Developer account stuck in limbo (can't login!)

Question

I just registered a new developer account. When I did so, I received the following automated email:

Welcome to Force.com Developer Edition. Dear {my name},

Your user name is below. Note that it is in the form of an email address:

User name: {snip}

You'll be asked to set a password and password question and answer when you first log in. Passwords are case sensitive. Your password question and answer will be used if you forget your password. Make sure to choose a password question and answer that you will easily remember.

Click https://login.salesforce.com/?c={snip} to log in now.

Once again, welcome to Force.com!

When I clicked the link, I was presented with a login screen. I have not set up a password OR a security question. Since I haven't set up a security question, I cannot reset the password.

I tried contacting support via [email protected] and [email protected] . One auto-replied with a message that the email address doesn't exist, and the other replied with the following:

In order to improve our overall responsiveness and increase the efficiency of time-to-resolution for your issues, salesforce.com is streamlining its case submission process. As of May 13th, we no longer accept non-automated support requests sent to: [email protected], [email protected], and [email protected].

To log a case:

1. Log in to Salesforce.com
2. Select Help & Training (upper right corner)
3. Select Contact Support
4. Select Open a Case
5. Complete required information and select submit

By using this channel, you ensure all relevant information on your case will be captured, allowing us to respond more efficiently and resolve your issue more quickly. We are making this change because email case submissions typically lack the detailed information we need to troubleshoot the issue, which causes resolution delays and impacts your productivity.

This change will not impact the current provisions in place for submitting cases by telephone, nor will it affect the Email-to-Case feature in Service Cloud, which will continue to be available to customers.

Please let us know if you have any questions or feedback on the above change. Your input is critical in helping us provide you with the best support experience possible.

Thank you, Salesforce.com Customer Support

I have tried to find a way to submit a case without logging in, but cannot find one. I tried calling support @ Contact Salesforce (Select Options on IVR based on help needed) 1-800-NOSOFTWARE and 1-415-901-7010 (numbers I found here), but they only redirect me to submit a case (again, by logging in).

How can I get this resolved? I don't want to create a whole other email address just for my Salesforce Developer account, but so far I can think of no other alternative. How do I resolve this? Is there some support email address I haven't tried? Some other phone number I haven't found? I found the Salesforce developer forums, but those also require me to log in to use them.

Answer 1

Honestly, it's easier to just create a new account (unless, of course, you were hoping to use that precise username, which will remain locked for future use indefinitely). It's true that salesforce.com technical support could technically fix your problem in about one minute flat if they'd take the time, but their support process is unnecessarily complex (hostile?) for non-customers. If you have an existing account already (you or your organization is already a customer), you can try using that account to request assistance (Help & Training). Otherwise, you could also try the Contact a salesforce.com Support or Sales Representative form, and they'll get back in touch with you.

Edit: Salesforce has implemented a policy to delete developer edition orgs after 180 days from the last login. You can reuse the user name after that time, if you desire. Some types of orgs are exempt from this policy, but if you've never logged in, it's safe to assume that the org will be cleaned up.

Answer 2

Not sure why your welcome email link didn't work; you might try copy-pasting the entire URL in case there's a render problem in your email client with the link. What you should have seen was a screen asking you to set a password (and confirm it), and to choose a secret question & answer for password recovery. If there's any chance you did that and forgot (maybe you did it last week?), try using the "I forgot my password" link on the login page.

However, if you do want (or need) to create a new dev account, you can do so without another email address. It's important to note Salesforce user names must look like email addresses, but don't have to be valid email addresses (I think you just need an @ sign). If your email is [email protected], you could make a new account with user name [email protected], [email protected], or even [email protected]. As long as your requested user name is unique and looks like an email address when you squint, it will work.

You will need to use your real email address on the signup form so that you can get the activation email, but there is no limit to the number of developer accounts that share an email address - I have several, each for different projects.

Answer 3

I just ran into something like this. There was a lag of about 10 minutes between creating my account and having my credentials work on other Salesforce sites. So I could log into my Sandbox, but the help site & developer.salesforce.com would not accept my credentials.

So if it's been 2 minutes since you're account was created, stand up, have a stretch, walk around, then sit back down and try again.

Answer 4

Workaround alternative using Environment Hub and Single Sign-On:

1. Login to Environment Hub org
2. Search for target org where login is blocked. Click on Organization's name to see org details.
3. Click "Enable SSO" button at the top and click again in confirmation page.
4. Once enabled, click on "New SSO user mapping". Populate and click Save
   • Member Username: < [email protected] >
   • Environment Hub User: < Your EH First and Last Name >
5. After creating user mapping, go back to org details and click over "Login".

Inside the org, the password can be reset for the locked user without using security question.

The user should log in without being asked to set credentials. Of course, this will work only if access to Environment hub is granted and permissions for SSO are enabled.

Answer 5

I have found a solution for this. Sign up for a new org, Using the same email id, Just use a different user name instead, User the proper verification this time. Viola! it Should work!

Answer 6

I tried many options people suggested elsewhere such as clearing the cache, browsing history and cookies, adding salesforce.com to cookie white list and using an incognito window.

What eventually worked for me was using my phone (that doesn't have Outlook for email) to click on the "Verify Account" link in the email and get the correct first login screen, where you set your password and security question.

Answer 7

I have found solution today on a call with Salesforce Support. I use MS Outlook as email app. It has a 'Safety link' feature which opens internally a link before you actually click it. Salesforce 'Verify Account' link is meant to be one-time, so if MS Outlook opens the link before you open it, when you open it in a browser it is considered as second time and doesn't allow you to login and setup your password and security questions.

So the solution is either use a different email app, or copy the Verify Account link and open it into an anonymous browser window to prevent any conflicts with other Salesforce user logins. This solution works as a charm.

However, if you have already clicked the link, there is no other way to restore access except contacting Salesforce support.

To get access to Salesforce Support, you may create a new org with the same email but a different username.