Being locked out of your Contabo account or VPS can be stressful, however this is an issue that is easy to fix. In this guide, we will walk you through both scenarios step by step so that you can quickly regain access to your services again.
Unlocking Your Contabo Account
If your Contabo account is locked, this is usually due to too many failed login attempts. To regain access, follow these simple steps:
- Go to the Login Page
Open the Contabo Customer Control Panel and click “Forgot Your Password?”
- Reset Your Password
After clicking on “Forgot Your Password” and entering the email address associated with your account, you will receive an email with a link to reset your password. Follow the instructions to set up a new password and log back into your account.
- Still Logged Out?
If you haven’t received an email or are still unable to access your account, please contact the Contabo support team using our email support: [email protected] to clear things up.
Tip: Once you’re back in, use a strong password and enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for added security.
Unlocking Your VPS
Sometimes the problem is not with your Contabo account, but with your VPS login details. Depending on your operating system, the steps for recovery vary slightly.
Unlocking a Windows VPS
If there’s an error like:
“The user account has been locked due to too many login attempts”
Here’s what to do:
- Save Your Data first
If you don’t have a recent backup, use the Rescue System first to retrieve and save important files before reinstalling.
- Reinstall Your Server
The fastest way to fix this is to reinstall your VPS from the Contabo Control Panel. Keep in mind that this deletes all the data on your VPS.
- Adjust Account Lockout Settings
After reinstalling, open the Group Policy Editor and navigate to:
Account Lockout Policy → Adjust the lockout threshold or set it to 0 to disable lockouts entirely.
This helps prevent the same issue from happening again in the future.
Unlocking a Linux VPS
If you are using Linux and your account has been locked due to fail2ban or pam_tally2, follow these steps:
- Boot into Rescue Mode
Access your Contabo Control Panel and boot your VPS into Rescue Mode.
- Reset the User Lockout
Run the following command to reset your locked account:
pam_tally2 --user yourusername --reset - Reboot Normally
Once the reset is complete, restart your VPS as usual. Your account should now be accessible.
Need More Help?
If you still cannot unlock your account or VPS, don’t worry. You can always contact Contabo customer support through:
- Emailing Our support team: [email protected]
You can also use the knowledge base at Contabo to try and fix your problems.
- Use our Tutorials on the Blog
- Find help articles on our help desk
Watch Our YouTube Video on How to Unlock Your Accounts
If you prefer a visual walk-through, we have a Video on our YouTube ready for you.
Final Thoughts
Anyone can get locked out – but with these simple recovery steps, you’ll be back in your Contabo account or VPS in no time. Remember to enable two-factor authentication, use strong passwords, and back up your data regularly to stay protected.