Stuck at "Return to other browser tab" message after ID.me verification on NY unemployment mobile claim

happened to me too! The mobile site is complete garbage. You have to use desktop. I ended up going to the library to finish mine cause the system is designed terribly for phones.

I was stuck in exactly the same loop last month! After trying everything I found a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual human at unemployment who fixed it over the phone. Talking to an agent got my benefits unlocked so fast - saved me weeks of frustration. They have a YouTube vid explaining how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

the id.me system is GARBAGE. this is a known issue with mobile browsers. what worked for me was clearing cache/cookies, then trying again using chrome browser specifically (not safari if ur on iphone). also make sure u dont have any popup blockers active.

Ran into this last week! Try this: Once you finish the ID.me verification, you need to manually go back to the NY unemployment website and log in again. The system doesn't automatically redirect you like it's supposed to. When you log back in, it should recognize that you completed the verification and let you continue with your claim. The stupid system doesn't tell you this anywhere 🙄

The key problem is that mobile browsers don't handle the authentication handoff correctly between ID.me and the unemployment portal. Here's what you need to do: 1. Try opening a fresh browser window and going directly to labor.ny.gov 2. Log in with your NY.gov ID credentials 3. If that doesn't work, try using desktop mode in your browser settings 4. Clear your cache and cookies before trying again 5. If you're still stuck, you need to speak with an agent Unfortunately the phone lines are completely backed up. I spent 7 days trying to get through until someone recommended claimyr.com - it's a service that waits on hold for you and connects you with an unemployment agent when they pick up. Totally worth it for me since the agent fixed my ID.me issue instantly. The system is completely broken for mobile users - they need to fix this but until they do, these workarounds are all we've got.

lmao welcome to the wonderful world of ny unemployment where nothing works as expected. you pretty much have to use a desktop browser. mobile is a nightmare for this process.

ugh this EXACT thing happened to me!! I ended up having to start all over with ID.me and then it worked. So annoying but just try it again from the beginning.

Don't be fooled - this is a common problem even when using a desktop! The authentication flow between ID.me and NY unemployment is broken by design. I just called them directly and had them manually verify my identity. Took forever to get through but it's the only solution that actually worked.

Same thing happened to my cousin! Try logging out completely, clearing your browser data, and then going back to labor.ny.gov and starting from the login page (not from any email links). Worked for him!

Honestly the entire NY unemployment system is designed to make you give up. I think that's the whole point. make it so frustrating that people just stop trying to claim benefits they're entitled to 🤡

Had this exact same issue last month! The trick is to bookmark the NY unemployment portal page BEFORE you start the ID.me process. After you complete ID.me verification and get stuck at that "return to other tab" message, just manually navigate back to your bookmarked unemployment page and log in again. The system should recognize your completed verification. Also make sure you're using Chrome or Firefox - Safari has even more issues with this process. Super annoying that they don't explain this anywhere but it worked for me after being stuck for 2 days!

I had this EXACT same issue about 3 weeks ago on my Android! What finally worked for me was this: after getting stuck at that "return to other browser tab" screen, I opened a new tab in the same browser and manually went to labor.ny.gov. Then I logged in with my NY.gov ID like normal. The system recognized that I had completed the ID.me verification and let me continue with my claim. The redirect is completely broken on mobile - you have to manually go back to the unemployment site. Also make sure you don't close the ID.me tab until you've successfully logged back into the unemployment portal, just in case. Hope this helps!

I had this EXACT same problem a few months ago! The mobile site is absolutely terrible for the ID.me process. What worked for me was opening a new tab in my browser and manually going back to labor.ny.gov, then logging in again with my regular unemployment credentials. Don't close the ID.me tab until you've successfully logged back into the main unemployment site! The system should recognize that you completed verification even though the redirect failed. If that doesn't work, try switching to desktop mode in your mobile browser settings - sometimes that tricks the site into working properly. So frustrating that they haven't fixed this bug yet!

OMG I'm literally dealing with this RIGHT NOW! I've been stuck at that same "Return to the other open browser tab" screen for the past 2 hours and was about to lose it. Thank you to everyone who shared the workaround about manually going back to labor.ny.gov in a new tab - I'm going to try that immediately! It's so ridiculous that they haven't fixed this obvious bug with mobile browsers. The whole system feels like it was designed to make us give up. Really appreciate this community for sharing actual solutions instead of just the usual "call the phone number" advice that never works 🙃

This is such a widespread issue! I went through the exact same thing about 6 weeks ago on my Samsung Galaxy. The "return to other browser tab" message is so misleading because there IS no other tab - it's just poor design on their part. What finally worked for me: After completing ID.me verification and getting stuck at that screen, I opened a NEW tab in the same browser (don't close the ID.me tab yet!), manually typed in labor.ny.gov, and logged in with my regular NY.gov credentials. The system immediately recognized my completed verification and let me continue with my claim. The key is NOT waiting for any kind of automatic redirect - you have to manually navigate back. Also, I'd recommend screenshotting that ID.me completion screen just in case you need proof later that you finished the verification process. It's absolutely insane that this bug has existed for so long and they haven't fixed it. The mobile experience is completely broken but this workaround should get you unstuck!

