Using your mobile phone number for password recovery
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Note: If there is no mobile number on the account at the time the password is lost, the mobile number cannot be a part of the verification process. The Yahoo! Password Helper can walk you through password recovery. After you password is recovered, we recommend you go into the Yahoo! Account Information page and add your mobile number. Our article entitled How to add or change your alternate email address or mobile number should guide you through these steps.
If you are unable to access your account due to an "Invalid Password" error message, you may have to request a new password. Before using the online password request form, please take a look at the following common causes of "Invalid Password" messages:
- Passwords are case sensitive (meaning that "PASSWORD," "PaSsWoRd," and "password" are not equivalent), so be sure to keep this in mind when entering your new password.
- Note: Some mobile devices are set to automatically capitalize the first letter.
- If you have recently obtained a new password, please wait a period of 24 hours before attempting to access your account. This will allow our system to update and recognize your password.
- Yahoo! IDs generally do not contain spaces, but many users register IDs that include the underscore "_" instead of a space. Please confirm that you are using the correct Yahoo! ID.
You can recover your password by following the steps below:
- Go to the Yahoo! Password Helper and select I have a problem with my password.
- Enter your Yahoo! ID and the CAPTCHA word verification image.
- Enter your mobile number and click Next.
- Follow the instructions, and a text message [SMS] will be sent to the mobile number you've provided.
- Once you receive the text message, follow the sign-in steps; and change your password.
Note: In some cases, the text message may take up to 30 minutes to be received. Also, you will not be able to receive a new password if you do not have access to the mobile device connect to the account in question.