Does anyone know about how to fix problems on Facebook?

P

Phoenix

Senior Member
Location
Oregon, U S
I resisted joining Facebook for years, for the obvious reasons. They violate one's privacy. They do anything to make money off of a person. Doing so has made Zuckerberg super rich. Last month however, I caved to the advice of Smashwords where I'm publishing my book. The owner of the Smashwords said it's a great way to make contacts and sell books. So, I thought, I will be very careful. I will not reveal much personal information. I put up my page which included some of my paintings as well as some info on the book. And I was right, they kept bugging me to reveal more and more info. I ignored it. I don't want my identity stolen.

Here now, day before yesterday, not quite a month later the system locked me out. I'd been logging in just fine. All at once it won't let me log in unless I give them my cell phone number. When I did, it said, I would receive a text with a code and I would be able to login. Well, I knew better than to do that. And besides I never gave them a phone number in the first place. I don't own a cell phone. I tried all day to try to find someone, tech support or customer service, who could help me on the site. There isn't anyone. With all the billions Zuckerberg has made, he does not provide people to help. My computer nerd husband said my FB site had been hacked. I can't get in to even delete the FB page. Grrr. I was right in the first place. I should have trusted my gut.
 

I've never joined FB Phoenix and don't think I ever will, so I have no advice at all on the subject. Good luck, your situation would make me uncomfortable.
 

Thanks, SeaBreeze. Yes, I'm uncomfortable. I guess this post can warn others not to join. I did get to look up old friends while I was there for the three weeks. That was kind of nice, but most of the ones I wanted to contact weren't listed.
 
My sister tried to get me to join a lot to see her photos, after she knew I wasn't registering, she just gave me her password so I could take a quick looksee. Other than seeing some nice family photos, I saw nothing appealing about that site. I could see that it benefits those running a business or trying to sell something or some service.
 
The problem with using it to promote a business is that a person has to go out and kiss everyone's backside, who might be able to help. I find that idea revolting. No one wants to be used. I was told to do Twitter too. Nope. But I did put up stuff about my book and some of my paintings, which a person can see on my web site anyway. I think the biggy for a lot of people is to find those they have lost touch with over the years. The cool thing that came out of this is that when I told my writer friend Bob what had happened, he offered to put up stuff about my book on his FB page. He has his books there. He already has all kinds of followers. Maybe this is what needed to happen after all...the silver lining. So today I sent him the info. He said he'd write a review. I offered him a free copy of the book. He said nope. He would buy it.
 
Phoenix how do you login to FB? Wireless or via computer? Do you use the same browser all the time? I never have problems logging into FB. They can identitfy you either by your email addy or your cell phone number and the cell phone number thing is not a scam. If you use the same browser all the time or download their APP you should be able to connect directly with no problems and no login issues.

You don't have to give them ANY info you don't want to give. They still pester me for my current addy which I won't give though I joined ages ago. Just ignore the questions you don't want to answer and let it go at that. They can't force you to answer personal questions nor can they deny you access to their site for doing so.

Good luck with your book. :love_heart:
 
Thanks for your response, Chic, but I can't get in. I'm blocked. I always use the same browser. I use a computer. I don't own a wireless. I didn't change anything. Went in the same way every time. The computer remembered my login, so I didn't have to type anything in. All at once I'm locked out. And it demands just a cell phone number. They do not allow me in with the email address. It is a scam. Someone hacked it. Today I will try changing my password, and see if that helps. If it does, I will take everything out of FB and close it out. I just wish FB was responsible enough to have customer service. They aren't. So I will never use them again.

Thanks about the book. :)
 
I've never had a problem with Facebook and I joined in 2008. I'm very careful with privacy. Since I do like to access via my smartphone I have to give my mobile number. I don't put in my address, just the nearest town and I don't put in my proper birth year, just birthday.

I've never had to pay a penny for anything because of Facebook. I don't click on any ads.

