1055724 - Create a page explaining why a Firefox Accounts user might not be receiving confirmation emails

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(support.mozilla.org :: Knowledge Base Software, task)

Description

[Nick Alexander :nalexander [he/him]]

Attachment: needs_verification.png

For some work we're doing in Firefox for Android, I'd like to provide a support link for users who are having trouble confirming their Firefox Account.  I've attached a screenshot of what my screen might look like.  The link I'd like to create is labelled, "Trouble confirming your Firefox Account?"

The page might explain that:

* email delivery takes time;
* spam filters can do things;
* forcing a sync (on Android and Desktop) might be needed to update the Accounts state.

Similar, but not the same, as Bug 996147.

Comment 1

[Roland Tanglao needinfo please :rolandtanglao, :mohnkuchen, :adobo, :sinigang, :roland]

adding :jsavage aka joni savage, sumo content editor. joni and i will discuss this tomorrow at our weekly 1:1

Comment 2

[Joni Chan]

Nick, I can have a support article ready for this. Here's the slug: https://support.mozilla.org/kb/why-didnt-i-get-confirmation-email-my-firefox-sync.

Should I just call it "Firefox Account" instead of "Firefox Sync Account?"

Also, can I have more clarification on "forcing a sync (on Android and Desktop) might be needed to update the Accounts state?" Does that mean the user should "Sync Now" to have the registration go through?

Comment 3

[Nick Alexander :nalexander [he/him]]

(In reply to Joni Savage from comment #2)
> Nick, I can have a support article ready for this. Here's the slug:
> https://support.mozilla.org/kb/why-didnt-i-get-confirmation-email-my-firefox-
> sync.
> 
> Should I just call it "Firefox Account" instead of "Firefox Sync Account?"

Yes.  Technically, this isn't specific to Sync.

> Also, can I have more clarification on "forcing a sync (on Android and
> Desktop) might be needed to update the Accounts state?" Does that mean the
> user should "Sync Now" to have the registration go through?

Sure.  On Android, we'll display a message telling you to verify until we know you've verified.  We know you've verified by asking the Firefox Account server, which only happens as part of a Sync.  So if you set up; see the unverified message; and then verify, you'll still see the message -- until you Sync again and the status gets updated.

To make sure we're up to date, the user might need to manually sync in some way, either by using "Sync Now" on desktop or using the Android Settings app to force a sync.

Comment 4

[Nick Alexander :nalexander [he/him]]

...
 
> To make sure we're up to date, the user might need to manually sync in some
> way, either by using "Sync Now" on desktop or using the Android Settings app
> to force a sync.

Sorry, this was unclear.  "Sync Now" on desktop won't help the Android device update.  You'll have to do something on the device itself to make that happen.  Forcing a Sync using Android Settings is one way; normal browsing should eventually prompt a Sync; or just waiting some hours should get a regularly scheduled sync to happen.

Comment 5

[Chris Karlof [:ckarlof]]

> Also, can I have more clarification on "forcing a sync (on Android and Desktop) might be needed to update the Accounts state?" Does that mean the user should "Sync Now" to have the registration go through?

Sorry Joni, this is a bit confusing. There are actually two separate potential problems:

1) The user didn't receive a email with the confirmation link.

For this problem, the normal solutions apply: check spam folder, wait, click the resend link in our UI, etc.

Also, we've noticed some users have strong spam filters which require them to explicitly whitelist our domain until the mail will show up anywhere on their system. 

2) The user received the email and clicked the link, but the UI state still says she needs to verify.

On Desktop and Android it's each a little different, but our clients periodically check in with the server to see if an unverified user is now verified. If the user sees a "you need to verify" message after she has clicked the verified link, it could be that the Sync code in the browser hasn't checked back in with the server yet. "Sync now" or "forcing a Sync" is effectively a way to manually force the client to check the verified the state of the user's account. We try to minimize the chances a user is in this state, but it can happen. 

Does this help?

Comment 6

[Joni Chan]

@Nick and @Chris, thanks for the clarification. This makes sense now. 

I changed the article title, so please use this new slug: https://support.mozilla.org/kb/im-having-problems-confirming-my-firefox-account . Is this for en-us only or do we need to localize the article?

The content's on the page now, so please let me know if you have any suggestions/requests.

Comment 7

[Chris Karlof [:ckarlof]]

That's awesome Joni. Perfect!

Comment 8

[Michele Rodaro]

Hello everyone, 
I'm a SUMO localizer and I'm translating the support article.

If possible, I would like to know the exact/complete text of the message displayed on Firefox for "you need to check". I can not find any reference. Can you help me? 

Thanks in advance.

Comment 9

[Chris Karlof [:ckarlof]]

Michele,

You can see this by:

1) Creating a new account for Sync in Firefox
2) *Don't* verify your email
3) Open the Sync preferences pane

It should show you a message saying "you need to verify". If you have trouble with this, I can provide a screenshot next week.

Comment 10

[Michele Rodaro]

Chris,
thanks for your reply.

I did the procedure you suggested.
Now in the Sync preferences pane I see:
 
xxxx @gmail.com non è verificato   (xxxx @gmail.com is not verified),
 
the "Verifica email" button  (Verify Email)
 
and the link "Dimentica questa email"  (Forget this Email)

Is the "xxxx @gmail.com is not verified" message the "you need to check" message we are talking about?

Comment 11

[Chris Karlof [:ckarlof]]

Hi michele, 

Yes, that's correct.

Due to the volume of bugmail I receive, please "needinfo" me (using the "need more information from" control below) in the future to make sure I notice your question.

-chris

Comment 12

[Nick Alexander :nalexander [he/him]]

Can we close this out?  I've shipped with the slug in Fennec; see:

http://mxr.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/source/mobile/android/base/home/RemoteTabsStaticFragment.java#46

Comment 13

[Michele Rodaro]

Thank you Chris and Nick ;-)
As far as my request for clarification, you can close. Everything fine.

Comment 14

[Nick Alexander :nalexander [he/him]]

Thanks, y'all.