How Facebook Wants You to Recover Your Account

Have you ever been locked out of your Facebook account and can‘t reset your password because you don‘t have access to your email or phone number anymore? I‘ve been in your shoes, my friend. Locked out of years of memories, photos, and connections with no way back in. It‘s an absolutely gut-wrenching feeling.

But don‘t lose hope! There are still a few tricks up our sleeves that can get you back into your account, even without an email or phone number. Facebook doesn‘t exactly advertise these methods, but this tech geek has picked through their systems and found some clever workarounds.

In this epic walkthrough, I‘m going to share the secret process I used to recover my own Facebook account when I lost access to my email and phone number. I‘ll show you exactly how to:

Reset your Facebook password through backchannels
Use Facebook‘s "hacked account" tools to your advantage
Fool their systems into thinking you‘ve been hacked
Submit your ID as a last resort if all else fails

This isn‘t easy, but with enough geek wisdom, creativity and persistence, you can regain access to your precious Facebook memories. Armed with the tech tips in this guide, outsmart their systems and never lose your account again!

First, let‘s quickly chat about…

Before we get into the underground backchannel methods, it‘s important to understand the official account recovery process Facebook wants you to use:

Reset Password Through Email/Phone

Facebook‘s main password reset process involves sending a reset link to your email or phone number on file when you hit "Forgot Password."

But if you don‘t have access to those anymore, this method hits a dead end pretty fast.

Limited Account Recovery Options

Without your email or phone number, Facebook provides very few account recovery options. Their Help Center vaguely suggests things like:

Contacting friends to remove your account from their devices
Checking browsers for active sessions
Filing a police report about the "hack"

Some of these suggestions will come in handy later, but overall Facebook makes it very difficult to recover an account without email or phone access.

But we aren‘t going to let that stop us! Now let‘s dig into the real methods that have a chance of recovering your account…

Even without access to your recovery email or phone number, there are backdoor channels you can use to possibly reset your Facebook password and recover access to your account.

Let me walk you through them:

Backdoor Password Reset Links

One sneaky trick is to find active password reset links for your Facebook account in your old emails and browsers.

When you request a password reset on Facebook, the reset link they email you is actually active for 7 days. So if you requested a reset in the last week, that link may still work!

Here‘s how to find them:

Check your email inbox and spam folders for a Facebook password reset email from the past week and click the link.
Look in your browser history for visited Facebook reset pages and re-visit the links.
If you have access to a device you used Facebook on, check the browser history there for recent password reset links.

With luck, one of those links will take you to the Facebook password reset page where you can enter a new password and access your account!

Password Reset Through Security Questions

Here‘s another backchannel method – answering your security questions.

When you created your Facebook account, you may have set up security questions as a backup for recovering your password.

So if you visit Facebook‘s password reset page and answer those questions correctly, it can send a reset link right to the login screen, no email needed!

To set this up:

Go to Facebook‘s password reset page and click "No longer have access to these?" under the email/phone fields.
This brings you to security questions if you created them. Answer correctly to reset your password.

It‘s worth a shot even if you don‘t remember your security questions. Trying random answers could trigger a reset link.

Code Generator Password Reset

One last option – Facebook‘s code generator tool. Buried in Facebook‘s help pages is an option to get a special "reset code" sent to your account that can be used to reset your password.

To find it:

Google "Facebook get code to reset password" and click the result that says "How do I reset my password without email or phone number"
Click the "Get a reset code" option and follow prompts.

If you succeed with the code generator, you can use the 8-digit reset code provided to change your password and access your account again!

Didn‘t have luck with those backchannels? Don‘t worry, we have a few more tricks to try. Let‘s use Facebook‘s own account recovery tools against them!

The Report Compromised Account Tool

Facebook provides a "Report Compromised Account" tool to help recover accounts that have been hacked. But we can fool it to reset your password instead!

Here‘s how:

Go to https://www.facebook.com/hacked and click "My Account is Compromised."
When asked for email/phone, enter anything random. Then click "No longer have access."
Next, Facebook will ask for your current/old password to "prove ownership." If you remember an old password, enter it! Otherwise, try old ones until one works.
Continue following prompts to change your password and recover access to your account!

This works because the tool is designed to verify account ownership using the password instead of email/phone. Sneaky but effective!

The ID Verification Tool

Along the same lines, you may be able to trick Facebook‘s ID verification tool. This is meant to verify your identity with a government ID:

Go to https://www.facebook.com/help/contact/260749603972907 and click "Need help accessing account."
Select either the "Hacked" or "Fake name" option when asked why you need help.
Follow the prompts to upload a photo of your ID. If successful, you can reset your password!

I know it seems sketchy, but this process has helped some users regain access even without their recovery email/phone.

If you aren‘t having luck with the internal tools, try going the "nuclear option" route – reporting your account as hacked to Facebook.

Here are some ideas for duping their systems:

Pretend You‘ve Been Hacked

You can report your account as hacked through Facebook‘s Help Center. Explain convincingly that you don‘t have access to your email or phone number anymore.

Provide as much proof of ownership as you can – locations you logged in from, friends in common, etc. If you can convince the Facebook rep, they may be able to manually reset your password.

File a Police Report

Take it up a notch by filing a fake "hacked account" police report at your local station and sending it to Facebook. Police reports carry more weight as proof.

Again, act convincingly that you‘ve been hacked and play dumb about not having your recovery info anymore. The goal is to trick Facebook into thinking your complaint is legitimate.

Report Phishing Sites

You can also try reporting suspicious "Facebook phishing" sites or emails to Facebook. Explain that you entered your login info and can no longer access your account.

Providing these details lends credibility to your "hacked" claim when corresponding with Facebook support reps.

If all else fails, your nuclear option is submitting a photo ID to Facebook through their ID verification process.

To start the process:

Go to https://www.facebook.com/help/contact/179049432194862?id=179049432194862
Select either "Hacked account" or "Fake name" for why you need help.
Follow prompts to upload a clear photo of your government-issued ID.

If your ID submission is approved, Facebook will either reset your password or allow you to merge your locked out account with a new one.

This should only be used as a last resort, since you‘ll have to give Facebook your personal ID info. But when all other options are exhausted, it‘s your final chance to regain access to your account.

Whew, we covered a ton of ground! To quickly recap:

Reset your password through backchannels like old emails and browsers.
Fool Facebook‘s internal tools like the Report Compromised Account tool.
Dupe their systems by reporting your account as "hacked."
Submit a photo ID as an absolute last option.

Recovering your Facebook account without an email or phone number is like breaking out of Facebook jail. It takes some tech savvy, creativity and persistence.

Some closing tips:

Try all strategies multiple times – repetition is key.
Use different devices and internet connections.
Escalate to Facebook support teams if you hit dead ends.
Frame this as an "account hacked" scenario when talking to Facebook reps.

Stay patient and don‘t give up. With the right techniques, you can regain access and recover years of memories and connections.

My life felt empty without my Facebook friends, photos, memories and conversations. It crushed me to lose all that history. But using the methods in this guide, I eventually recovered my account and restored a huge part of my life.

You can do this! It won‘t be easy, but nothing worthwhile ever is. Wishing you the very best in reclaiming your Facebook access and memories. Never let something as simple as a forgotten email or lost phone keep you from your valuable life experiences.

You got this, my friend! Onward and upward.