I love FB as it's the best way to keep in touch and share with friends and family around the world.
 
Never had a problem with them either and I've been a member for many years. By the way, for those who might be interested, I've found a site (Facebook Purity) that works with Facebook to block ads (and much of the crap) on the site. It's free and works as an extension with your browser. I happen to use Chrome. Works really well. My FB page is so much better and far less cluttered with stuff I have no interest in. Highly recommend it.
 
I just spent another hour trying to get back in so I can clear it out. I reset my password. But it still insists I put in a cell phone number which I did not have to do when I signed up last month. I don't have one. Instead of a cell phone number it said I could use my government ID. In a pig's eye. That is a violation privacy and could result in identity theft. There's still no one to contact to fix it. In one place it said that if I had problems, I should get a friend to help me. What good would that do? A friend can't help me fix this. Someone on FB needs to do it. So, I'm done. There's nothing else to do but leave my page up and abandon it.

I'm going to tell everyone I know how awful FB is. I knew that in the first place, especially based on what's been on the news about it. Again, the lesson is: go with my gut.
 
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I`m with Ameriscot. I really like Facebook and have reconnected with many old friends that I probably wouldn`t have otherwise-just because of not knowing where they were. My page is totally open to anyone that wants to look at it-dumb maybe,but in the 9 or so years that I`ve had it,I`ve never had a problem. Nor has my husband,3 daughters or my son. Or grandkids.
 
Then maybe those of you who like it can fix my problem. I'm open to the help. There can be termites in the house that a person doesn't know about until the house caves in.
 
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I do agree that it stinks that they don`t have anyone to help. We have a women here who does a fantastic job of reuniting lost pets with their owners. We had yet another huge wildfire here last week so she went to work on FB,doing what she does best. FB ended up blocking her for a week due to "excessive posts." For all of us trying to get her reinstated,it was very frustrating. Finally a gal who is in a group I am in,got ahold of a friend who does tech support for a large company in Silicon Valley and he was able to reach someone at FB for help. Not available for most of us though.
 
It turns out the issue is one of authentication. If a person wants to have their cell phone used, so there's more verification needed to sign into your account, then you can give them your cell phone number and have it be required to sign in. Well, I didn't go that way. I don't have one. Nor did I give them my land line. I used my email address and a password. It worked. Than all at once they told me I had to verify it with a cell phone. Since I did not sign up for that, I thought I'd been hacked. Now, the problem is I would have to try a bunch of things to fix this. It's totally stressed me out. I've spent hours and hours already trying to fix it. It hasn't worked. They will not get my government ID, either, which is another option. And if I gave them a cell phone number they'd have access to whatever private information was on my cell phone. There's big money in companies violating a person's privacy. Not gonna happen to me, if I can help it.
 
Phoenix said:
It turns out the issue is one of authentication. If a person wants to have their cell phone used, so there's more verification needed to sign into your account, then you can give them your cell phone number and have it be required to sign in. Well, I didn't go that way. I don't have one. Nor did I give them my land line. I used my email address and a password. It worked. Than all at once they told me I had to verify it with a cell phone. Since I did not sign up for that, I thought I'd been hacked. Now, the problem is I would have to try a bunch of things to fix this. It's totally stressed me out. I've spent hours and hours already trying to fix it. It hasn't worked. They will not get my government ID, either, which is another option. And if I gave them a cell phone number they'd have access to whatever private information was on my cell phone. There's big money in companies violating a person's privacy. Not gonna happen to me, if I can help it.
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They won't have access to info on your cell phone just because they have the number. I didn't have a smartphone when I joined FB but added the number later when I did get one.

Sorry, don't know how to delete or access an account that is hacked (?) as I haven't had a problem. Best bet is to google for help and you'll find geeky forums where people can help.
 
