WordPress Account Recovery

At some point, you may run into a situation in which you’ve lost access to your account, so we want to ensure you take the necessary steps to avoid this and set up your account to be recoverable.

SMS Recovery Setup

A quick, easy step to help protect your account is to add your mobile phone details in Account Settings. By doing this, we can use your phone to recover your account by sending you an SMS text message if you forget your password.

To add your mobile phone details, visit Account Settings (or look for the wheel-like icon near the top right of your home page):

Scroll down to the Account Recovery section and use the dropdown menu to select your country. Underneath, input your mobile phone number (without spaces or dashes). Click Save Changes.

SMS support is enabled in all countries that Twilio supports. If you’re located in the UK or another country where local dialing requires the addition of a 0, omit the 0 when entering your number in the text box. For example number such as 020 1234 5678 in the UK would be formatted as +44 20 1234 5678.

You will receive an email notification the first time you save your mobile phone details, as well as any time you update them in the future.

Password Reset Process

It’s crucial to remember your password and to keep it secure, but there might come a time when you forget your password. If you need to reset a forgotten password, use the lost password form.

Enter your WordPress.com username or email address into the text box and click Get New Password. (If you don’t know your WordPress.com username or email address, scroll down to the Account Recovery Form section below.)

We’ll then send an email to your primary email address and an SMS text message to the mobile phone number you specified in the Account Recovery section in Account Settings. You can reset your password using either option.

To reset your password using your primary email address, go to the email that was sent to your primary email address and click on the button in the email that says Reset Password. Clicking on this link takes you to a form that prompts you to enter your new password twice. Be sure to click Reset Password at the bottom, and you’re all set.

Alternatively, to reset your password using your mobile phone number, go to the SMS text message that was sent to your phone and take note of the code. Enter this code in the field in the SMS Account Recovery box:

Then, you will be prompted to enter a new password. Click Reset Password. Voilà — you can now log in to your account using your new password.

Account Recovery Form

If you’ve misplaced your log-in information, the email address or username you’ve entered isn’t recognized, and you’re not registered for SMS account recovery, you can access your account using the Account Recovery Form, accessible by clicking the “Need More Help?” button on the Password Reset page. On this form, you can provide certain pieces of information, under Proof of Ownership, to verify that you are the owner of the blog in question:

• API Key: An API key is a password-like combination of letters and numbers. If you registered your WordPress.com account before November 2011, an API key was included in the email sent from WordPress.com when you first signed up for the blog. (If you have obtained an Akismet key since then, you may use it as well.)
• Transaction ID: A transaction ID is a unique transaction ID generated by PayPal, our payment processor. If you purchased an upgrade on the blog in question — via PayPal, credit card, or another method — you can retrieve a transaction ID by logging in to your PayPal account or locating a past WordPress.com receipt sent to your email address.
• Draft Post or Page Titles: If you have draft posts or pages affiliated with the blog, provide the titles, as these will help us to verify that you are the owner. Private and password-protected posts are not acceptable forms of verification.

At the bottom of the form, you can add any other details that may help. Then, click Recover My Account. We will contact you with a response or a request for additional information, and once we have proof verifying you are the blog owner, you will be able to reset your password and regain access to your account.