FYI Login.gov

FYI Login.gov

Dear friends,

If you haven’t done this, I have, and here are a couple of hints.

This is a new manner to access your social security info which is now required. You HAVE to do it. And you HAVE to supply at least one other manner than a password to authenticate yourself.

It’s meant to make things easier. Argh. Initially easy, you open and access with the Username you currently have had for that. Once in, you create a new account, and you are guided to insert information and move to another page smoothly.

Next, you are to select one or two authentications. At this point, I found that nothing I did allowed that. So, I called for some help.

If this happens to you, prepare to wait for an hour or so. I cooked one-handed and then walked in place for exercise.

I ended up having to wait an hour for the login.help, the first level helper didn’t know how to determine the problem that kept me from being able to add “authentications” landline numbers, cell phone numbers, back up codes or anything else. We spent another hour attempting to do and re-do everything I’d already done. She then decided it was a technical problem and put me on hold for the “technical department” where I waited another hour.

After another forty to fifty minutes of experiments that failed, I finally noticed that my security was intruding with a very small pop-up. When I mentioned this, the tech leapt for disabling my VPN. Easy to do. I think both of those helpers should have suggested trying that right off the top.

I spent over four hours between waiting and experimentation. IF you have trouble getting the authentication methods to work, do try disabling your VPN.  

I’m hoping that I’ll save some of you from the same problems. (Yes, you can leave a phone number for them and then not leave your house until they get around to you.)

Ariele M. Huff is a writing teacher who writes, an editor of magazines, novels, and nonfiction, and a columnist specializing in Writing and Poetry. Her work currently fills over 34 Amazon eBooks and paperbacks.

SHARING STORIES is a weekly column for about the 50-plus crowd living in the Puget Sound region. Send your stories and photos to ariele@comcast.net. Tell local or personal stories; discuss concerns around aging and other issues; share solutions, good luck, and reasons to celebrate; poems are fine too. Pieces may be edited or excerpted. We reserve the right to select among pieces. Photos are always a plus and a one-sentence bio is requested (where you live, maybe age or career, retired status, etc.).

SHARING STORIES is featured on www.northwestprimetime.com, the website for Northwest Prime Time, a monthly publication for baby boomers, seniors, retirees, and those contemplating retirement. The newspaper can be found in the greater Seattle area and other Puget Sound locations. For more information, call 206-824-8600 or visit www.northwestprimetime.com. To find other SHARING STORIES articles on this website type "sharing stories" in the search function above.