Confirm Your Identity to Verify Your Yahoo Account

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Learn how to verify a new and current Yahoo account with your phone number and how to add or remove 2-Step Verification

Written by Darlene Antonelli, MA

Last Updated: February 26, 2024 Fact Checked

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Verifying Your Account

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Creating A New Account

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Adding 2-Step Verification

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Q&A

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Tips

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Warnings

You might need to verify your Yahoo account more than once, especially if Yahoo detects that you're logging into your account from a different region or using an unfamiliar device, etc.^{[1]
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Research source} This wikiHow article teaches you how to verify your Yahoo account with email or a phone number.

Quick Steps

To add Yahoo to your phone's email app, sign into Yahoo in a mobile browser.
Tap Receive code.
Tap By phone/email.
Tap Receive code.
Enter the code into the Yahoo website to verify.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Verifying Your Account

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1
Find the verification code. If Yahoo detects suspicious activity, like you're signing in from different locations quickly, it will prompt you to enter a verification code. By default, Yahoo will send the verification code to the phone number in your account settings.
- When you log in, go to your account's security settings (https://login.yahoo.com/myaccount/security) and click to add a recovery email or change your phone number under "Verification methods."
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Enter the code. If you don't have access to the phone number attached to your account, you'll have to contact Customer Service.
- You will need official identification, like your driver's license or State ID, to verify who you are.^{[2]
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- You'll also need to verify your account before adding it to your mobile's mail app, like Gmail or Samsung Mail. To do this, log into Yahoo in your mobile browser and go to Receive code > By phone/By email > Receive code. You'll get a code emailed or texted to you that you'll need to enter into the site you're on before you can add Yahoo to your mobile mail app.^{[3]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Creating A New Account

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1
Go to https://login.yahoo.com/account/create. It's impossible to create a Yahoo account without verifying it with a phone number, so to verify an account, you must first go through the initial steps of creating one.
- This wikiHow article will help you create a new Yahoo email account using a desktop computer.
- Make sure all of your account information is correct. Before clicking or tapping the Continue button at the bottom of the new account creation page, you should ensure that your name, desired email address, password, and phone number are accurate.
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Enter your recovery mobile number. Double-check that you've entered the correct number since this is where the verification code will go. Only mobile phones can get text messages, so make sure you're using a mobile phone instead of a landline.^{[4]
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- Your country's code is automatically detected and added. If you're in the US, the phone number should also include your area code, like 310 for Los Angeles, CA.
- If you don't have a local phone number, then you can't make an account.
It's a blue button at the bottom of the window.
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Enter the code. On your phone, you'll get a text containing your Yahoo verification code.
- It's a 6-number code that's texted from a random number, and you can resend the code from the website if you're not getting the text.
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Click Next. Once you're certain that you've entered the verification code correctly, click or tap Next and Done to continue.
- Go to your account's security settings (https://login.yahoo.com/myaccount/security) and click to add a recovery email or change your phone number under "Verification methods."

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Adding 2-Step Verification

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Go to https://login.yahoo.com/myaccount/security and click Turn on next to "2-Step Verification".
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Select a verification method. You can choose to have any app that you've downloaded on your mobile phone send you a push notification that you have to accept to be able to log into your Yahoo account, a text message with a code that you need to use to log in, an authenticator app that'll provide you with a code that you need to log into your Yahoo account, or a security key that is a piece of hardware that you'll need to insert to log into your Yahoo account.
- Any of these will add a little more security to your account so it can't be easily hacked.
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Follow the on-screen instructions to add 2-Step Verification. The steps are different depending on which verification method you selected.
- For example, scan a QR Code to download a Yahoo app onto your phone and log in to get push notifications for verification. Or, enter your phone number to receive 2-Step Verification texts.
- Once you've followed the on-screen prompts, 2-Step Verification is active!
- Return to this page to toggle the switch off if you want to disable 2-Step Verification.

Community Q&A

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Question

How do I access my account?

Community Answer

After you've created an account, you'll go to https://www.yahoo.com, click "Sign in" in the top-right corner of the page, and enter your account details. On mobile, you can also download the "Yahoo Mail" app.

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Tips

If you're unable to log in, you can always seek more help from Yahoo. Go to the "Email a Specialist" page and email them for more help. You may be asked to provide proof of ownership of your Yahoo account, including using your driver's license or State ID to verify who you are.^{[5]
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If you don't have reliable access to the cell phone you used to create the account, using an authenticator app (one you can access online) or a hardware security key as your 2-step Verification method is a good idea.

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Make sure your account's recovery email and phone number are updated.

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