Sign-in problems

Can’t get into your account? Work through the section that matches what you’re seeing. Most sign-in problems come down to a wrong password, a lost two-factor device, or an email that never arrived.

Wrong email or password

Signing in to Acme is a two-step flow: you enter your email and select Continue, then enter your password on the next screen.

1. Make sure you’re using the same email address you signed up with. If you have more than one address, try the others.
2. Re-enter your password carefully — check for Caps Lock and any trailing spaces.
3. If you signed up with a social login (such as Google), use that button instead of a password. See Signing in for the options.

For your security, Acme shows the same generic error for a wrong email and a wrong password — it won’t tell you which one was incorrect, so no one can use the sign-in form to discover which addresses are registered.

Tip

Not sure you ever finished signing up? See Create your account. If your account still needs email verification, see Verification email not received.

Forgot your password

If you can’t remember your password, reset it from the login page — you don’t need your old password to do it.

1. On the login page, enter your email and select Continue.
2. Select the Forgot password? link on the password screen.
3. Enter your email address and submit the form.
4. Open the reset email and follow the link to set a new password.

Full walkthrough: Reset a forgotten password.

Note

The on-screen confirmation looks the same whether or not an account exists for that email, and there’s a short cooldown before you can request another link. If the email doesn’t arrive, see Verification email not received.

Caution

Resetting your password signs you out of every device. After resetting, sign in again with your new password — and if you have two-factor authentication enabled, you’ll still be asked for a code.

Lost your two-factor device — use a recovery code

If you have two-factor authentication turned on, Acme asks for a one-time code from your authenticator app after your password. If you’ve lost or replaced the phone that runs that app, use a recovery code instead.

1. Sign in with your email and password as usual.
2. On the two-factor screen, choose the option to use a recovery code instead of an authenticator code.
3. Enter one of the recovery codes you saved when you set up two-factor authentication.

Each recovery code works only once. After you’re back in, set up your authenticator app again on your new device and regenerate a fresh set of codes — see Set up two-factor authentication and Recovery codes.

Danger

If you’ve lost your authenticator device and have no working recovery codes, you won’t be able to finish two-factor sign-in on your own. Contact support to recover access — and to prove ownership, send your message from the email address on the account.

Didn’t receive a magic link

Instead of a password, you can choose Send a login link instead on the password screen to get a one-time sign-in link by email. If it doesn’t arrive:

1. Check your spam or junk folder.
2. Confirm you entered the address you actually use to sign in.
3. Wait for the cooldown shown on the Resend button to finish, then request a new link.
4. If you requested a link recently, look for that earlier email — and note that magic links only work for an account whose email is already verified.

The confirmation message is the same whether or not an account exists for that email, so seeing it doesn’t guarantee an email was sent. For more, see Verification email not received.

Account locked or too many attempts

To protect your account, Acme temporarily blocks two-factor sign-in after too many incorrect codes. If you see a “too many attempts” message:

1. Wait for the cooldown to pass — the message tells you how long.
2. Try again with a fresh code from your authenticator app, or use a recovery code.
3. If the lock keeps happening, your authenticator’s clock may be out of sync — make sure automatic date and time are enabled on the device running the app.

Requesting password-reset or magic-link emails also has a short cooldown between sends. If you’ve been blocked from requesting those, simply wait for the timer and try once more.

Still can’t sign in?

If none of the above works — or you’ve lost both your authenticator device and your recovery codes — contact support. Send your message from the email address on the account so we can verify it’s you.