I am locked out after failed sign ins

What has happened

Three failed sign ins in a row from your address triggers a 20 minute lockout. If three more fail after that, the next lockout is 24 hours. The sign in page shows how long is left.

What does not help

The lock is on your network address, not on your browser or your account. So none of this makes any difference: refreshing, clearing cookies, a private window, a different browser, a different device on the same network, restarting the router.

Trying again during a lockout does not extend it, but it does not shorten it either. Every attempt is recorded.

What does help

• Wait it out. The lock clears itself. There is no way to lift it early from your side.
• Use a genuinely different network — mobile data instead of home wifi, for instance. That is a different address and is not locked. Do this only if you are confident of your password, because three failures there locks that address too.
• Reset your password while you wait. Requesting a reset link is not a sign in attempt and is not blocked by the lockout. Follow the link, set a new password, and sign in cleanly when the lock clears.

If you are sure you never got it wrong

Then somebody else was trying. Once you are back in, open Activity and look for Failed sign in attempt entries with addresses you do not recognise. The lockout did its job, but change your password and turn on two factor authentication the same day.

A deadline while you are locked out

Clocks keep running. A 20 minute wait rarely matters; a 24 hour one can. If a vault is due within hours and you cannot get in, write to support immediately and say so in the first line — email is not blocked by a lockout.

Preventing it

Use a password manager, so the password is filled rather than remembered, and reach for Forgot password on the second wrong attempt rather than the fourth.