I'm locked out of my google account. Should I switch to an iPhone?

[Film freak]

First, I really don't care for the iPhone. There are just so many things I like about android and my Samsung s9 - the flexibility, the many choices of phones, lack of proprietary connections (usb-c instead of lighting), expanding memory on an sd card, phone jack and so on.
The problem is that I've been locked out of my google account for weeks. It's a complex situation, but basically google's verification system has broken down and I've tried everything. I got an email saying they would get back to me but they never did. I finally got a phone number for customer service, but they are shut down due to the covid-19. (why can't they work remotely?)

I also had a problem last year that took over a week to resolve.

I'm really plugged into the google world - youtube tv, play music, numerous apps linked to my account, and they are all useless. And those things that do work won't sync.

I also have a Samsung tablet, so same problem.

Basically google has almost no customer service. What good is an android device that is not fully functional for weeks?

Apple on the other hand has customer service chat and phone immediately available. You can also go to an Apple store in person to resolve any issues.

So has anyone else had this problem?

Should I switch to an iPhone?

If you did switch, what has been your experience with the iPhone and with customer service

Edit: I do have a backup email but it didn't work. I have 2 step verification.
It's a long story, but it ended with me changing my password. It showed me an option to text me for verification, but said that there was no valid phone number even though I could see the number - it was in gray instead of black. I then told it to send a verification email but I never received it. I know it was the right email address because I was receiving emails from google notifying me that my password was being changed. Lots of other stuff wasn't working as well including password recovery.

To the person recommending getting another Gmail account, the same thing could happen to a new account as is happening to my current account

 

[hallux]

Switching to an iPhone will not solve the core problem - access to your account. With an iPhone you will still need an email account.

 

[anon(50597)]

Switching to an iPhone will not solve the core problem - access to your account. With an iPhone you will still need an email account.

True, but Apple has they're own email account.
OP, if you want to start over, Apple has an excellent ecosystem and, as you stated, top notch customer service. Only you can decide if you want to change.
Best of luck.

 

[rescuejg]

You could also start a new Gmail account just like you could start a new Apple account/email.

Oh, and write down your password somewhere.

 

[gendo667]

I'm guessing you didn't have a backup email? You can't reset your password? My wife and I just use each other's email as backup. Before that I used work email.

 

[hallux]

True, but Apple has they're own email account.

True, but it's not as "portable" as other services. You can sign up for an AppleID and utilize Apple services using a GMail account, but if the OP decides to move back to Android a new Google account needs to be created (or the old one recovered) in order to access Google services.

 

[anon(50597)]

True, but it's not as "portable" as other services. You can sign up for an AppleID and utilize Apple services using a GMail account, but if the OP decides to move back to Android a new Google account needs to be created (or the old one recovered) in order to access Google services.

Yup, just giving another alternative since he brought up iphone.

 

[Film freak]

I did have the password written down. Something went wrong on their end. My phone had logged me out and I tried loggins back in. A whole bunch of things didn't work properly, like 2 step verification and password recovery.

If I get a new Google account the same thing could happen

 

[rescuejg]

I did have the password written down. Something went wrong on their end. My phone had logged me out and I tried loggins back in. A whole bunch of things didn't work properly, like 2 step verification and password recovery.

If I get a new Google account the same thing could happen

So you entered the correct password and Google said it was the wrong password?

I guess I've been lucky. I got a Gmail account the first few weeks it went live. I've never had that problem.

 

[Film freak]

I did have a backup email, it just didn't work. Everything is screwed up. My phone logged me out and when I tried to log back in, it said my password wasn't valid. I tried to change it, but I have 2 step verification and it was screwed up. The first thing it is supposed to do is to text me, but it said that I didn't have a valid phone linked to my account even though I could see my number - in gray instead of black. Then it said it would send an email but I never received it. I know it was the right email account because I was receiving emails from google saying my email was being changed. Temporary verification, password recovery and other things simply are not working.

 

[B. Diddy]

Did you ever write down any of your backup codes for 2-step verification? That's always a good thing to do for extra reassurance: https://support.google.com/accounts...avigation panel,print or download your codes.

 

[anon(50597)]

This is very strange.

 

[gendo667]

This is very strange.

Agreed.