Seeking Advice: Verification Loop Issue Preventing Support Ticket Progress (#4101849)

[Wind-Determination]

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Hello everyone,

I understand that account reinstatement requests are handled privately by GitHub Support and the community cannot directly intervene. However, I am writing to ask for advice regarding a specific technical deadlock I am facing, as my support ticket seems to be stuck.

My Situation:
I have an open ticket (#4101849) regarding the suspension of my account (DeterMination-Wind). I believe this is a mistake, as I was contributing to open-source projects.

The issue is that I am caught in a verification loop:

1. Email Bounce: My primary email (bugsoc@qq.com) is blocked.
2. SMS Unavailable: I am in a region (China) where SMS verification is unavailable, so I cannot verify a new account.
3. CAPTCHA Failure: I cannot submit the standard web form due to persistent CAPTCHA issues.

To bypass this, I created a temporary account to file ticket #4101849. However, it has been over a week with no response.

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🚫 PLEASE DO NOT REPLY WITH THE STANDARD AUTOMATED MESSAGE

I am fully aware of the standard protocol. Please DO NOT reply with the standard text suggesting I use the "I cannot sign in" form, as it is technically impossible for me due to the reasons above.

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My Ask:
Since I cannot verify my identity through normal means, I am worried my ticket might be stuck in an automated system with no human review.

• Has anyone else experienced a delay of over a week for a ticket like this?
• Is there any way to confirm that ticket #4101849 is currently in a human agent's queue?

I just want to ensure my appeal is being seen and not lost in the system. Any insight or similar experiences would be incredibly helpful right now.

Thank you.

[SIMARSINGHRAYAT]

I understand your frustration with being stuck in this verification loop - this is a legitimate technical issue that deserves human attention.

Recommended Actions:

1. Try the direct support escalation path: Visit https://support.github.com/contact and explicitly select "Account & Billing" > "Account access" with a clear subject line:

   Escalation Request: Verification Loop Bug - Support Ticket #4101849 Stuck for Over a Week
   

2. In your message, include:

   • Your exact situation: email bounced, SMS unavailable in China, CAPTCHA failing
   • Support ticket number: #4101849
   • Clear statement that automated responses won't help
   • Request for manual review by human agent

3. Alternative contact methods (if available):

   • Tweet @github with your situation (they monitor these)
   • Try reaching out through GitHub Education or Enterprise support if applicable

4. Document everything for escalation:

   • Screenshot of verification loop
   • List of all failed verification attempts
   • Timeline of when you first reported this

Important: This appears to be a genuine bug where the system doesn't account for China's SMS limitations. GitHub support should have workarounds for this - they need to either:

• Accept alternative verification (another email, ID document)
• Use a different CAPTCHA provider
• Temporarily bypass verification given your circumstances

I'd recommend being persistent but polite with support - your ticket has merit and deserves escalation to an engineering team, not just automated responses.

[Wind-Determination]

the github support is disabled,and google CAPTCHA is banned in my region

[SIMARSINGHRAYAT]

I understand the frustration with account reinstatement verification loops! This is indeed a complex issue. Here are some steps to break out of this situation:

Immediate Actions:

1. Document everything - Keep detailed records of:

   • Your ticket number (#4101849 in your case)
   • Dates and times of requests
   • All verification attempts made
   • Error messages received

2. Request escalation explicitly - Reply to your support ticket with:

   • "I'm experiencing a verification loop and would like to escalate this to a senior support specialist"
   • Be specific: "I've completed [X] verification attempts but keep receiving the same response"

3. Try GitHub Contact Form - Visit https://support.github.com and submit a new inquiry:

   • Title: "Account Reinstatement Stuck in Verification Loop - Ticket #4101849"
   • Explain the situation and that normal support channels haven't resolved it
   • This sometimes routes to a different team

4. Email Support Directly - If you can find the support email thread:

   • Reply "via email" to your ticket (not just through the web interface)
   • Sometimes the email system triggers different routing

5. Community escalation - Post on GitHub's public status page or community forum:

   • Not to complain, but to document the issue
   • This sometimes gets attention from staff monitoring public discussions

Things to verify in your reinstatement request:

• Make sure your identity verification info is current and clear
• If it's an age verification issue, ensure birthday is correctly formatted
• If payment information is involved, verify the card/account is active
• Check if there are any regional restrictions on your location

If all else fails:

• Consider creating a new account (I know, not ideal)
• Once new account is established, GitHub support can sometimes help port your contribution history
• Document this entire process - it helps GitHub improve their support system

Pro Tip: In your next response to support, ask them specifically "What verification step is failing and why?" If they can't explain what's wrong, that's a sign of a system issue that needs escalation.

Your situation (#4101849) sounds like a genuine system error rather than a real security concern. Don't give up - escalation is the key here!

[Wind-Determination]

I think you are a robot and didn't even look through my whole post.

🚫 PLEASE DO NOT REPLY WITH THE STANDARD AUTOMATED MESSAGE
I am fully aware of the standard protocol. Please DO NOT reply with the standard text suggesting I use the "I cannot sign in" form, as it is technically impossible for me due to the reasons above.

[Farhxn-15]

Hey, that sounds like a really frustrating situation to be stuck in. Getting caught in a verification loop while your account is suspended is stressful, especially when the usual recovery options are not available in your region.

You are right that the community cannot access support tickets directly, but what you are experiencing is not uncommon when verification cannot be completed through the normal channels.

A few things that may help or clarify the situation:

If your ticket was created successfully, it is in the support queue even if you have not received a reply yet. Response times can vary depending on workload and account security reviews, and cases involving identity verification often take longer than standard requests.

Since your primary email is bouncing, make sure the temporary account email you used for the ticket is working and monitored. Support will reply there.

If CAPTCHA is blocking form submissions, try submitting from a different browser, device, or network. Some users have reported success switching to mobile data instead of WiFi.

For regions where SMS verification is unavailable, support may request alternative identity confirmation. This usually happens only after a human agent reviews the ticket.

If you want to confirm visibility, you can reply to your existing ticket email with additional details instead of opening a new one. That keeps the case active in the queue.

Unfortunately there is no public way to check whether a human agent has picked it up yet, but a delay of a week is not unusual for account recovery cases that require manual review.

You did the right thing by opening a ticket and providing context. At this point the best step is to keep the ticket updated and watch for a response.

I hope it gets resolved soon. Being locked out when you were actively contributing is incredibly frustrating.