Months of being asked for pin to login. Cust Serv # never works!

[tottie7777]

For months and MONTHS EVERY TIME I log in I have to go through a maze - questions and they email me a pin. I tried to use their customer support number (always says the number is non-working) or security (always - MONTHS - doing upgrade). I can't find a way to email anyone in security or support, and it is like trying to fish in the toilet.

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE

Tell me why EVERYTIME I login I have to do this pin thing?

How to actually talk to someone at their call center (even if I have to speak Hindu).

BTW - I am no newbie, doing sales and buying here since 1998 with NO bad feedback. This has only started in this year and I had already once in the spring got into their help and they PROMISED it would not happen again. What really happened is it continued to happen over and over. NOT ONCE have I got into my account with the hoop jump. I have my own IP, always the same, and there is NO REASON for this BALDERDASH!

[eburtonlab]

@tottie7777 

Here is my general sign-in troubleshooting advice:

How are you signing in? Using a bookmark? If so, you may need to update it.

If you go to the ebay.com page and use the sign-in link it will send you here:

https://signin.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?SignIn

Almost all of the sign-in links I have seen send you to the same page, or an alternate page that looks the same:

https://signin.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?SignIn2

or possibly this:

https://www.ebay.com/signin/?sgn=reg&siteid=0

There was an older link that worked more reliable until very recently, but eBay has updated things so that the old link now points to the current page at the top link:

https://signin.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll

If one of these links works better for you, bookmark that link for future use, and please follow up to let others know. Many other users are having difficulty signing in recently.

Other things that can interfere with signing in:

eBay has recently changed the sign-in process, and added extra verification steps. Sometimes when eBay changes the sign-in process, it causes problems for some users; sometimes those problems are due to using an older browser or obsolete cookies, but not always. Some users are just annoyed by verification; while others actually get stuck in a loop that just keeps presenting new sign-in pages or new verification pages, or just will not let them sign in at all.

Make sure you are allowing the sign-in page to load completely before attempting to sign in -- users have indicated that attempting to sign in before the page has loaded can cause problems.

Make sure your browser is recent and set to accept cookies, or try another browser, or a private or incognito session; if a private or incognito session works but a regular session does not, that would indicate a problem with your cookies (or possibly your browser profile). If you do delete your cookies, you will have to sign in and likely go through strict verification again. Some browsers seem to require more verification than others; try signing in and out more than once to see if it requires verification the second time around.

Make sure your browser allows javascript:

https://www.whatismybrowser.com/detect/is-javascript-enabled

VPNs can also cause sign-in issues, so try disabling yours if you use one.

If you get a verification slider puzzle that has no background, there are three options below the slider -- close the pop-up, reload the pop-up, or try an alternative audio version that requires entering numbers that are read aloud.

If you are able to sign in, to stay signed in there is a "keep me signed in" checkbox on the sign-in page, but there is another checkbox in your account site preferences -- it might be worth checking that setting, or unchecking, saving, rechecking and saving again. That is, if you want to stay signed in and avoid having to go through verification, if that is not a security concern for you.

If you need to sign in and out to use multiple accounts, consider dedicating a different browser to each account so you can stay signed in.

If you get stuck, try signing in to ebay.ca or ebay.co.uk -- that may allow you to do many non-listing or non-selling related activities.

[tottie7777]

Thank you for trying to help with workarounds.

But, Absolute BALDERDASH! 

I know the issue is not solved. I cannot login using Firefox. It has the JavaScript and all the other things.

I tried your suggestion of trying another browser. So I took out the dreaded Microsoft Edge Tracking Browser and could go in and out, close the browser, go back in. Somehow Edge will NOT let me have the home page or opening page as the Ebay login page. Hows that for being the worst browser in our times. But it will let me just go to ebay.com click my ebay and login with having to do pretzel matches or DNA swabs. But now I am tracked, anything I look for is tracked, anything I sell or buy is tracked by MICROSLUFFER. That is not how it should work.

Worse, I can login to my account in Spain (ebay.es) and login with either browser and it is quite normal.

So it is only logging into ebay.com with Firefox.

WHY DONT THEIR SUPPORT PHONES WORK?

[eburtonlab · Accepted solution]

@tottie7777 

Somehow Edge will NOT let me have the home page or opening page as the Ebay login page.

Try going into Edge settings, and selecting "Open Edge with a specific page" and then pasting the sign-in page URL in the field there and selecting the little disk icon to save that setting.

Are you able to sign in using a Firefox private session? Perhaps there is something about your current Firefox setup that is causing a problem. You might be able to install another version in parallel with your current setup to test without changing your current setup at all. Try the Firefox Developer Edition:

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/developer/

WHY DONT THEIR SUPPORT PHONES WORK?

Are you outside the US or using a nonstandard software-based phone system? If so you may have trouble calling eBay. Try contacting eBay using social media instead:

https://www.facebook.com/ebay/

https://twitter.com/AskeBay

[tottie7777]

Masterful suggestions.

The developer edition had no issues. Stranger even is that I can login with the developer edition, as I am now, and run the other browser to login and once again that version gives me the old DNA testing routine.

I used to use this edition when I was doing lots of websites. I am an old codger, and have been on the Internet since 1978. Sometimes I wish I could just use the old Lynx browser but that probably would work as well as the MS-DOS MASM.

Please give me some time to debug the other browser and test all the add-ons and plugins to see which is causing the issue.

Yes, I use my skype out phone to call everywhere. It works in all the countries I live in. I also have a skype number because I am always somewhere else. 

I dumped my facebook accounts last year because of their onerous TOS. Today I am deleting all my Twitter accounts because of their change of TOS they want everyone to agree to. Bogus stuff that I do not want https://www.tektalk.com/twitter-builds-shadow-banning-into-tos/ so I am basically SOL there.

Then again, this is working very nicely and may have the solution. I will do some more testing and then come back and mark the thread. You have been very good and tolerant.

I have yet to test my Spain accounts on ebay, but will do so now. I hope I uncover the issues.

[eburtonlab]

@tottie7777 

I am glad to hear that Firefox Developer's Edition is working better for you.

The only reason I learned about that particular browser is that back in May Firefox had an issue that caused most browser extensions to stop working. One of the suggested workarounds was to install an alternative edition, which I found far preferable to browsing without an ad blocker.

[tottie7777]

Yes, I am wondering if it is the adblocker and badger I am using that is stopping the login to ebay. Strange that the ebay.es does not do that but the ebay.com does. I have different accounts in each country site but same browser and computer. So I am not sure I want to go through the gyroscopic movements to troubleshoot what the issue is with the .com site.

I can tell you when I get to the login screen, put the info in, press login It sends me to https://www.kgvrfn.ebay.com/?reqinput=*a whole bunch of hash garbage. Only on the regular mozilla, only on ebay.com (not .es).

I just spent the last hour moving the favorites and logins

HEY! Got this message trying to save this. Found that there was a saved draft that I could get back. THIS is even stranger.

Authentication Failed.

• Authentication Ticket Mismatched, failed authentication.

[eburtonlab]

@tottie7777 

The "Authentication mismatch" error has been cropping up on the community pages lately. That happens if your sign-in credentials expire, and you are required to sign in again.

I have been working around that by opening a second browser tab on a community page and reloading or signing in as necessary. Once you are signed in again you should be all set unless you were in the process of posting when your credentials expired -- in which case you can usually back up and load your saved draft. You can also find your latest drafts on your community profile page if you lose track of what page you were on.