Getting out of endless GMail & Yahoo verification loops
 

I travel overseas quite frequently and am totally frustrated with GMail's (unwanted) efforts to verify the authenticity of my log in by constantly sending me verification codes by phone. I use different phones in different countries and my home number (where codes are sent to) does not work in other countries. So how can one get around this mad loop? Can one not enable verification by answering some question or some other method that does not require codes to be sent?

Although my main problem is with GMail, here is a sample of a message I received from Yahoo:
So, I am in Australia using a new laptop I just got on BlackFriday and the "device (I) regularly use" is at home in the US. And Yahoo expects me to use that before I can access my messages!

How does one overcome this kind of madness?

Can you install an authenticator app on your phones? These apps require one-time setup with your Google and Yahoo accounts, but thereafter can generate verification codes offline.

EDIT: Turns out Yahoo does not support such apps, and requires you to receive codes by text message. Sorry. But Google and plenty of other high-profile services that use verification codes DO support offline apps.

I can certainly try installing such an 'authenticator app' but do not know which one to install - any recommendations? I think the best option would be to discontinue using Gmail and Yahoo, but that needs some time to set up alternative accounts. Google's snooping is bad enough and should not be encouraged by feeding them more personal information.

You can get hard codes from Google that you can print out and carry in your wallet.

Google offers three authentication methods that don't depend on receiving a text. I described them here.

You could just turn off Google's 2-step authentication and you will only need the password to access your google account. You will still get email when a unusual login happened. It will say something like "Someone is logging in to your google account from XXXXXXX, if this is you, you could ignore this notice..blah blah blah..." I believe you get the email on your gmail account and on your recovery email account. So even if someone actually broke into your gmail and deleted that notice, you will still see it on your recovery email account.

The other day I was trying to locate my wife's iPhone using Find my iPhone on iCloud. I came into this 2-step authentication with iCloud problem where it wants to sent a verification code to the iPhone to verify the computer I am using is legit. The problem is I don't have the phone.. and I have to use iCloud to find it...

Just no. Follow ajGoes advice and be aware that some personal data security sometimes comes at a cost.

Google Authenticator also works across multiple different apps (Microsoft Mobile Outlook for instance.)

You could also get an aggregated app, like Outlook, where you are just in one app. After Yahoo's password fiasco, they're prompting me to reenter my password on all my devices regularly. It is incredibly annoying.

That sounds like a good idea. Would you mind advising how this can be done?

Click the link I provided in post #5. You'll find brief instructions. Click here for Google's help on two-step authentication.

I have the same issue with Wells Fargo internet banking. In order to do anything they need to send you a code by text. They can only send to US numbers. They offer no alternative to this process, either by email or phone call or anything. When outside the US, I can forward calls but not texts. So I cannot use Wells Fargo internet banking. Incredibly frustrating.

I don't know why one would add a phone number to a Gmail account, and especially if that phone number frequently becomes non-accessible.

Anyway your "loop" is hardly a loop and easily fixed by returning home. I got stuck in a real loop with hotmail where in order to access account 1, I had to enter a verification code sent to account 2. However, in order to access account 2 to get the code, I needed to enter a code sent to account 1, so I just had to abandon both of those email addresses. Fortunately, those accounts mainly received forwarded chain emails from relatives who don't know how to update their address book.

It seems either I have not been able to explain the problem or have failed to understand your instructions.

When I travel to a foreign country, very often I do not have any phone at all with me. When I do have a phone, it almost always has a temporary, pre-paid SIM bought locally, with limited validity.

So how do I do this "2 factor authentication" without a phone?


Have you tried setting up a new Gmail account without providing a phone number?

As explained above, you can print off 10 codes that can be used once only. So, when it asks for a code, enter the next from the list.

You can generate another 10 codes when you need them .

As has been mentioned, you can print a list of ten codes from Google.

But you don't need a data connection to use the Google Authenticator app. It runs all by itself on your phone.