I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now! Just finished my ID.me verification about an hour ago and I'm stuck staring at that "Return to the other open browser tab" message on my iPhone. There literally is no other tab open like you said! Reading through all these comments, it sounds like the manual workaround is the way to go - opening a new tab and going directly to labor.ny.gov to log back in. About to try that right now. It's absolutely ridiculous that such a basic redirect function is broken on mobile and they just haven't bothered to fix it. How are people supposed to know about this workaround if they don't find this thread? Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and solutions - this community is way more helpful than the actual NY unemployment website! Will report back if the manual method works for me too.

This is such a frustrating but common issue! I went through the exact same thing about a month ago on my Android. The mobile redirect from ID.me back to the NY unemployment portal is completely broken - you're definitely not doing anything wrong. Here's what worked for me: After you complete the ID.me verification and get stuck at that "return to other browser tab" screen, DON'T close that tab yet. Instead, open a brand new tab in your browser, manually navigate to labor.ny.gov, and log in with your regular NY.gov ID credentials like you normally would. The system should immediately recognize that you've completed the ID.me verification and allow you to continue with your claim. The key is that you have to manually go back - there's no automatic redirect happening on mobile. It's such poor design but this workaround has helped tons of people get unstuck. Make sure to keep that ID.me tab open until you've successfully logged back into the unemployment portal, just as a safeguard. If for some reason that doesn't work on your first try, clear your browser cache and cookies, then try the process again. The mobile site is honestly garbage but this manual method should get you through. Hope this helps and saves you from having to start over!

I'm going through this exact same nightmare right now! Just completed my ID.me verification on my phone about 2 hours ago and I'm completely stuck at that "Return to the other open browser tab" message. There's literally no other tab like you said - it's so confusing and poorly designed. Reading through all these solutions, I'm about to try the manual workaround that everyone's mentioning. Sounds like I need to open a new tab, go directly to labor.ny.gov, and log back in with my regular credentials while keeping the ID.me tab open. Fingers crossed this works because I really can't afford to start this whole process over again. It's honestly insane that such a basic redirect function is broken on mobile and they just leave it that way. How many people probably give up at this exact step because they don't know about this workaround? The system really does feel designed to make us quit. Thanks to everyone sharing their experiences - this thread is way more helpful than anything on the official site!

I'm having this exact same issue right now! Just went through the whole ID.me verification process on my Samsung Galaxy and I'm stuck at that stupid "Return to the other open browser tab" message. There's literally no other tab open - it's so misleading! Based on all these comments, I'm going to try the manual workaround that everyone's mentioning. Sounds like the key is opening a new tab, going directly to labor.ny.gov, and logging back in with my regular NY.gov credentials while keeping the ID.me tab open until I successfully get back into the unemployment portal. It's honestly ridiculous that this basic redirect functionality is broken on mobile and they haven't bothered to fix it. How many people probably give up at this exact step? The whole system feels intentionally frustrating. Really appreciate everyone sharing their solutions here - this thread has been more helpful than hours of trying to figure it out on my own! Going to try this now and hopefully I can finally move forward with my claim. Will update if it works! 🤞

I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now on my iPhone! Just finished the ID.me verification about 30 minutes ago and I'm stuck staring at that same "Return to the other open browser tab" message. So frustrating because like everyone else said, there literally is no other tab open on mobile! Reading through all these solutions, I'm definitely going to try the manual workaround that multiple people have confirmed works. Sounds like the key is opening a new tab, going directly to labor.ny.gov, and logging back in with my regular NY.gov credentials while keeping that ID.me tab open as a backup. It's absolutely mind-blowing that such a basic redirect function is broken on mobile and they just... leave it that way? Like how is this not a priority fix when so many people are clearly running into this exact problem? The whole system really does feel designed to make us give up. Anyway, about to try this workaround now. Really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences and actual working solutions - this community thread has been way more helpful than anything on the official NY unemployment site! Will definitely update if it works for me too 🤞