and were still facing the same number not used for verification brick wall. The issue here appears to have been suspicious activity detected with the account in question, which triggered the user verification process. This is a good thing, make no mistake: until it’s not. The instructions the user was requested to follow basically wanted that phone number attached to the account to be entered for verification purposes so that a code could be sent by text. The request started a loop of “this phone number cannot be used for verification” that led back to the same request.
According to a Google support page, the solution to the ”this phone number cannot be used for verification” error is, erm, to use a different number. “To protect you from abuse,” the support posting continued, “we limit the number of accounts each phone number can create. You can use a family member or friend’s phone number instead. It may also help if you attempt to use a number from a different phone carrier.” All of which is, in my never humble opinion, about as much use as a chocolate teapot when it comes to user-friendly support for a security issue.
Gmail Working On Something That Might Help
The problem here is that there is no phone number for Gmail or Google support, of course, to have a discussion when trying to resolve a problem like this. All you have is the online support documentation and processes to work with. Unless that is, you are a paid Google One subscriber, and then you can try tackling the issue from the Google One Help service side of Google. If you are willing to pay for it, you can “reach out to Google One support for help via chat, a phone call or email,” it seems. I pay for it, but with subscription fees ranging from $1.99 to $9.99 per month, it’s not for everyone. You do get benefits such as extra data storage and dark web monitoring, but the enhanced access to customer support is probably the biggest of them, in my never humble opinion. It should be noted, however, that Google said that “Google One offers support for a variety of issues that include membership management, usage of Google One features and understanding your storage,” so it’s not going to be a silver bullet for all your Google and Gmail problems.
You start the process by describing the issue as you would if you were searching Google for help, which is precisely what you are doing, in effect. Make this as concise and accurate as possible for the best results. Also, you will need to choose a category that best describes the type of problem you are having. In this case it could be account access issues or verification codes not working, for example.
The next step will pop up a list of potential fixes, also known as online support advice and resources that you will likely have already tried if you get to this point. However, check these out in case you have missed something obvious that might help.
Amazingly, you can opt for getting a call, yes a call, from Google in less than a minute when I took the screenshots, an online chat, which could be up to a couple of hours waiting time, or email.
I reached out to my Gmail contacts, and a spokesperson could only inform me that Google is working on something that “intersects with this question and beyond.” This could be related to either the general ability to conact Google customer support or the verficication codes issue, I am not clear at this point. What it involves won’t be known for a month or so, at the soonest, it would appear.
