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Cannot set up Firefox sync on desktop - no recovery key and will not let me login to get it

  • 4 replies
  • 14 have this problem
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  • Last reply by dumdidadida

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I downloaded Firefox for my new android phone and wanted to sync my desktop with the mobile app. When I first went in it said I had an account already set up, but since I didn't remember any of the information about it I just ended up changing the password so I could login, and then deleted the whole account.

I went ahead and set up a new sync account, but it never gave me a recovery key. I didn't think anything of it, but then the initial sync failed and I got an error message saying the username or password was incorrect.

This happened twice and each time I went back and either ended up resetting the password or deleting the whole account. But whenever I did go through the steps of creating another account it still never gave me a recovery key.

I looked around and tried following the steps to get a recovery key, but I don't have the option to manage my account (maybe because one was never fully created and never went through an initial sync?), and I keep getting an error message saying the username and password is incorrect whenever I try to go through the steps to reset the recovery key. This is despite the fact that I can login with those same credentials on the Firefox sync webpage - for whatever reason it just doesn't accept them in the normal browser sync tab.

I'm running Windows 7 Home Premium, and version 13.0.1 of Firefox. Any help you can give me would be most appreciated as this has been driving me nuts for the last several hours as I try to work through this.

I downloaded Firefox for my new android phone and wanted to sync my desktop with the mobile app. When I first went in it said I had an account already set up, but since I didn't remember any of the information about it I just ended up changing the password so I could login, and then deleted the whole account. I went ahead and set up a new sync account, but it never gave me a recovery key. I didn't think anything of it, but then the initial sync failed and I got an error message saying the username or password was incorrect. This happened twice and each time I went back and either ended up resetting the password or deleting the whole account. But whenever I did go through the steps of creating another account it still never gave me a recovery key. I looked around and tried following the steps to get a recovery key, but I don't have the option to manage my account (maybe because one was never fully created and never went through an initial sync?), and I keep getting an error message saying the username and password is incorrect whenever I try to go through the steps to reset the recovery key. This is despite the fact that I can login with those same credentials on the Firefox sync webpage - for whatever reason it just doesn't accept them in the normal browser sync tab. I'm running Windows 7 Home Premium, and version 13.0.1 of Firefox. Any help you can give me would be most appreciated as this has been driving me nuts for the last several hours as I try to work through this.

Chosen solution

Hi,

Please see this for details regarding the Recovery Key. You can also try to start over again using these (three parts) steps: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-do-i-set-up-firefox-sync

If you're able to log in at the Sync site that means the account still exists. In this case you can try to delete the account, wait for a few minutes and then try to setup Sync as described in the previous link.

To check for possible temporary Sync disruptions: https://services.mozilla.com/status/

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Chosen Solution

Hi,

Please see this for details regarding the Recovery Key. You can also try to start over again using these (three parts) steps: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-do-i-set-up-firefox-sync

If you're able to log in at the Sync site that means the account still exists. In this case you can try to delete the account, wait for a few minutes and then try to setup Sync as described in the previous link.

To check for possible temporary Sync disruptions: https://services.mozilla.com/status/

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I deleted my account and then waited a couple of hours before trying to set up a new one. This time, everything seemed to go as it should. I got the manage account section, and the recovery key, and I'm now doing the initial sync, which seems to be proceeding as normal.

Maybe there was a problem with the servers last night, or maybe I was just not waiting long enough between deleting an account and creating a new one, but for right now the problem appears to be solved.

Thanks for all your help, and I'll be sure to post another question if I run into any more trouble!

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No problem :) As always we'll try our best.