Cannot log in to Otter.ai: reset the password, find the right sign-in method, and get past 2FA

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If you cannot sign in to Otter, start with the password reset at otter.ai/forgot-password: enter your email, click Send reset link, and follow the email. If no email arrives, or the account seems empty, you probably signed up through Google, Microsoft or Apple, and need to sign in the same way. Two-factor authentication problems go to Otter's support.

I built YapToText, a dictation app for the Mac, so read what I say about Otter with that in mind. Every fact about Otter here comes from its own help center, read on October 11, 2026.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

On this page: 8 sections
  1. Reset or change the password
  2. You signed up with Google, Microsoft or Apple
  3. An error, or the page will not load
  4. Two-factor authentication
  5. You no longer have the email address
  6. Once you are in
  7. The short version
  8. Questions

Reset or change the password

  1. Go to otter.ai/forgot-password.
  2. Enter your email address and click Send reset link.
  3. Open the email and click the reset button.
  4. Choose a new password.

No email: check the junk folder. Otter suggests adding its sending addresses to your contacts, and on a work account asking IT to allow them. To change a password you still know, sign in on the web, open Account settings from your profile, and use the Password field on the General tab.

You signed up with Google, Microsoft or Apple

If you signed up with one of those buttons, there may be no password on the account at all. Use the same button again. Otter warns that if the account was not created that way, using a different button creates a new, empty Otter account, which is why a login can appear to work and show none of your conversations.

You can add a password to such an account by requesting a password reset. If you forgot which email you used, search your inboxes for Otter.ai.

An error, or the page will not load

  • Check the typing. The full email address, no swapped zero and letter O, and the keyboard set to the right language.
  • Refresh. Then try again.
  • Clear the cache, restart the browser, and try again.

Two-factor authentication

Otter offers two-factor authentication on every plan, with a 6-digit code from an authenticator app or by text message. Text messages work only for phone numbers in the United States and Canada. Once signed in on a device, you are not asked again there unless you sign out or change your password.

If you lost the authenticator, cannot receive texts, lost your backup codes or the code does not work, Otter's instruction is to contact its support, and to copy your Workspace admin if you have one.

You no longer have the email address

Otter needs to verify you. Its help center asks for four things: the last four digits of the payment card on file, the card's expiration date, the amount of the last transaction and its date, plus the new email address. It says all of them are needed. If the account was under a former employer's Workspace, that Workspace's admin has to contact Otter or remove you. Admins can change the email on an account, but cannot reset passwords.

Once you are in

The Otter guide covers the basics, cancelling and deleting the account have their own pages, and the Otter index lists everything else.

For what it is worth, there is a kind of transcription with no login to lose. YapToText, the free Mac app I built, has no account: it dictates into any app and turns audio files into text on the Mac. It does not record meetings, so it replaces only part of what Otter does.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

The short version

  • Forgot the password. otter.ai/forgot-password.
  • No reset email. Junk folder, then the sign-in button you first used.
  • Empty account after login. You created a second account with a different sign-in method.
  • 2FA trouble. Otter support.
  • Lost the email address. Support, with the card details it asks for.

If Otter changes its sign-in, open an issue on GitHub and I will update this page. Every one gets read.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

About the author. Ryleigh Newman is a developer whose hands make typing difficult and who dictates every day with YapToText, the app this site describes. Facts about other apps come from their own sites, with the date they were read. More about the project.

Sources

Questions

How do I reset my Otter password?

Go to otter.ai/forgot-password, enter your email, click Send reset link, and follow the link in the email.

How do I change my Otter password?

Sign in on the web, open Account settings from your profile, and use the Password field on the General tab.

Why is my Otter account empty after I log in?

You may have signed in with a different method from the one you signed up with, which creates a new account. Use the original Google, Microsoft, Apple or email sign-in.

Why did I not get the Otter password reset email?

Check junk or spam. If you signed up with Google, Microsoft or Apple, sign in with that button, or request a reset to add a password.

What if I lost my Otter two-factor codes?

Otter says to contact its support, and to copy your Workspace admin if you are in a Workspace.