Cannot log in to my old WordPress account (onlyu217.wordpress.com)
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Hello WordPress Support,
I need help recovering access to my old WordPress site: onlyu217.wordpress.com.
I created this account around 10 years ago, and at that time I probably used my Yahoo Mail ((email visible only to moderators and staff)) to register. However, since I have not used that Yahoo account for a very long time, Yahoo has deleted all of my emails.
Now, when I try to log in or reset my password, I cannot receive any confirmation emails from WordPress. I have already tried with my current email, but I still do not receive anything.
Could you please guide me on how I can recover or regain access to my site? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much for your support.
Best regards,
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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Thank you for your guidance.
However, what I really need is to log in to my old WordPress account so that I can access all the information and content I had there.Could you please advise me how to recover the old account itself, not just the website?
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Thank you for your suggestions. Unfortunately, none of the three recovery methods work in my case:
- Transaction ID: I have never made any payments, so I don’t have a transaction ID.
- Activation URL or Key: My old Yahoo email ((email visible only to moderators and staff)) has already been deleted, and I cannot receive any new emails from WordPress.
- Two-Step Authentication Codes: I never enabled two-step authentication on this account.
Because of these reasons, I cannot use the standard recovery options.
Could you please advise me if there is any other way to verify my ownership and regain access to my old account (onlyu217.wordpress.com)?Thank you for your help.
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Hello, @jajjajja!
I understand that you’d like to access your old account but don’t have access to the email linked to it anymore, right?If you no longer have access to that email address, the only way to prove ownership would be by using our account recovery method here:
https://wordpress.com/support/account-recovery/#verify-your-account-ownership
There you’ll find the only types of documentation we can accept to verify ownership. If you don’t have any of those, the only available option would be to request making your sites private if you’d prefer they not be accessible to the public.
Please let us know if you have any questions or need any extra help, and we’ll be happy to assist you.
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Hello, @elcristofue
Yes, you understood correctly that I want to log back into my old account. However, I would like to clarify something important: just a few months ago, I was still actively using this account. I may have received some notifications about updates or security measures, but I ignored them. Then, I was suddenly forced to log out.
When I tried to log back in with the same password (which I have not changed since around 2010), I realized that the login process now requires verification through my old Yahoo email address, which is no longer accessible.
This account is extremely important to me because it is the admin for several sites belonging to my friends. For this reason, I really need a solution to recover access to the account itself, not just to make the sites private.
If necessary, I am willing to provide proof of ownership, such as:
- The list of sites where my account is currently an admin.
- Screenshots or other evidence of me using the account recently before being logged out.
Another possible solution could be temporarily locking this account to ensure that no one else can use it, and then helping me update the linked email address to my new Gmail account: (email visible only to moderators and staff).
Could you please advise me if this can be done, or if there are any other ways you can help me recover this account based on the information and evidence I can provide?
Thank you very much for your understanding and support.
Best regards,
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Thanks for letting us know, @jajjajja. I completely understand your situation.
However, for security and privacy reasons, if you no longer have access to the email linked to the account, the only way we can update the email is by proving ownership of the account. This can be done by using our account recovery method and providing one of the types of documentation mentioned in the guide I shared above.
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Hello,
Thank you for your response. I have checked again and confirmed that the primary email linked to my WordPress account is (email visible only to moderators and staff)
. Unfortunately, this Yahoo account has already been deactivated, and I have no way to access it anymore.Because of this, I am unable to provide the types of documentation required in the account recovery method you shared. Since the original email no longer exists, I kindly hope that WordPress can provide me with an alternative solution so that I can update my account to a new and active email address.
This account is very important to me, as it is connected with several sites where I am the admin. I would greatly appreciate any possible way you can help me recover it, even if it requires an additional verification process.
Thank you very much for your understanding and support.
Best regards,
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Hello WordPress Support,
When I try to sign in, I receive this message:
“Your account has been blocked as a security precaution. To continue, you must reset your password.”I have been using this account for many years, and I still remember my password. However, I cannot reset it because the recovery email linked to this account ((email visible only to moderators and staff)) has been permanently deactivated by Yahoo, and they confirmed that it cannot be restored.
This account is very important to me because it is the admin for several sites. I kindly ask if you can unblock my account or provide me with an alternative way to verify ownership, so that I can update my recovery email to my current Gmail address ((email visible only to moderators and staff)).
I am willing to provide any additional proof of ownership (such as the list of sites I manage or screenshots of my recent usage) if required.
Thank you very much for your understanding and support.
Best regards,
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Here’s a draft reply you can use for that forum thread:
Hi there,
If you’re having trouble logging into your old WordPress.com account (onlyu217.wordpress.com), here are a few steps you can try:
- Password Reset – Go to https://wordpress.com/log-in and click “Lost your password?”. Enter the email address or username linked to the account. WordPress will send a reset link if the email is still active.
- Check All Emails – Sometimes the account may be linked to an older email address. Try searching your inboxes (including spam folders) for past WordPress.com emails to identify the correct one.
