Forum member for decades cannot log-on today

I have been a forum member ( floresta ) for decades.

I haven't missed logging in for a single day for several years.

Today I have not been able to log in. After entering my username and password the 'SIGN IN' link remains greyed out.

I have cleared the cache in my primary browser (Firefox), tried the private mode, tried using Google Chrome, and even tried Edge as a last resort.

I suspect that the forum does not like my relatively short legacy password so I tried changing my password but did not receive the requested email at my primary email account which is not Gmail.

When I created this new account I did not receive the requested email at my Gmail account.

Does anyone have any ideas about what is going on?

Don

@floresta

Your account is still there... Profile - floresta - Arduino Forum

It went to your old account.

Thanks for taking the time to give me your thoughts.

I know the 'floresta' account is still there - but I still can't log into it.

I don't have an 'old' email account. I have been using the same account for decades. I even accessed the email server through Cpanel to make sure there was nothing that Thunderbird didn't retrieve.

Don

@ xfpd
I received the email you sent to me. That went to the same email account that I have been specifying in my attempts to change my password.

After receiving your email I tried changing my password again, and once more I got no return email.

Don

UPDATE:
My short legacy password is definitely the problem with the greyed out "SIGNIN' link. I added some characters to the password and the link became active. Of course the sign-in didn't work but I expected that.

It is still a mystery (at least to me) why my attempt to change my password doesn't work.

EDIT: I tried changing the password on a different computer using Firefox on LinuxMint. Same non-response.

Don

This is not a first. Others were resolved. Wait for ?italy? (server owners) to wake up.

@pert ,

I think this is one for you to help with.

Hi @floresta1212.

This will definitely be the correct approach to get access to your account.

When you did that, did you see the notification appear to confirm that the website sent the recovery email?:

Check your email, we just sent you a link to complete the reset of your password.

I just gave it a try, using an email address from a bespoke domain, and I did receive the email as expected.


Please check the spam filter in your email account that is associated with your original account. The password reset email might have been detected as spam. I know you said you checked via cpanel, and that is definitely a good idea, but you could still have missed checking the spam filter.

When I first click on 'RECOVER' nothing happens. When I click a second time I get the 'Check your email ...' message. This is consistent whenever I try to recover my account regardless of computer, browser, or operating system.

I have checked the spam folders on both the server and on my computer and there is nothing there from Arduino or Discord. I use Thunderbird and POP3 so there are actually no messages at all on the server as expected.

As I mentioned on Post #4 - I did receive a message from xfpd that he sent to the email account associated with my original account - so that process appears to be working correctly.

I have a feeling that the recovery process is being thwarted by the mere presence of my legacy six character password which has been working fine since I last had to modify it in 2017.

You could probably get my access functioning again if you changed my password to something currently legitimate. I can wait on that if you want to use my malfunctioning account to try and determine what is going wrong.

Don

Sign out of everything Arduino, browser include. Restart the browser (no need to clear cache). Sign in as your original user.

Unfortunately I'm not able to assist with that. I do have administrative powers here on Arduino Forum. However, authentication for Arduino Forum is provided by your arduino.cc account. Arduino Forum is actually a separate website from arduino.cc. I don't have any powers in, or involvement with the maintenance of the arduino.cc infrastructure.

Please submit a ticket to Arduino technical support via this form:

https://www.arduino.cc/en/contact-us

That will get you into contact with the people at Arduino who are able to assist with this.

@xfpd
I tried your suggestion but unless I clear the Arduino cookies I am automatically logged into this new account. After I clear the cookies I get the login screen but the results are the same as described previously.

I dug out a laptop that I haven't used in months (it's still running Windows 10). I get exactly the same results:

  • the SIGN IN link remains greyed out.
  • I have to click RECOVER twice before I get the 'Check your email ... ' message.
  • I do not get the promised email.

I have submitted a ticket as recommended by @pert and have received a 'Request received...' response from Arduino Support.

Don

Try using a direct link to your profile... Mine is this: https://forum.arduino.cc/u/xfpd/preferences/account perhaps your original account is this: https://forum.arduino.cc/u/floresta/preferences/account

That is correct. However, a user can only access the preferences page for the account they are currently authenticated to. So when authenticated with the @floresta1212 account, they will be able to access the preferences page for that account:

https://forum.arduino.cc/u/floresta1212/preferences/account

but not the preferences page for their original account:

https://forum.arduino.cc/u/floresta/preferences/account

For anyone other than the authenticated user, the forum software just redirects the URL to the public "Activity" page for the account.

