Verizon password pains go unexplained

Rob Pegoraro | Special for USA TODAY

Q. I tried to log into my Verizon account and was told that the password that worked a week ago didn't match -- and when I reset my password, the new one didn't work either. What's going on?

A. I don't know. I wish I could offer an actual explanation, but experiencing this problem firsthand and getting it fixed (sort of), reading similar reports from other Verizon subscribers and hearing out Verizon PR have all failed to illuminate this problem.

I can, however, describe the issue and suggest some precautionary moves as well as a way to minimize the potential damage.

In my case, trouble started a couple of weeks ago when Verizon's login page said the password I'd used earlier in January to change the credit card used to pay our FiOS bill didn't match its records. I reset the password and was told the new one didn't match either.

After multiple interactions with Verizon tech support throughout a Saturday afternoon -- via Web chat, Twitter direct messages and phone calls -- two changes apparently helped unlock my account.

One was getting a numeric passcode, delivered by a robocall to our phone, to confirm my password reset. The other was using a different browser, Google's Chrome in place of Apple's Safari.

Since then, I've confirmed that my reset password works in Chrome and Firefox. It also works in Safari on my MacBook Air -- but not on my iMac.

And none of the usual browser-troubleshooting tricks have worked to make that browser welcome at Verizon's site: not deleting all Verizon cookies, not using a private-browsing window, not having Safari identify itself as a different browser.

Verizon spokesman Les Kumagai said Thursday that the fault could be "a possible issue with versions of the Safari browser that may prevent Verizon Online authentication." He didn't have more details by Friday afternoon.

I've seen browsers get a poor reception by sites before. But this goes well beyond a formatting glitch; I can't remember the last time I saw a password work in one browser and not another.

(Update, Feb. 24: After this column ran, Verizon noticed that I use the LastPass password-manager service and asked that I try disabling its Safari extension. I did and was surprised to see I could log in properly. Verizon observed the same pattern in its tests; our combined experience suggests my login issues weren't Verizon's fault. LastPass CEO Joe Siegrist, however, said his developers couldn't duplicate the problem when they tried a week later. And when I attempted to log in again today — after Verizon had made some security upgrades to its sign-in process — things worked even with the LastPass extension active.)

Plus, other Verizon users have reported login failures outside Safari: Phone Scoop editor Rich Brome, for instance, saw this start with Verizon's own FiOS Mobile app on his iPad. "I must have tried to reset my password at least three dozen times," he recounted in an e-mail, before finally getting his account liberated in a different browser--he didn't remember which.

If Verizon is your Internet provider, you should at a minimum add your mobile number to your account profile to ease getting password-reset codes sent your way (log in, click "Profile" and then "Notification Settings") and have a second browser handy, just in case.

But if you've also relied on Verizon for your e-mail, this kind of uncertain access means it's time to think serously about moving that correspondence elsewhere. You've got a wide variety of Web-mail services -- Gmail, Microsoft's Outlook.com, Yahoo Mail, Apple's iCloud -- that you can also sync to a standard e-mail program, and most of them also offer ad-free access for a small yearly fee.

(Disclosure: I write a policy column at Yahoo Tech, but promoting Yahoo's services isn't part of that job. Use whatever Web-mail system works for you.)

Tip: Two ways to cut your Verizon Wireless bill

The price cuts that Verizon Wireless announced last week hide an unadvertised money-saving opportunity for current subscribers: If you're on a "More Everything" plan, you can get an extra gigabyte of data added to your current monthly cap or have your rate cut by $10.

But that's not automatic; you have to call (800-922-0204) or make the change by logging into your account at Verizon Wireless's site.

Subscribers who bought a phone at a subsidized price and have since concluded a two-year More Everything contract can also cut their bills by taking advantage of an out-of-contract discount. As a VzW FAQ page explains, they can call, visit a store or go online to get $15 taken off their monthly bill (or $25 if they have 6 GB or more of data on the plan).

If you subscribe to an AT&T Mobile Share Value plan, you should get a comparable discount automatically once you conclude a contract. Sprint, however, offers no such break. At T-Mobile, meanwhile, it's a moot point: That carrier doesn't subsidize a phone's price through higher service fees or require two-year contracts.

Rob Pegoraro is a tech writer based out of Washington, D.C. To submit a tech question, e-mail Rob at rob@robpegoraro.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/robpegoraro.