- Username vs. Site Address – Remember that the site address (onlyu217.wordpress.com) is not always the same as your username. Make sure you’re entering the correct username or email.
- WordPress.com Support – If you no longer have access to the email tied to the account, you’ll need to contact WordPress.com Support directly. They might ask you for verification details (like proof of ownership, billing info if you had upgrades, etc.).
- Community Support – You can also browse or post in the WordPress.com Forums where staff and experienced users can guide you further.
Hope this helps you regain access to your old account!
Would you like me to make this sound short and casual (like a fellow user replying in a forum) or formal and detailed (like a support-style answer)?
Thanks
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Hi there,
Thank you so much for taking the time to share these detailed steps with me. I really appreciate your help.
I’ve already tried all of these options to the best of my ability, but as I mentioned above, the recovery email for my account no longer exists, so I cannot complete the password reset process.
Because of this, I sincerely hope that a moderator or WordPress staff member can step in and help remove the “security precaution” block on my account so that I can update my email and regain full access.
Thanks again for your kind support!
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Hi @jajjajja ignore the spammer replies (sigh)
Hopefully staff will return to this thread soon with some advice. It looks like you’re stuck in a catch 22 if you cannot log in to the correct account because of the security block and can’t reset your password because of no longer having access to the email account associated with that account.
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Hi @2020testjj,
Thank you so much for your kind words and understanding. Just to clarify, when I mentioned some replies seemed AI-generated, I didn’t mean yours — I truly value the time and support you’ve given here, and I also appreciate everyone who has taken the time to pay attention to this topic.
What I really hope for now is that staff can provide a solution for me to remove the security block, since I’m currently forced by the system to reset my password but I can’t do that without access to the old email.
Thanks again for your support!
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Hi @jajjajja,
I appreciate your patience with this and your determination to look for a solution. As previously mentioned, our only options to verify ownership would be for you to share one of these options with us:
- Transaction ID: A transaction ID is a unique code generated for your payment. If you purchased an upgrade on the site with a credit card, PayPal, or another method, you can retrieve a transaction ID from your bank or PayPal statements or locate a past WordPress.com receipt sent to your email address.
- Activation URL or key: When you created your WordPress.com account, we sent an activation link to your email address that you were required to click. If the email you received included a confirmation button instead of a link, you can copy the activation URL by right-clicking on the button and selecting “Copy Link Address” (this text may vary slightly depending on your browser.)
- Two-Step Authentication Codes: If your account has two-step authentication, you can provide a current code from your authenticator app to prove ownership.
For privacy and security reasons, these are our only accepted forms of verification. If you’re unable to prove ownership, the only other option would be for us to set the site to private, meaning search engines and users will no longer be able to access it.
If you have any more questions on this, feel free to let us know.
- Transaction ID: A transaction ID is a unique code generated for your payment. If you purchased an upgrade on the site with a credit card, PayPal, or another method, you can retrieve a transaction ID from your bank or PayPal statements or locate a past WordPress.com receipt sent to your email address.
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Hi @cailebeth,
Thank you for your reply and for clarifying the verification options. However, I would like to emphasize an important point:
My issue is not that I forgot my password. I still remember it and can log in with it. The real problem is that my account has been blocked for security reasons, and the system forces me to reset my password before I can access it again.
Since the recovery email linked to my account ((email visible only to moderators and staff)) has been permanently deleted by Yahoo, I cannot complete this reset. As I mentioned earlier, I have never purchased upgrades (so I don’t have a transaction ID) and I never enabled two-step authentication either.
So my request is specifically about the security block: would it be possible to review or remove this block so that I can log in with my existing password and then update my account email to a valid one?
The instructions I’ve received so far all focus on the assumption that I lost my password, but that’s not the case. My concern is that this situation is shifting the burden entirely onto a user who has been with WordPress for 16 years. I hope you can see how unfair this feels, since I’m locked out by a system safeguard that I have no way to bypass, even though I can prove I know my credentials.I sincerely ask if there’s any possible way for staff to review this security block specifically, instead of treating it as a simple password reset case.
I truly hope WordPress doesn’t want to lose such long-time users over this technical issueThank you very much for your understanding and support.
Best regards,
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Hi again, @jajjajja!
Thank you for sharing all of this information with us. We will contact you by email to continue looking into possible options with you.
Thank you for your patience with this.
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Hi again, @cailebeth !
Thank you so much for your follow-up. I’ve received the email from your team, but the recovery options suggested so far seem to be mainly for users who have forgotten their password.
In my case, the real issue is the security block, not a forgotten password, so I truly hope someone from your team can help me find a more suitable solution to restore access.
Thanks again for your patience and support — it really means a lot to me.
Best regards,
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Hi there!
We’ve replied to the email ticket you submitted, so I’m closing this thread as a duplicate.
- The topic ‘Cannot log in to my old WordPress account (onlyu217.wordpress.com)’ is closed to new replies.
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