Having your LinkedIn account suddenly become inaccessible can be extremely frustrating. LinkedIn is an important platform for networking and promoting yourself professionally. Not being able to access your account means losing connections, endorsements, and recommendations that you’ve worked hard to build up. Fortunately, LinkedIn provides an account recovery process to help you regain access. Here’s an overview of how long the LinkedIn account recovery process takes and what you can expect along the way.
Why You Might Need to Recover Your LinkedIn Account
There are a few common reasons your LinkedIn account may become inaccessible:
- You forgot your password and don’t have access to the email associated with your account
- Your account was hacked and the password was changed without your knowledge
- LinkedIn suspended your account due to suspicious activity or policy violations
- You can’t receive the verification code to sign in to your account
Whatever the reason, being locked out of your account can be very stressful. The good news is that LinkedIn provides an account recovery process to help you get your account back.
How to Start the LinkedIn Account Recovery Process
To begin recovering your LinkedIn account, go to the LinkedIn website and click on “Forgot password?” on the sign in page. You’ll be asked to enter your email address or phone number associated with your account.
If LinkedIn can verify this information, you’ll be sent a 6-digit verification code to sign in and reset your password. If LinkedIn cannot verify your email or phone number, it will ask you some security questions to confirm your identity.
If you don’t have access to your email or phone number on file, or you don’t know the answers to your security questions, you can choose the account recovery option. This involves providing details to prove you are the rightful account owner.
How Long Account Recovery Takes
The amount of time it takes to recover your LinkedIn account can vary depending on your situation:
- If you have your email/phone: Receiving and entering the verification code takes just a few minutes. Resetting your password is then instant.
- Security questions: If you can successfully answer your security questions, the process may take under an hour.
- ID verification: Uploading scans of your photo ID for verification may take 12-24 hours in some cases.
- Account recovery form: If you need LinkedIn support to review your account ownership details, it can take 3-5 business days to regain account access.
- Suspended account: Getting a suspended account reinstated requires a LinkedIn review, and can take over a week in some cases.
As you can see, the fastest way to recover your account is if you still have access to your original email address or phone number on file. If you have to provide additional verification or go through LinkedIn support, it may take several business days to get your account back.
What Information You Need to Provide
To verify your identity and reclaim your lost LinkedIn account, you’ll need to provide some important details. This may include:
- Your full name
- Email address(es) associated with the account
- Phone number(s) associated with the account
- Address(es) associated with the account
- Employment details
- Scan/photo of your government ID
- Answers to your LinkedIn security questions
LinkedIn will match the information you provide against the details associated with your account. You may also need to explain how you originally lost access to your account.
The more accurate details you can provide, the faster LinkedIn support will be able to verify your identity and restore access to your account.
Tips for Streamlining Your Account Recovery
Here are some tips to help make regaining access to your LinkedIn account as quick and smooth as possible:
- Use a current email/number: Make sure LinkedIn has your most up-to-date contact info so you can easily get a verification code.
- Know your security answers: Take time now to review and update your LinkedIn security question answers.
- Have IDs ready: Locate photo/scans of current government IDs in case you need to provide verification.
- Gather profile details: Compile important account details like your employment history to confirm your identity.
- Explain account access loss clearly: Concisely explain to LinkedIn support how you lost account access and why you need it restored.
Following these tips will make it easier to provide LinkedIn with the necessary information to restore your account access quickly.
What to Do If Your Appeal is Rejected
In some cases, LinkedIn may reject your account recovery appeal. This can happen if you are unable to provide sufficient information to confirm you are the legitimate account owner. If your initial appeal is rejected, don’t panic. You still have options, such as:
- Respond to the rejection email providing any additional account details you may have forgotten.
- Check again for account emails that may contain identifying information like past employment or education details.
- If your account was hacked, provide information on when/how the hack occurred.
- Request a secondary review from a LinkedIn Customer Service Manager if support cannot help you initially.
Persistence is key – keep providing details until LinkedIn can fully verify your identity. You may need to go through multiple appeals before your account is restored.
Steps to Take Once Your LinkedIn Account is Recovered
Once you regain access to your LinkedIn account, there are some important steps to take:
- Reset your password – Change your password to something unique that only you know. Enable two-factor authentication for extra security.
- Remove unauthorized changes – If your account was compromised, delete anything the hacker may have added, like their contact info or false work history.
- Reconnect with your network – Let your connections know you’re back and re-request any connections that may have been lost.
- Review privacy settings – Double check your account privacy settings and make any needed adjustments.
- Update account recovery options – Add or update your current email, phone number, security questions, etc. to prevent future lockouts.
Taking these steps helps secure your account and restores things back to normal after the recovery process.
Preventing Future LinkedIn Account Lockouts
Once you get your LinkedIn account reopened, there are some best practices to follow to avoid getting locked out again down the line:
- Use unique passwords – Don’t reuse passwords across accounts. Use a password manager to store strong, randomized passwords.
- Add two-factor authentication – Add an extra layer of account security by requiring a code from your phone or authenticator app.
- Review account activity frequently – Check your account often for any suspicious posts, messages or changes that may indicate hacking.
- Be wary of phishing – Don’t enter your LinkedIn login credentials on any site other than LinkedIn.com to avoid phishing scams.
- Keep your info current – Update your LinkedIn email, phone number, security answers, etc. if they change.
Staying vigilant about account security makes it much less likely you’ll ever need to go through the account recovery process again!
Conclusion
Having to recover your lost or hacked LinkedIn account can be a huge inconvenience. But fortunately, LinkedIn provides an account recovery process to help reinstate rightful account access. The amount of time it takes depends on your specific situation – it could be within minutes or up to a week in some cases.
To make the process smoother, have your account details ready and persist with your appeals if your initial recovery request is rejected. Once your access is restored, take steps to further secure your account. Following best practices for password hygiene and account security reduces the chances you’ll ever need to recover your LinkedIn profile again.
With some patience and diligence, you can successfully navigate LinkedIn’s account recovery process. Before you know it, you’ll have full access to all your important professional connections and profile details once again.