We’ll help you recover your Facebook account, no matter if you forgot your password or think that your account was hacked.
Facebook offers many automated methods to retrieve your account. Many of these depend on the information that you provided when you created your account. You may not be able to access your account if you haven’t done this or if the information is out of date.
We will however show you an alternative option for those times when all other methods fail.
These are the 5 ways to recover your Facebook account
Recovery of a Facebook account can be difficult, especially if there are no backup options. Keep in mind that not all of these options are quick and easy. Many people have succeeded, even though it didn’t seem to work.
This article explains everything we know about Facebook account recovery. If you have any questions, please post them to Facebook Help Community.
We are unable to offer individual support and don’t have direct access to Facebook.
1. Verify if you are still logged into Facebook.
Before trying to recover your account on your computer, make sure you’re still logged in to Facebook from any device. It could be another browser on your computer, an iOS or Android app browser, or a mobile browser such as your tablet or Kindle.
You might still be able to access Facebook from anywhere. However, it is possible to “recover” your Facebook password without entering a confirmation code. What you will do is create a new password.
Continue to step 1a in our article What to do if your Facebook account is hacked. Here we will explain how to change Facebook’s password. You might also want to consider setting up two-factor authentication for Facebook.
Please note: If two-factor authentication has been set up and you have lost access to the Code Generator, this guide will show you how to get your Facebook login back.
2. You can try the default Facebook account recovery options
We’ll help you recover if you can’t locate a device on which you are still logged in to Facebook.
Use the same internet connection and phone that you used to log into your Facebook account before. You might be able to reset your password without further verification if Facebook recognizes the network and device. First, identify your account.
Option 1: Retrieve your account from its profile page
This option can be used if you have access via Facebook to another account (e.g., a friend’s or family member’s) and can access your profile page through that account because you are Facebook friends. It will require you to log out of the other account.
You can also choose the second option if you don’t wish to do this.
This option is available to you if you find your profile on your Facebook friend list. Open it and click the … button below your profile picture (in the mobile application, the three-dot menu below the image will be displayed). Next, select Find Support/Report Profile.
Select the appropriate option from the menu. In this example, I Can’t Access My Account.
Select Recover account in the last step. Click Done to log out of the account.
This will take you to the Reset your Password window as described in Option 2. This recovery will be based on the contact information you have added to your account.
Please refer to the second screenshot for more information about the recovery steps.
Option 2: Contact details to recover your account
You can create a new profile in a browser if you do not have access to Facebook or prefer to not log out of any other account. Open a guest account and go to the Facebook recovery page.
Enter the email address or telephone number that you have previously added to your Facebook profile. You can search for a number with or without your country code. You can search for a phone number with or without your country code, such as 001 for the US or 1, +1, and 001 in Canada. All three should work. You can use your Facebook username even if it does not say so.
After you have successfully identified your account, you’ll see a summary of your profile. Be sure to verify that this is your account. Also, make sure you have access to the phone number or email address listed. You might be able to choose between phone recovery or email.
Do you need to Not have these? Continue to point 3 of the article.
If everything looks good with your Facebook contact information, then click Continue. Facebook will email you a security code.
Depending on the method you used, retrieve the code from your phone or email and enter it. You can then rejoice in your new Facebook account.
You can now create a new password. This is something we highly recommend.
You can check your spam folder (email), or verify that you are able to receive text messages from unknown senders if the code does not arrive. One MakeUseOf reader reported that she hadn’t received the SMS code. After switching phones, all her Facebook messages were received at once. Evidently, her old phone had blocked the number. This should not happen to you.
You can still get the code by clicking I didn’t get one? at the bottom-left corner in the Enter security code window. This will bring you back to the original screen.
You can either try again, or you might find that you no longer have access to your account.
Log back into your Facebook account
If you have gained access to your account, or suspect that your Facebook account has been hacked immediately change your password. Also, update your contact information.
These are the key steps to securing your Facebook profile. You should also remove all email addresses and phone numbers that aren’t yours or that you cannot access.
We recommend that you enable two-factor authentication on all your social media accounts to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.
3. Change your contact information
Sometimes, it is not possible to retrieve a Facebook account using these options. Perhaps you have lost access to the email address or phone number that you previously added to your profile. This information could have been altered by a hacker.
In this case, Facebook will contact you via a new phone number or email address to recover your account.
To begin the process, click the link (see above). This will take you to the reset password page. Facebook will request a new phone number or email address to assist with your account recovery. To proceed, click Continue
You can ask Facebook to recover your account if you have set up trusted contacts. To reveal all your Trusted contacts, you will need at least one name to remember. To recover your Facebook account, you will only need three codes.
You might be able to reset your password and answer security questions if Trusted Contacts were not set up. This comes with an additional 24-hour wait period before you can access the account.
You might need to wait for Facebook to confirm your identity. Be patient.
4. You can check if your Facebook account was hacked in order to send spam
Report your Facebook account as compromised if your account is hacked or you receive spam messages.
The process will be very similar to the one described above. Although you will still need the same information to identify your account you can use the next step to retrieve your account using a current or an old Facebook password.
This can be useful in the event that a hacker has changed your password. However, it could also prove to be very helpful if you forget your password. More security tips can be found on the Account Security page at the Facebook Help Center.
Please note: If your computer has been infected by Facebook malware, please read this article on how to remove and prevent it.
5. Check Facebook to confirm your identity
Facebook support is your last hope if all other automated Facebook account recovery methods fail.
Facebook offers a help page that allows you to confirm your identity.
Upload a JPEG of your ID and enter an email address (or mobile number) that is associated with the Facebook account to which you want to recover it. Click Send then to submit the information.
You can now enter the one that you have access to, if you do not have access to your account’s email addresses or phone numbers. Then email security@facebookmail.com to explain your situation.
Mention that your ID has been submitted to verify your identity. Email is not a secure medium of communication, so don’t attach your ID.
You should be patient as it can take up to several weeks for Facebook to respond.
Note If your Facebook account was not created using your real name, you have little chance of recovering it.
Make a new Facebook profile if all else fails
We have received many messages over the years from people who were unable to recover their Facebook accounts despite going through each step one by one.
Their contact information was often outdated, the recovery codes Facebook offered didn’t work or they refused to respond to verify their identity. At that point, you are out of options.
You have to learn from your mistakes and move on. It doesn’t matter how much it hurts, you have to learn from your mistakes and open a new account.
Make sure you add valid contact information, secure your Facebook account and rebuild your profile. Although it is painful, it is better than nothing.
