Unable to change primary email – no longer have access to current address

[marctubanovic]

Why are you starting this discussion?

Question

What GitHub Actions topic or product is this about?

Misc

Discussion Details

Hello GitHub Community,

My current primary email on the account is x@gmail.com, but I have permanently lost access to this email address and cannot receive any verification codes sent there.

I am still logged into my GitHub account in a browser and can use GitHub normally. However, when I try to add a new email address or change any security-related settings, GitHub asks me to confirm my identity by entering a verification code that is sent to x@gmail.com. Since I no longer have access to this mailbox, I am unable to complete this verification step.

I would like to:

Add a new email address: y@gmail.com

Set y@gmail.com as my primary email

This situation is critical for me because my GitHub account is linked to other services (such as my website backend and Supabase), and I want to make sure I do not lose access in the future.

Could you please advise me on the exact steps I should take to regain full control over my account without access to the old email address?

Thank you very much for your help.

Best regards,

[vanhuy2005]

Hello @marctubanovic

Regarding your problem, I think there is no UI bypass for email verification (for security reasons), it means that when you want to do something (including add new gmail and set it as primary). The only thing that you can do at this point is contact to GitHub Support. First, go to the GitHub Support Portal and open a ticket regarding "Account Access". Explain clearly that you are still logged in but lost the email access. And asked if you an SSH Key added to your account. If you have ever pushed code from your terminal, you likely have an SSH key added. This is your "Golden Ticket." Because GitHub Support can verify your identity if you can prove you hold the private SSH key associated with the account. When you contact Support, mention explicitly: "I have an active SSH key on the account and can use it to sign a verification token to prove ownership." This speeds up the process significantly.

Otherwise, i think you should not waste time trying to change the settings (it will keep asking for email code). Instead, create a NEW GitHub account with your new email (y@gmail.com). On your current computer (where you are logged in), transfer your work to store and backup your old repo:
1. Download/Clone your repositories.
2. Push them to the NEW account.
3. Add the new account as a collaborator to your private repos of old account (if GitHub allows this action without email verification).

However, as you mentioned your account is extremely important so yeah just try the first solution. AH, and noticeably that do not Log Out you old account.

That is my answer, hopefully it can help you sth!

[marctubanovic]

Thank you so much for your message, that means a lot to me. Hopefully it works