Phoenix said:
It turns out the issue is one of authentication. If a person wants to have their cell phone used, so there's more verification needed to sign into your account, then you can give them your cell phone number and have it be required to sign in. Well, I didn't go that way. I don't have one. Nor did I give them my land line. I used my email address and a password. It worked. Than all at once they told me I had to verify it with a cell phone. Since I did not sign up for that, I thought I'd been hacked. Now, the problem is I would have to try a bunch of things to fix this. It's totally stressed me out. I've spent hours and hours already trying to fix it. It hasn't worked. They will not get my government ID, either, which is another option. And if I gave them a cell phone number they'd have access to whatever private information was on my cell phone. There's big money in companies violating a person's privacy. Not gonna happen to me, if I can help it.
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Have you tried this help site at: https://www.facebook.com/help/
I typed in cell phone in the "ask question" and got several possibilities. They are:

https://www.facebook.com/help/223900927622502?helpref=faq_content

https://www.facebook.com/help/105487009541643?helpref=topq

Some of the others listed may help also or you may have tried these but I thought I would suggest it just in case you haven't. I also found a Facebook community located at:
https://www.facebook.com/help/community?rdrhc

Also, I may have listed this link in the previous ones but just in case I didn't, here it is again:
https://www.facebook.com/help/225196167506856?helpref=search
It sounds like it could be a confirmation problem. If you can, try using the email address confirmation if you haven't tried it yet. Good luck!

P.S. Try this one too https://www.facebook.com/help/105487009541643?helpref=search
Down at the bottom there is a link "Recover Your Account". If all else fails, that would be an option.
 
AprilSun, thank you for looking this stuff up for me. The email confirmation was what I used in the first place. That was all I signed up with. I tried the recover your account. I found the links. I tried everything I could find, except have your friend help you. I decided to forget it. It was causing me so much stress. I don't need that kind of stress. Now that I figured out I wasn't hacked, I can just abandon the stupid thing. I find other ways to promote my book.

Actually I know about the technology a company can use to access your cell phone, once they have your number. People have their stuff stolen from cell phones all the time. My husband is a geeky person. That's why I know about this stuff. He designed computer software for a living. That's why he does not have a FB account. His experience provided him the knowledge to realize it is not safe. News stories confirm it. Zuckerberg has scaled back some of his nefarious practices, because of consumer protests. But the company is not trustworthy.
 
Phoenix said:
AprilSun, thank you for looking this stuff up for me. The email confirmation was what I used in the first place. That was all I signed up with. I tried the recover your account. I found the links. I tried everything I could find, except have your friend help you. I decided to forget it. It was causing me so much stress. I don't need that kind of stress. Now that I figured out I wasn't hacked, I can just abandon the stupid thing. I find other ways to promote my book.

Actually I know about the technology a company can use to access your cell phone, once they have your number. People have their stuff stolen from cell phones all the time. My husband is a geeky person. That's why I know about this stuff. He designed computer software for a living. That's why he does not have a FB account. His experience provided him the knowledge to realize it is not safe. News stories confirm it. Zuckerberg has scaled back some of his nefarious practices, because of consumer protests. But the company is not trustworthy.
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You're welcome. I didn't mind at all. I'm just sorry it didn't help but I don't blame you for forgetting about it. Anything that causes that much stress is not worth it so I understand completely!
 
AprilSun, you're a good lady. Like the old timers said, it really is the thought that counts. Just knowing you cared enough to try made me feel better.
 
Phoenix said:
AprilSun, you're a good lady. Like the old timers said, it really is the thought that counts. Just knowing you cared enough to try made me feel better.
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Well, thank you and you sound like a good lady also. If you change your mind and would like more help, just let me know. I'll be glad to try again.
 
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Thanks. :)Right now I'm distracting myself getting back into the current novel I'm writing. My brother died a little over a month ago. His actions triggered the book mentioned earlier and the horrid mess. Being creative is good therapy for me. Fighting with a digital entity is the opposite.
 

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