Any way to contact a human being by phone at Google company? Help!

J

JBR

Senior Member
Location
Southern Canada mtn. valley, tad west of Rockies
I'ver avoided having a Google account until now, but have purchased a Chromecast device. To finish setting it up, I need a Google account. I'm willing to obtain one, but their sign-up system won't accept my Canadian phone number for sending a verification code. Google offers advice if you sign in with your Google account name & password. There's a Google office number (in California) online, but its vocal response is a 'friendly' robot, and the menu offers next to zero!

Hence, so far I'm caught in an isolation loop.
 

Do you not have an alternative to using your ph#?....like using your email instead? If not, that's pretty weird.

All I can suggest is going to their website, and I assume you did that already.
 
That is strange. Did you receive a message from Google stating that they don't accept your phone number or do you just not get a verification text ? If you aren't getting a notification text when you ask for one then you might want to check your privacy settings on your cell phone and make sure to set it on a more moderate privacy setting and try again. Just a wild guess though.

If you are receiving an actual message from Google stating that they won't accept your Canadian phone number then I have no idea.
 

Murrmurr said:
Do you not have an alternative to using your ph#?....like using your email instead? If not, that's pretty weird.

All I can suggest is going to their website, and I assume you did that already.
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Thanks Murrmurr. Yes, Google has numerous websites. Don't know if I've been to all of them on English-language internet, but many.

That doesn't seem to suffice for the G sign-up, because they want to phone a verification code. I have an email addy that I use all the time (not gmail). I think long ago I did have a gmail account too, but I actually became disgusted with Google engulfing so many things in the online world, and seeming to be the direct or indirect source for a plethora of junk and advertising email.
 
Lara said:
You can contact Google customer service by calling (650) 253-0000, which connects to an operator service called "the Googleplex" at Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California.
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That was where today I encountered the friendly robotic voice, and no menu option for talking with a human. Has your experience with that number been different?
 
MarkinPhx said:
That is strange. Did you receive a message from Google stating that they don't accept your phone number or do you just not get a verification text ? If you aren't getting a notification text when you ask for one then you might want to check your privacy settings on your cell phone and make sure to set it on a more moderate privacy setting and try again. Just a wild guess though.
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I receive verification codes from various online operations fairly frequently. Haven't struck out before. The G system even says explicitly it accepts Canadian phone number. With Google sign-up, I put in my phone number (land line, we don't get cell service at our home location); there was a window for a phone number for verification, but the sign-up system immediately responded the number itself was unusable for them to send a code. I tried repeating the input several times.
 
JBR said:
I receive verification codes from various online operations fairly frequently. Haven't struck out before. The G system even says explicitly it accepts Canadian phone number. With Google sign-up, I put in my phone number (land line, we don't get cell service at our home location); there was a window for a phone number for verification, but the sign-up system immediately responded the number itself was unusable for them to send a code. I tried repeating the input several times.
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Ah, OK. It was just a thought. Sometimes I do have to change my privacy settings on my cell phone because I don't always get the verification code i need when I have the highest privacy setting on. Yours is a different situation.

I hope you are able to get through to someone. I wish I could help more :( Let us know how it goes.
 
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A little research...

The Google Home app is compatible with the following mobile devices:

  • Android phone or tablet with Android 9.0 or later
  • iPhone or iPad with iOS 15.0 or later
That's all it mentions. Do you have any of those?

I wonder if you could use a friend's phone # instead of yours?
 
Some corporate web sites with telephone robots now force one to first go through their automated FAQ listing. If that doesn't help then a chat support line where at least some customer service persons are actually monitoring:

Chat Support Help

And if that doesn't work, a customer service person may then provide a way to contact them directly.

The reason contacting corps is so difficult today is there are endless technically ignorant person that otherwise call such phone lines and those spewing SPAM will target them. That began years ago with the rise of cable TV. At first corps like Comcast stupidly just made it impossible to contact any warm body and quickly became the most hated corp. So now corps just make it difficult that forces those people to get help from others like on this site. Many lazy people will do little to work out their problems using online information and instead expect someone should hold their hand step by step moving through whatever processes. If one is a corporate customer, admins will have special internal contacts and account reps.

Numbers of people though on computers and are able to use smartphones, can't even use Notepad or Windows Explorer so can only take notes with a pencil and invariably get stuck with typos. Working with such folks efficiently is for practical purposes impossible.
 
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JBR said:
That was where today I encountered the friendly robotic voice, and no menu option for talking with a human. Has your experience with that number been different?
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I didn't actually try it. I just googled "How to talk to a real person at Google" and that's the link that popped up.
I just assumed it would work. Sorry about that. It's a different world we live in now and fewer workers.
 
Lara said:
It's pretty bad when you can't even google Google and get an answer.
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I've never had trouble but that's because I have both a cell phone and a laptop and at least one of them is logged into a Google account. The option at signing, "Try Another Way" has always gotten me in whenever I've had an issue.
 
If the email address or the cell phone number you supply for 2 factor authentication has not been previously added to your Google account as a two factor authentication contact, it won't be accepted.

Not sure if landline phone numbers are acceptable.
 
Lara said:
I didn't actually try it. I just googled "How to talk to a real person at Google" and that's the link that popped up.
I just assumed it would work. Sorry about that. It's a different world we live in now and fewer workers.
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I do appreciate your intention, Lara. Yes, it's a world of prerecorded & AI. It seems to be tailored to masses of customers, less & less toward enabling or helping individuals.
 
I got a automated reminder call from the doctors office. You could tell it was for everyone because it paused to get my name, then description, then when it is. They probably have it set to call everyone, automatically now. Robots have began to take over our lives! :eek:
 
JBR said:
This issue has been on hold for me. We're juggling the transfer of essential belongings to a storage unit, due to the nearby wildfires. Along with doing what we can to reduce fire hazard if embers fly onto our place. Also, harvesting food, and processing food from our gardens.

The Gmail mess can wait.
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Oh dear, please be safe!
 
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Google is too big to talk with you. But here is what you do: Find some friend with an American number to take the call. They then text you the verification number.
 
Actual core company employees tend to only communicate by email and send codes etc by text. They do call and give a record message with a code as well.

But the only person I knew that got thru to msn wound up getting contractors which wound up trying to sell them better a security and maintenance software.

If you do get through just politely ask are the contractor or company and employee. I keep the talk on your actual issue.
 

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