Why is my Google sign-in refused when I already have an account?
Troubleshooting · Help center · Current as of 2026-10-10
Short answer
Because an account created with an email and a password has never proved that it owns that mailbox, and linking a Google or Apple identity to it on the strength of a matching address would be unsafe. Use Forgot password on that email: completing the reset proves you read the mail there, and the social sign-in works from then on.
The attack this refusal prevents
Anyone can type your address into a sign-up form and choose a password; nothing stops them, because KeyNesta does not make you verify an address to start using sync. If a Google sign-in then joined that account because the addresses matched, the person who typed it would still hold a working password on what is now your account. Refusing the link is the only safe answer, and it is why the message points you at a reset rather than at support.
The fix, in order
- Choose Forgot password and enter the address.
- Open the mail and set a new password. This marks the address verified.
- Sign in with Google or Apple as you intended. The identity links to the now-verified account.
Completing a reset also signs every device out and detaches any social identity that had been attached while the address was unverified, so expect to sign in again on your other devices.
Two things worth knowing
- Changing your account email makes it unverified again, for the same reason: nobody has read mail at the new address yet. A reset verifies it.
- None of this touches your vault. Account sign-in and vault encryption are separate; a reset does not re-encrypt anything and cannot recover a forgotten vault passphrase.
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