Sometimes direct links bypass intended security, perhaps by resurecting a lingering cookie. Do not know. Wokwi, for example, would let me into my account with a link, but would deny me by entering user/pswd. It was a long shot.

Thanks for the continued interest in my problem.

I submitted a ticket wherein I referenced this thread and also included a summary of its content.

So far I have received only a boilerplate reply indicating:
1- My account may have been closed due to inactivity
2- I should create a new account with a different email address and a different username and that the username should not contain capital letters.

Not very encouraging so far ... things were a lot simpler back in the days of Arduino 0016.

Don

If there isn't anything of value in your floresta arduino.cc account, I can offer the solution of merging your original @floresta Arduino Forum account with your new @floresta1212 Arduino Forum account, then changing the name of your new Arduino Forum account to the original floresta. That will be equivalent to restoring your access to your original @floresta Arduino Forum account.

However, that would not restore access to your floresta arduino.cc account. Going forward, you would need to authenticate by logging in to your new arduino.cc account.

I would of course first verify that @floresta1212 is indeed owed by the owner of the @floresta Arduino Forum account to guard against the possibility of this being a social engineering attack.

If you would like to proceed with that, just let me know. Otherwise, you can wait to see if Arduino Support will be able to restore your access to your original floresta arduino.cc account.

It is true that arduino.cc accounts are deleted if two years pass without you logging in to your arduino.cc account:

https://www.arduino.cc/en/terms-conditions/#:~:text=10.5%20Should%20User%20be%20inactive

10.5 Should User be inactive for twenty-four (24) months, Arduino may close their Account for inactivity.

Activity on Arduino Forum does not count as "activity" in this context. Logging in to the arduino.cc account in order to use the forum does, but authentication is persistent, so you can go for long periods of time without logging in, as long as you always use the same machine and don't clear their browser cookies.

Some time prior to deleting an account, Arduino sends a warning email. The recipient can avoid the deletion by logging in to their arduino.cc account, which changes the account back to having an active status, and thus gives the account at least another two years.

If your arduino.cc account was deleted due to inactivity, you would be able to create a new account using the same username and email.

Hi @floresta1212. Please check to see if you now have access to your @floresta forum account when you authenticate from the new arduino.cc account you created, which is associated with the email address of your original account:

  1. Open forum.arduino.cc in your web browser.
  2. If you are logged in to your @floresta1212 forum account, click the profile picture at the top right hand corner of the page, then select the "Profile" icon from the menu that expands, then finally select "Log Out" from the menu.
  3. Open id.arduino.cc (this is the page for the arduino.cc account).
  4. If you are logged into your floresta1212 arduino.cc account, lick the profile picture at the top right hand corner of the page, then select "Sign out" from the menu.
  5. Log into the new arduino.cc account that is associated with the email address of your original account.
  6. Open forum.arduino.cc in your web browser.
  7. If you are not already logged into the forum account, click the "LOG IN" button at the top right hand corner of the page.

The expected result is that you should be logged into your original @floresta forum account.

I believe I got the expected result. The profile icon shows my picture instead of some initials and the dark theme is present.

Thank you for your assistance.

For those that may be reading this in the future I would like to point out that my problems arose not because of my password but because I did not respond to an email titled 'Important Notice: Your Account Inactivity'. Here is what was in that notice.


Hello floresta, we are reaching out to inform you about the status of your account with us.
If you wish to retain access to your account, we kindly request that you log in within the next 7 days. Failure to do so will result in the permanent deletion of your account.
Please follow the link below to login and confirm your interest in keeping your account:
https://id.arduino.cc.
If you received this email by mistake, simply delete it. Your account won't be deleted if you don't click the confirmation link above.

Note that the email refers to 'your account' which is singular. There is no statement, or even implication, that there are two separate but similarly named accounts involved.

Since I had no idea that there was a difference between an Arduino 'main' account and an Arduino 'forum' account and since I log into the forum every morning I just assumed the email was sent in error and I ignored it.

Also note that there is a double-negative in the last sentence which implies that an account WOULD be deleted if one DID click the link.

I didn't click the confirmation link since the instructions clearly state that my account would not be deleted if I did not click the link.

Don

I confirm.

Something that might be a bit confusing is that there are three arduino.cc accounts to consider:

  • Your original account, which was deleted due to inactivity
  • The account you created after losing access to your original account, which is associated with the @floresta1212 forum account
  • The account you created to recover access to the @floresta forum account (which is associated with the email address of your original account)

Keep in mind that you must log in to the last of the accounts on that list when you need to authenticate for using the @floresta Arduino Forum account.

If you instead log into the second account on that list, you will instead authenticate your @floresta1212 forum account.