DEO identity verification nightmare - can't reach anyone by phone after ID.me verification

SAME EXACT SITUATION!!!! Been calling for TWO WEEKS STRAIGHT from 7:30am until they close. The system is RIGGED to make us give up. I finally got through yesterday after 267 calls (yes I counted) only to be on hold for 2 hours and then DISCONNECTED. The ID.me verification is completely useless because they still want you to verify by phone. It's like they're purposely making it impossible!!!

im in this boat too! did id.me thing 3 wks ago but still can't get into account. tried calling over 50x per day but just busy or auto hangup. frustrating!!!

This is a common issue right now. The identity verification department is severely understaffed in 2025, and they're dealing with a huge backlog after the recent data security issues. Here's what you need to know: 1. The ID.me verification is only step one - you still need to complete the phone verification as stated in your email 2. The phone verification is necessary because there's additional account-specific information they need to confirm 3. Once you get through and verify, they'll typically activate your account within 24-48 hours Try calling exactly at 7:29am (one minute before they officially open) - the phone queue actually starts accepting calls slightly before the official hours. Also, Wednesday and Thursday mornings tend to have slightly lower call volumes in my experience.

I was in your exact situation last month and after 8 days of failed calling, I used Claimyr to get through to DEO. It calls for you and then connects you when it gets through to an agent. Saved me days of constant redialing. Their site is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/UzW_hbUy-ss?si=zORd51jeq1GX5Ldj Once I finally got through, the identity verification only took about 10 minutes. They asked me specific questions about my claim history and previous employers to confirm it was really me. My account was reactivated the next day and I could access everything again.

yes claimyr works. i used it 2 times now. costs money but worth it to not spend all day calling.

So this identity verification thing reminds me of what happened to my cousin last year. He had a similar issue but with his taxes, where the IRS needed additional verification before processing his refund. He ended up having to go to an actual IRS office in person with like 5 different forms of ID. Took him 3 months to get his refund! I wonder if DEO has any in-person offices where you could go to verify instead of this phone nightmare?

Update: After using the 7:29am trick mentioned above, I FINALLY got through this morning! Was on hold for 45 minutes but actually spoke to someone who verified my identity. She said my account should be unlocked within 48 hours. Will update once I can access my CONNECT account again.

They asked for my SSN, date of birth, address, and then asked verification questions about previous employers (name, address, dates worked). Also asked about my previous claim history - when I first filed and when I last received payments. Had to confirm some specific deposit amounts too. No documents needed since it's all phone verification.

One important thing to know: once your identity is verified, your weeks in 'pending' status should automatically move to 'payable' status, but this sometimes requires an additional step. If your account is unlocked but your payments don't process within 72 hours, you'll need to call again and request that they manually release the payments. Make sure to specifically ask if your weeks need to be 'manually released' after verification.