This thread is amazing - thank you all for sharing your experiences! I'm currently locked out of my account too and was feeling pretty overwhelmed, but reading through everyone's success stories gives me hope. I love how this community comes together to help each other navigate these frustrating system issues. Going to try the 8am calling strategy tomorrow with all my documents organized. It's incredible how much more useful this real-world advice is compared to the generic help pages on the EDD website. Will definitely pay it forward and share my experience once I get through!

I'm going through the exact same thing right now! Been locked out for 3 weeks and finally worked up the courage to call after reading all these success stories. Just wanted to add - if you're calling and getting nervous about what to say, I wrote down a simple script beforehand: "Hi, I'm locked out of my UI Online account and can't answer my security questions. I need help with a password reset." Having that ready helped me not stumble over my words when I finally got through. Also keeping a notepad handy during the call to write down any reference numbers or instructions they give you. This thread has been a godsend - knowing other people have been through this exact situation and made it out the other side makes it feel so much less overwhelming!

As someone who just went through this exact same confusion a few days ago, I totally get the panic! I literally spent hours convinced that EDD had somehow messed up my claim when I saw the 12-month vs 26-week discrepancy. Here's what finally made it click for me: Think of it like a prepaid card that's valid for 12 months but only has enough money loaded on it for 26 purchases. You have the full year to use up those 26 "purchases" (weekly benefit payments), but once you've used them all, the card is empty even if it's still technically valid. Your coworker definitely benefited from those pandemic-era extensions that let people collect benefits for way longer than the standard 26 weeks. Those programs ended in 2021/2022, so now we're back to the normal rules. The most frustrating part is how badly EDD explains this! They could literally just add one sentence to their approval letters: "You may receive up to 26 weeks of benefits within this 12-month claim period." Instead, we get buried in confusing legal language and left to figure it out ourselves. Don't feel bad about being confused - based on this thread, it's clearly a super common issue that trips up tons of people. At least this community exists to translate EDD's nonsense into something us normal humans can actually understand! 😅

I'm jumping in as someone who literally JUST went through this exact same panic yesterday! Got my EDD paperwork in the mail and immediately thought they had made some massive error with my claim. The whole 12 months vs 26 weeks thing sent me into a complete spiral thinking I was only getting half of what I was supposed to. Reading through all these responses has been such a relief! The analogies everyone's shared are absolutely perfect - way better than EDD's confusing legal jargon. I especially love the prepaid card one from @Vera - that really made it click for me. You have a card that's valid for 12 months but only has enough money loaded for 26 transactions. It's honestly mind-boggling that EDD can't just write "You can collect up to 26 weeks of benefits within your 12-month claim period" in plain English on their approval letters. Instead we get buried in confusing terminology and left to decode it ourselves like we're solving some kind of puzzle! I was actually about to spend my whole weekend stressing about calling EDD on Monday (and probably waiting on hold for hours), but this thread has saved me so much unnecessary anxiety. Thank you to everyone who took the time to explain this clearly - you're all way more helpful than EDD's actual customer service! 🙌 Definitely bookmarking this thread because something tells me this won't be my last EDD-related confusion!

Just wanted to add another solution that worked for me after struggling with E314 for days! I was getting nowhere with the usual browser tricks, but then I realized I was using a VPN which was probably making the system think I was accessing from outside California. As soon as I disconnected my VPN and tried again, it went through immediately. Also want to echo what others said about the early morning timing - I submitted mine at 5:45 AM and had zero issues. It's crazy how many random technical things can interfere with these government sites, but at least we've got this community to help troubleshoot! For anyone still stuck, definitely check if you have any VPN or location-masking software running. Hope this helps someone! 🤞

I've been lurking on this thread and finally decided to join because you all have been SO helpful with troubleshooting this E314 nightmare! I just wanted to share what ended up working for me after trying almost everything mentioned here. The winning combination was: Firefox in private browsing mode, VPN completely off, manually typing everything (no copy-paste), removing all dashes/spaces from SSN and phone number, and submitting at 6 AM sharp. But here's the kicker - I also had to turn off my antivirus real-time protection temporarily because it was apparently blocking some of the form submissions! Once I disabled it for just long enough to submit, everything went through perfectly. Just remember to turn your antivirus back on afterward! It's honestly insane that we need to become cybersecurity experts just to file unemployment claims, but this community has been a lifesaver. Thank you all for sharing your solutions - we really are stronger together! 💪✨

