Having a forgotten or lost Facebook password can be frustrating. You may have tried resetting your password, but were unable to do so for various reasons. Not being able to access your Facebook account can make you feel locked out of an important part of your digital life.
What should I do if I forget my Facebook password?
If you forget your Facebook password, the first thing to try is using Facebook’s password reset process. Go to the Facebook login page and click on the “Forgotten Password” link. Facebook will ask you to enter your email or mobile number associated with your account. It will then send you an email or text message with a reset link.
Click on the reset password link and follow the prompts to create a new password. This is the easiest way to regain access to your account if you forget your password.
Reset password via email
To reset your Facebook password via email:
- Go to the Facebook login page
- Click on the “Forgotten password” link below the password field
- Enter your email address associated with your Facebook account
- Facebook will email you a password reset link
- Click on the reset link in the email and follow the instructions to create a new password
Reset password via mobile number
To reset your Facebook password via text message:
- Go to the Facebook login page
- Click on the “Forgotten password” link below the password field
- Enter your mobile number associated with your Facebook account
- Facebook will text you a password reset code
- Enter the code you received to confirm your identity
- Follow the instructions to create a new Facebook password
Why can’t I reset my Facebook password?
Sometimes the standard Facebook password reset process does not work. Here are some common reasons why you may be unable to reset your forgotten Facebook password:
You do not have access to your email or phone number on file
To reset your password, Facebook sends a reset link to the email address or mobile number associated with your account. If you no longer have access to that email account or phone number, you will not be able to complete the reset process.
For example, if you used an old email address that you no longer use or have access to, the reset email will go to that inaccessible email account. Without being able to access that email to click the reset link, you won’t be able to reset your password.
You have two-factor authentication enabled
If you have two-factor authentication enabled on your Facebook account, resetting your password requires additional steps beyond just clicking a reset link.
With 2FA, you need access to your second authentication method – such as an authenticator app or security key – to complete the process. If you don’t have access to these, you won’t be able to reset your password.
Suspicious activity has locked your account
If Facebook detects suspicious or unusual activity from your account, it may temporarily lock your account to protect it. This is common if someone was trying to access your account without authorization.
When your account is locked, you will not be able to reset your password until you complete additional account recovery steps required by Facebook.
You do not remember the email or phone number on your account
Resetting your Facebook password requires verifying your identity through an email address or phone number associated with your account. If you do not remember which email or phone number you used when creating your Facebook account, you may not be able to reset your password successfully.
How can I find my old Facebook account email address or phone number?
If you don’t remember the email address or phone number associated with your Facebook account, here are some things you can try to find out what it is:
- Check old Facebook emails in your email account – look for emails from Facebook such as notifications or receipts
- Check your Facebook settings and profile if you can still access your account – your associated email or phone number may be listed there
- Try logging into Facebook using old or commonly used email addresses and phone numbers
- Use Facebook’s Find Your Account feature – you can enter details like your name and birthday to get account recovery options
- Check your mobile contacts to see if you have a number or email saved as “Facebook”
Figuring out your old or correct Facebook email address or phone number is key to being able to reset your password successfully.
Can someone at Facebook help me reset my password?
Unfortunately, Facebook does not have a way for their employees to manually reset your password or regain access to your account. Password resets must be done through the standard automated process.
The reason is that Facebook employees have no way to verify if the person requesting a manual reset is actually the account owner. Resetting passwords directly would pose a huge security risk.
Your only option for resetting your Facebook password is to go through their standard password reset flow by confirming your identity with your account’s associated email address or phone number.
Can I create a new Facebook account?
If you are completely unable to reset your Facebook password or recover your existing account, you may need to consider creating a brand new account. Use a fresh email address and phone number that you have access to for the new account.
Keep in mind Facebook’s policies around multiple accounts:
- You are only allowed one personal Facebook account – multiple accounts for the same person violate Facebook’s terms
- Creating a new account to impersonate someone else or provide false info is never allowed
- You can have multiple accounts for business, organization or pet profiles – these must represent real entities and be used non-deceptively
As long as you follow Facebook’s rules, creating a new account with your real identity is an option if you cannot access your old account. Be sure to use an email and phone number you will always have access to going forward.
How can I recover or access my data from my old Facebook account?
If you are forced to create a new Facebook account because you can’t reset your password, you may want to access your data from your old account such as photos, posts and videos.
Unfortunately, without access to your old account there is no way to directly retrieve your information. Facebook does not provide a data recovery service for inaccessible accounts.
However, here are some options to try to preserve some of your old account data:
- See if you are tagged in any posts on friends’ accounts – you may be able to save or download some of these
- Check if you sent photos or information to friends via Messenger – they may be able to send you your old data
- Use Google or other search engines to find cached or archived versions of your public posts and info
- Try re-uploading your computer or phone backup to see if it contains any old Facebook photos or data that you can recover
While you can’t directly access the data on your inaccessible Facebook account, some parts of it may still be retrievable through other means.
Can I delete my old Facebook account?
If you are absolutely certain you have no way to regain access to your old Facebook account, you can request to have it deleted by Facebook.
To do this:
- Fill out Facebook’s account deletion request form: https://www.facebook.com/help/delete_account
- Select “I can no longer access this account”
- Enter your name and email address previously associated with the account
- Click “Submit”
- Facebook will email you a deletion confirmation link
- Click the emailed link to confirm account deletion
Once confirmed, your inaccessible Facebook account will be permanently deleted along with all its data.
Key Takeaways
Here are some key points to remember about resetting your Facebook password:
- Always reset via the Forgot Password link, never directly through Facebook
- You need access to your email or phone number on file to reset your password
- Enabling 2FA requires you to have your second method of authentication
- Account locks require additional verification to unlock
- You must know your account’s associated email/phone number to reset password
- Facebook does not offer manual password resets
- Creating a new account is an option if you can’t recover your old account
- Inaccessible account data is difficult but not impossible to recover
- Permanent deletion is the last option if you cannot regain access
Conclusion
Resetting a forgotten Facebook password can be very frustrating, especially if you no longer have access to your account’s associated email address or phone number. Unfortunately, for security reasons Facebook does not offer any workaround for resetting your password in these cases.
Your options are limited to either successfully resetting your password through the standard process, recovering your old contact info to make reset possible, creating an entirely new account, or deleting your old account entirely. With some detective work and luck, many find they are able to eventually regain access to their lost Facebook account.