How to recover your Google account, including Gmail and Google Drive, when locked out

I know first-hand how frustrating it is to get locked out of your Google account and lose access to much of your online life. I got locked out of my Google account six years ago and it wasn’t until a year later I found an easy solution that could have avoided me being locked out for a full month.

If you find yourself locked out of such Google products as Gmail, Google Drive, Google Photos or others, this simple workaround will help get you get through the account recovery process much faster than the manual method, which can take a minimum of 3-5 days, or, as in my case, weeks. It’s actually pretty simple.

How to recover your Google account for Google One members

  1. Go to Google One.
  2. Click the Call button at the top of the screen.
  3. Tell the person who answers that you’re locked out. They should be able to help you.

Click the Call button at the top of the screen.

How to recover your Google account for non-Google One members

  1. Go to Google One.
  2. Choose a monthly storage option. You can get started with 100 GB of storage for just $1.99 a month.
  3. After you set up your storage, click the Call button and tell them you’re locked out.

While I can’t absolutely guarantee this will help you get your Google account back in short order, I can tell you it worked flawlessly for my colleague and she got back into hers shortly after opening a Google One account. While some may object to paying, if you can afford to spend $19.99 a year for 100 GB of storage and access to human tech support (for this or any problem you have), it could be well worth it if it solves your issue quickly and gives you overall peace of mind.