I've been reading through this entire thread and wow, what a relief to find so many people going through the exact same situation! I'm dealing with something very similar right now - had my first few payments come through fine, then got hit with an eligibility interview about 3 weeks ago, and now I'm seeing that same confusing pattern everyone's describing where my older weeks are stuck in pending but my latest certification went straight to disqualification. This thread has been absolutely invaluable - I had no idea that I needed to specifically call and request conditional payments rather than waiting for them to automatically appear. I also didn't know about the separate processing for each certification period during eligibility reviews, which explains why we're all seeing these mixed statuses. Based on everything I'm reading here, I'm going to call first thing tomorrow morning to request conditional payments using that exact phrase: "conditional payments for weeks pending over 14 days due to eligibility determination delay." My weeks have been pending for almost 3 weeks now due to the interview delay. I'm also going to make sure to keep certifying even with the disqualification showing - I almost stopped because I thought there was no point, but now I understand I need to keep the claim active for any potential appeals. The financial stress of this whole situation has been overwhelming, especially when you're depending on these payments just to keep a roof over your head. But reading everyone's experiences here - especially the success stories from people like Rudy who got their pending weeks paid out even after disqualification - gives me real hope that this isn't the end of the road. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences and tips. This community support makes such a huge difference when dealing with EDD's incredibly confusing and stressful system. I'll definitely keep everyone updated on what happens with my conditional payment request and determination notice!

I've been dealing with a very similar situation and this thread has been incredibly helpful! Like many of you, I had the same confusing pattern - first payments went through fine, then eligibility interview, followed by weeks stuck in pending while my newest certification went straight to disqualification. What really helped me understand what was happening was learning (from this thread!) that EDD processes each certification period separately during eligibility reviews. So your pending weeks are being evaluated under your original eligibility status, while the disqualification likely applies to your circumstances going forward from a specific date. A few things that worked for me: - Called and specifically requested "conditional payments for weeks pending over 14 days due to eligibility determination delay" (got them within a week) - Kept certifying even with the disqualification showing - you need to maintain your claim for any appeals - Checked both UI Online inbox AND physical mail for the determination notice The address change issue is almost certainly unrelated to your disqualification. In my experience, those are tracked separately from the certification questions and don't typically cause eligibility problems. Most likely causes based on what I've seen: work search documentation (super common now), work availability issues, or employer disputes that come up after the interview. Don't panic yet! The fact that your older weeks are still pending separately is actually a good sign. Many people in this thread have successfully gotten their pending weeks paid out even when facing disqualification on newer certifications. Wait for that determination notice to see exactly what they're saying before assuming the worst. The financial stress is awful, I know, but there's real hope here based on everyone's experiences. Keep us updated!

This entire thread is absolutely golden! I've been dealing with my own EDD account lockout for 6 days now and was feeling completely hopeless until I found this discussion. The level of detail everyone has shared here - from the specific phone sequences to the timing strategies to the backup options - is incredible. I'm particularly intrigued by the Assembly member contact approach that Lucas mentioned. I had no idea that was even possible! It's brilliant how this community has essentially reverse-engineered all the ways to actually get help from EDD when their regular system fails. Planning to try the 8:02 AM phone strategy tomorrow using all the tips from StarSeeker and Atticus. I've got my verification info ready (thanks Diego Rojas for the heads up about needing old bank account digits - would never have thought of that!). If that doesn't work, I now have a whole arsenal of backup plans. What really strikes me is how this February system update seems to have created this wave of false lockouts affecting so many legitimate users. At least now I know it's not just me and there are actual working solutions. This thread should be pinned somewhere for future reference - it's like the ultimate EDD lockout survival guide! Will definitely report back with my results. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and kept this conversation going!

I'm so grateful this thread exists! I've been locked out for 4 days and was completely lost until I found all these detailed solutions. The combination of specific timing (8:02 AM), exact phone sequences (833-978-2511 then 1-2-4), and asking immediately for "Tier 2 technical specialist" seems like the winning formula based on everyone's success stories. What really helped me prepare was reading about having ALL the verification info ready - SSN, email on file, old bank account digits, and previous employer details. I never would have thought to dig up those old bank account numbers without Diego Rojas's tip! The Assembly member contact option that Lucas shared is absolutely brilliant - I had no idea that was even possible. It's amazing how this community has figured out every possible workaround for EDD's broken system. Going to try the phone strategy first thing tomorrow morning, but knowing I have multiple backup plans (Claimyr, Assembly member contact, in-person office visit) makes this feel so much more manageable. This thread is seriously like having a complete roadmap through the EDD nightmare! Will definitely update with my results. Thank you to everyone who took the time to share such detailed, practical advice - you're all lifesavers! 🙏