When you cannot sign in
The panel has no "forgot password" link that emails a reset. Your account controls the websites and the mail of whole domains, and a reset by email would make each of them only as safe as the mailbox that receives it. Instead, your hosting provider sets up your sign-in again with a new setup link.
Can't sign in?, under the sign-in form, opens a page with two parts:
- Try these first: what you can do on your own.
- Ask your provider: what your hosting provider offers.
Try these first
| Problem | What to do |
|---|---|
| I forgot my password | If you have a passkey, sign in with it, then change your password on the Password & Security page. The old password isn't asked for. |
| I lost my authenticator app | Sign in with your password, then type a backup code in place of the app's code. A sign-in with a passkey doesn't ask for the app at all. |
| I have a setup link | Open it and set new credentials there. A setup link works once. |
A second passkey and a set of backup codes kept outside the account mean you never need your provider. See Passkeys.
Ask your provider
Your hosting provider chooses what this part shows:
| The page shows | What you can do |
|---|---|
| A form with Ask for help | Type your username, select what happened, and send the request. This is the default. |
| A text from your provider | Use the contact details in it, e.g. a help desk address. |
| Nothing | Only the self-help in Try these first. Contact your provider the usual way. |
The request
A request tells your provider that you can't sign in, and why, from a fixed list of reasons. There's no free-text message.
Two facts protect your account:
- A request changes nothing on your account. It doesn't stop your password or sign out a session, so a stranger can't use the page to lock you out.
- The page gives the same answer for every username, including one that doesn't exist, so it doesn't reveal which accounts exist.
After a request, the panel:
- tells your hosting provider, in their panel and by email;
- emails your System Mailbox, so if you didn't ask, you know somebody else did;
- adds a row to your account activity.
The panel doesn't verify who sends a request, so your provider can contact you through a channel they already trust, e.g. a phone call, before sending a setup link. Don't give a setup link or a password to someone who calls you and asks for it.
The answer
| Answer | What you get |
|---|---|
| A setup link | A new setup link. It stops your old password and signs out every session; you then set new credentials yourself. |
| A new password | Your provider sets a password and gives it to you. Change it after you sign in. |
| Handled | Your provider helped you another way. |
| Declined | Your provider isn't helping. The email can tell you why. |
The answer arrives by email in your System Mailbox.
A request also closes when you sign in, when your password changes, and when your provider makes you a setup link. You can have one open request; asking again adds to it. A request nobody answers closes after 14 days.
The page accepts only a few requests per day for one username, and from one address.