Verification Codes: They’re Ridiculous and Some Steps to Help Get Your Game Back

Hey Howdy Hey Tappers!

We’ve previously written about the Verification Code requirement at login for TSTO here and here.  When I first wrote those posts, I wrote them from a place of…EA realized they made a mistake with these and they’re going to fix it.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case. So, now I’m coming from a place of…these codes are the dumbest thing to hit our games since the Wizard Halloween Event, and here are some steps to work around the stupidity of it all. (I had harsher words there, but it’s Friday so I’ll be nice) So let’s get to it…

So first off, I’ve just got to say this.  The Verification Code system is 100% pure crap.  It’s stupid, pointless, and utterly ridiculous of EA to put this as their system after 9+ years of TSTO’s existence.

What’s wrong with just a damn password?!  It worked pretty well for the last 9 years, seems pretty stupid to stop it now.

Not to mention, SOOO many players (myself included) have multiple games of TSTO that they play on. And they jump back and forth multiple times a day.  Using a verification code instead of a password just makes their lives more difficult…and makes it less likely that they’ll continue playing (and/or spending money in the game).

This is, hands down, the dumbest thing EA’s ever done to this game and it should be reversed.  It won’t be…but if they had half a brain it would be.

Now that that’s off my chest, let’s get into some things you can do to combat this stupidity…

First of all, and I’ve just got to say this as well, for those of you that don’t have access to the email you use to play TSTO…why?!  If you have an issue with the game you NEED a working email address to deal with it.  So the fact that you don’t have access to it seems so silly to me.  Once you stopped using that email address, you should have changed it to a working one.  Even if you don’t want it to be your main email (mine isn’t. In fact I barely log into the email I use for TSTO…), change it to one you use just for TSTO…and KEEP ACCESS TO IT!  As good common sense all around, you should only use an email address that you still have access to for any account login/signup.  You never know when you need to use it again.  The fact that you no longer have access to it isn’t EA’s fault (as stupid as the verification code is), it’s yours for not updating it.

For those of you that no longer have access to your email, here’s some advice from debbie314001 over on ToUk on how to deal with EA and changing your E-mail address…

“As you may recall, the last Tapped Out update required a verification code which was sent to the email EA had on file for us. Well mine was 7 years old and over time I stopped using it and it was permanently closed. So I could not access the code and not log into the game. I called EA and they asked me several questions which if I got correct, they would change my email on file so I could be verified. The questions they asked are always the same.
1. IP address the game was played on. That was easy to find by typing “what is my IP address”
2. The last 4 numbers of my credit card I used to purchase something at EA
3. My date of birth
4. My billing address
5. My phone number
6. 2 EA games I play and have purchased.
I gave them the information that they asked and was told I was not correct. After many failed calls one person told me to log onto the EA account and see what I had posted. Some things like date of birth were half blocked (ex: XX/XX/XX01). But what I found was they did not have my address, credit card or phone number. So the correct answer they wanted me to say was NONE on file. Even though I gave them my correct address, phone and credit card, they didn’t have it on file so they could not verify me. The last call I made I said none an he was able to verify me and change my email to an active one. So the secret is to know what they have on file and give that information. They sent me several emails and I was able to set up a password for EA.”

Now what’s really important is, after you do all of those steps and get verified by EA…stay on the phone/chat with them while you log into your game and make sure you can get in. If you’re still having problems alert them immediately while you’re still on the phone.

For those that have access to their email but the codes just aren’t working…

Make sure your email is written in TSTO EXACTLY as it is.  If it has a capital letter in the middle, make sure that the capital letter is there.  If it’s all capital letters and one lower case letter random, make sure that the lower case is in the right spot.  If you don’t, the codes will not get sent to your email.

And finally, here are some tips from Graham-S that he’s put together over reviewing various posts on the EA forums and other locations:

“There seems to be 3 main issues :

Dead emails – I know you’ve seen Debbie’s tips on that and it’s a big post so I’ll leave that out of this post

Invalid codes : –

Firstly it must be your game email you used to use with a password to log in, using another email not connected to your game account won’t work !!

the original suggestion is to type your email in all lower case
If the email contains a capital the code fails.

Turns out that doesn’t always work , this was posted on Answers -.
Type the email in ALL CAPITALS – it fails of course
Type the email in all lower case and request a new code
The new code works ( cool tip, I like break it to fix it tips !! )

Active email not getting codes : –

I noticed at least some affected players also can’t be sent PMs on the forum.
It seems posting this all over has given EA techs a clue as to the cause and they may be able to action “Account Updates” to solve it.

I also thought of this, but I’ve got no feedback yet on if it works –
Create a new EA account
Start a new game
When you can, register the new game and log in
If that gets codes grab the Mayhem ID, Origin ID and email for it etc.
Contact Help and ask if they can swap so your main game’s Data / Mayhem ID is on to the new account
Hopefully that will mean the game that gets codes contains your lost town”

And here’s a reminder from Graham for all players, even if you don’t think you’ll be impacted:

“Fair warning for everyone too . . .
Even if you’ve escaped this so far, only playing on one device and never logging out – it is a ticking time bomb !!
One of my 2 towns got logged out at random and I struggled to get back in
( I have a device per town, but that didn’t save me )

Make sure your EA account details and email are up to date
Make sure you set up a recovery email in case you need it sometime
Make sure you get a screenshot of your Mayhem ID

That way if or rather when you find you need a code you’ll have the info needed for Help if it doesn’t work !!”

Mayhem ID

For those that don’t know, you should keep your Mayhem ID handy in case you need it down the line to contact EA.  Just good practice to keep a screenshot of it available. Here’s how you access it:
-In TSTO tap on the store, than the settings cog in the upright corner

-From there hit the view button next to info
-From there the view button next to About

-And below the version, it’ll give you a really long sequence of numbers.  That’s your mayhem id. (Yes, I blacked out a large chunk of mine to protect my game id…)

Grab a screenshot and keep that screenshot somewhere safe where you can access it in case you need it down the road.

And that’s it my friends…a few tips to work around a really stupid implementation from EA.  Hopefully, things work out for you!

Thoughts? Tips? Wanna share your irritation at EA over this?  Feel free to share it all in the comments below…