Can't restore Line

[Polar Bear]

I bricked my phone, so I can't access my Line account (or anything else ) on it. I'm in the process of restoring everything on my new phone, but I can't seem to restore Line. According to the help files, I should be able to do it through my phone number and password. But I when I put my number in, I get the code through, but it comes up with someone else's name (in Japanese), and says there is no password for the account.

If the account is in someone else's name, why do people see my name when they add me in Line? How was I even able to set it up if the number was still in someone else's name?

Also, I definitely have a password because I had to set it up to use Line on the laptop (and that still works, so at the moment, I still have access to my chats, etc., but there doesn't seem to be any way to do a backup from the computer, only from the phone, but at least I could save text dumps of the most important ones.)

Am I missing something about this process, or is the account just screwed up and I'll have to start again with no backup?

[The Hammer2021]

Bricked?

[Kinnock]

Your account can be in a name different to the display name, as you can change your display name in the settings.

 

Line defaults to Japanese sometimes during set up - check location settings.

 

The back up of all your messages and contacts should be in your Google (or Apple) account, unless you disabled auto back up.  You can restore using your Google account.

 

Try clearing your browser cache, ensure location settings are on, be logged in to your Google account, and try again.

 

Good luck.

 

 

[Polar Bear]

Just now, The Hammer2021 said:

Bricked?

I dropped it in the sea. There is no hope for it. It's now a shiny metal brick.

[Polar Bear]

Just now, Kinnock said:

Your account can be in a name different to the display name, as you can change your display name in the settings.

 

Line defaults to Japanese sometimes during set up - check location settings.

 

The back up of all your messages and contacts should be in your Google (or Apple) account, unless you disabled auto back up.  You can restore using your Google account.

 

Try clearing your browser cache, ensure location settings are on, be logged in to your Google account, and try again.

 

Good luck.

 

 

It's not my name in Japanese. (I can't read hirigana well, but I know my name. This is Meiko, I think. Everything else is in English). As far as I know, I was backing up to Google, but I can't restore it until I can access the account. And the warnings make it sound like I will lose everything if I claim the number and create a new account with it. Will I definitely be able to restore from a backup if it is officially a new account?

Location settings are on. I cleared the cache, but I've had the phone less than 24 hours so there's not much to clear.

 

[Kinnock]

39 minutes ago, Polar Bear said:

It's not my name in Japanese. (I can't read hirigana well, but I know my name. This is Meiko, I think. Everything else is in English). As far as I know, I was backing up to Google, but I can't restore it until I can access the account. And the warnings make it sound like I will lose everything if I claim the number and create a new account with it. Will I definitely be able to restore from a backup if it is officially a new account?

Location settings are on. I cleared the cache, but I've had the phone less than 24 hours so there's not much to clear.

 

I've only ever restored from Google to the same account on a new phone.

 

Could it be the country code?  I.e the Japanese name is same number, but in Japan?  Try +66 maybe?

[Polar Bear]

I'm using +66, and the code is coming through to my phone here. 

I guess I just have to bite the bullet and see what happens when I try to restore.

[Polar Bear]

In case you are curious about the outcome, I claimed the number for a new account, and then after accepting all the warnings about losing everything, there was an option to link it to an existing account via email address and password. I did that (using the email address and password it had said weren't registered), and it connected to my existing account.

 

All my contacts (I think) and about half my chats were restored. I have no idea how that works. I'd have thought either it was backed up or it wasn't, but apparently not. Of the ones that weren't restored on my phone, about half of the chats are still visible in the Line app on the laptop, I guess the remainder are gone forever. 

At least I got most of it back.

[Kinnock]

14 minutes ago, Polar Bear said:

In case you are curious about the outcome, I claimed the number for a new account, and then after accepting all the warnings about losing everything, there was an option to link it to an existing account via email address and password. I did that (using the email address and password it had said weren't registered), and it connected to my existing account.

 

All my contacts (I think) and about half my chats were restored. I have no idea how that works. I'd have thought either it was backed up or it wasn't, but apparently not. Of the ones that weren't restored on my phone, about half of the chats are still visible in the Line app on the laptop, I guess the remainder are gone forever. 

At least I got most of it back.

Thanks for the update.  Good result.  My wife swapped Line to her new phone without a Google back up, and oddly, her chats and contacts reappeared over the next week or so, in installments.

 

No idea how that works, but she lost very little in the end.

[Polar Bear]

Oh maybe it's not all a lost cause then! I'll keep an eye on the missing chats and see if they reappear.