launchpad relies on login.ubuntu.com but does not sync email addresses
| Affects | Status | Importance | Assigned to | Milestone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launchpad itself |
Triaged
|
Low
|
Unassigned | ||
Bug Description
I recently changed my email address, and updated it on launchpad using my already-logged-in session. No problem there.
When I tried logging in on another computer, I was redirected to login.ubuntu.com, which failed to accept my password.
After a frustrating time looking for a way to change my password on launchpad, failing, and eventually discovering (via google) that I had to visit login.ubuntu.com and request a password reset, I gave that a try. It claimed to have emailed me with the password reset link, but no such email arrived.
Supposing that the alleged email might have been filtered as spam, I added two or three more email addresses (from different providers) to my launchpad account using the already-logged-in session. I then tried the login.ubuntu.com password reset form for each of them. No email ever arrived.
Eventually, on a hunch, I managed to temporarily reclaim my old email address and try again. The password reset email worked at that address. It seems that my password was fine all along, but login.ubuntu.com didn't know about my current email address.
Only after my password was reset was I shown any indication that login.ubuntu.com has its own list of email addresses which must be updated separately from launchpad.
Lessons learned:
1. launchpad.net has two completely different mechanisms (and sites!) for updating password and email address. This is confusing.
2. launchpad.net and login.ubuntu.com each keep separate lists of a user's email addresses, and they are not synchronized. Even worse, there is no obvious way for a user to discover that the latter list exists or how to update it.
3. As a side effect of #2, login.ubuntu.com is unable to log a user in or reset his password if the his email address has changed, even if he dutifully updated his address on the most commonly used site (launchpad) and he remembers his password perfectly. In other words, if you lose your password and *old* email address, or if you're simply unaware that login.ubuntu.com is still using your *old* email address, you're never allowed to log in again.
| Changed in launchpad: | |
| status: | New → Triaged |
| importance: | Undecided → Medium |
| Changed in launchpad: | |
| importance: | Medium → Low |
| tags: | added: feature |
| tags: | added: email openid |
| Tanguy Herrmann (dolanor) wrote | #1 |
This exact problem happened to me and my account.
I lost my domain for my mail which was the default (and only) email address entered in launchpad.net (and login.launchpad
As I didn't connect for 2 years, I didn't remember the password, so I asked the reset. But I couldn't receive the email since I didn't have my domain.
So I asked the login support to change my email information on launchpad so I can reset it with my new mail. No answer.
Then I thought about asking someone on IRC. Laura Czajkowksi gently asked me to send a message to <email address hidden> describing the problem.
She followed quite nearly my problem and told me it was done : my mail has been changed on launchpad.
I tried to reset it, indicating my new mail. I received a new mail from launchpad, telling me that someone try to reset a password of a launchpad account linked to mail, but no account were linked to that mail address.
It left me dubitative. My problem was still unsolved. I thought nothing has been done.
I could get my domain back, it was a patience work, but it was worthwhile. I reinstalled a temporary postfix just to get my address working, and tried to reset my password with my old email.
I got the email, could reset my password and access my 2-years-unlogged account ! Finally, I saw that the launchpad team DID change my mail account, they add my new mail and made it default.
Though, when I try to reset my password of my new mail on a new browser session, just to understand, I got the same message telling me that no launchpad account were linked to my new mail.
Coming home tonight, I logged in again with my new mail : error, mismatch password.
I thought that my old mail was still in a database somewhere. I tried with my old password, bingo.
But now, I was on my ~dolanor account page on login.launchpad.net telling me that my default mail was my ancient mail. So I added my new mail and put it as default. And now, trying to reset it with my new mail in a new session on login.launchpad.net worked and I got the code.
So the launchpad support people did change my mail in my launchpad.net account, but not in my login.launchpad.net and I couldn't use the reset form.
I think those kind of info should be connected/sync'ed