Lost access to your YouTube channel? Was it an old one, made at a time where YouTube was a separate entity and didn’t use a Google account? Did you give up on your dreams of running a successful channel on YouTube, decided to delete it, only to regret the decision? Or, were you a victim of phishing, hacking, or social media engineering, and the perpetrator deactivated it instead? We’ve also heard plenty from parents who deactivate their children’s channels, only to wish they could reactivate them years later. Don’t worry, we’ll do our best to help revert the consequences. Let’s show you how to recover the YouTube channel.
1. Guide to recover an old YouTube channel (Older than 2009)
If you signed up for YouTube before May 2009, when YouTube used a username and password instead of an e-mail and password, your channel is still safe. Well, provided you haven’t logged in since 2011, since that’s when YouTube offered a way to transition. If so, you’ll have to look through your old e-mails or use the method below. But if it remained dormant, you’ll find it in form of a YouTube Brand account. You simply need to verify your ownership, then connect it to a Google account, new or old. In fact, it can even be an active YouTube account. You’ll simply get a new option in the top right corner. Now, let’s get to it.
Steps required for old YouTube channel recovery
Follow these steps to recover an old YouTube channel:
- Log into a Google/YouTube account you want to combine your old channel with.
- Having trouble? We already demonstrated how to recover a YouTube account.
- Head over to the Youtube’s Gaia Link.
- Enter your old YouTube username and password.
- Clarification. YouTube didn’t link e-mail addresses to accounts at the time. For that reason, there are no password recovery options. If you don’t know old account details, you’ve lost access to the YouTube channel, likely forever.
- Click on Claim Channel.
- After a brief loading period, click on the profile picture in the top right corner.
- From the drop-down menu, select Switch account and select the other YouTube channel.
2. Instructions to recover a deleted or hacked YouTube channel
It’s important to make a distinction between a YouTube account and a YouTube channel. As mentioned, you can have multiple YouTube channels tied to one account. This allows users and brand managers to run multi-channel networks from one Dashboard. For you, this means that through the account for YouTube, you can still restore one or more erased YouTube channels. Here are the instructions to restore a YouTube channel that was hacked or deleted:
- Sign in to a Google account linked to the YouTube channel.
- Click on the profile picture in the top right corner, then select Manage your Google account.
- Alternatively, visit Google’s My Account page directly.
- In the left sidebar, click on Data & personalization.
- Scroll down and click on Go to Google Dashboard.
- Find the Brand Account option, and click on the down-facing arrow.
- Click on Go to Brand Accounts.
- Find the Deleted accounts entry in the list and click on it.
- Click on the Restore this Brand Account option (rewind arrow icon) next to the YouTube channel’s name.
- Follow steps 7 and 8 in the method above to navigate to it.
3. My YouTube channel was terminated. Help!
Don’t worry, Google has put some thought into the recovery of terminated YouTube channels. If you are sure it was an error, fill out this form. Enter the required details, including an e-mail address you check regularly, and your YouTube channel URL. Make sure the description is concise before you click on Submit. This can elicit a faster response since they are getting swarmed with thousands of appeals daily. After a review, YouTube Support will get in touch.
Were you in the YouTube Partner Program?
If your YouTube channel had a larger audience, feel free to contact the YouTube Creator Support. Keep in mind, they weren’t part of Google’s decision to ban your YouTube channel. Be polite and calm. With that acknowledged, there are 3 ways to speak to YouTube Creator Support:
1. Using the Google Support page
Visit the Google Support page. Scroll down to the bottom and find Need more help? Click on Contact Us. Follow on-screen prompts to either enter a live chat or send an e-mail. Support in Spanish and English is available 24/7, while representatives that speak other languages can only be reached Monday – Friday, during standard business hours.
2. Reaching out from YouTube directly
While logged in to your account on YouTube, tap the profile picture. Select Help & feedback, then follow the same steps as above.
3. Tweeting at YouTube
Create a new Twitter account if you don’t have one, and tag @TeamYouTube, @YouTube, or @YouTubeCreators in your message. To improve your chances, ask your fanbase for help in getting the message across by retweeting.
