google account login failure (Sign-in error for gmail account)

[VMuser]

Greetings Android fans.

I have an ASUS tablet that has been a great device, and its configured exactly as I want it, hence I do not want to perform a hard reset it.

Starting last week, about 4 times a day, the tablet shows the message "Sign-in error for ********@gmail.com" where ******** is a valid gmail account that I own, but it is not the account that the tablet uses as its primary account. When I press on the message, it takes me to the android google account setup (username/password), but even after I enter the right password, the same message appears again within a couple of hours. The account is still valid, but I simply do not want it in my tablet.

I have searched in the "Accounts" portion of the settings, and the only google account that shows is my primary account, which is the primary account for the tablet. I have looked at my email client, and the 2nd account is not there. I have signed out of chrome.

Is there a way to find out where this 2nd account is coming from ( I will uninstall the app responsible for the erroneous message and reinstall)

In case this helps, the tablet is an ASUS ME173x running Android 4.2.2 and it is not rooted. The faulty gmail account does not have 2 step verification

Your help will be greatly appreciated.

R

 

[Dannydet]

I would login to your Gmail account on a PC and change your passwords for both accounts pronto.
No telling if someone hacked your account

 

[lunatic59]

Did you ever use it to sign into the play store or any other Google services? It might be trying to sync for updates or something but not necessarily as a sync'ed account. When it pops up for you to authenticate, is there any other information in the dialog or a notification in the notification bar? It might let us know where the prompt is coming from.

 

[svim]

From your description it doesn't sound like this is an issue with the primary Google account that's already set up on your tablet but rather just an app that you inadvertently used to log into that other Google account. Look for an email app or some other app that uses a Google account login and corresponds to around the time last week when this started showing up, and when you determine just which one, you don't have to remove it, just go into your Settings >> Apps menu, locate that app go into its 'Storage' option and use 'Clear data'. Using 'Clear data' will wipe the app's cache and all its configurations (items like user name/pass you entered), basically returning the app to its clean, first-time use state.

 

[VMuser]

Dannydet,
The accounts are secure. I have changed the passwords (always using secure passwords and never used a password locker tool) - I still get the authentication failure.

Lunatic,
Since this is one of my emails accounts, I must have signed in into this account at some point in this tablet ... Unless Chrome is trying to synchronize my laptop to my tablet,..but I really dont think that is the case since my Android phone is not showing this behavior.

The authentication failure shows up on the notification bar. When I "Click it" (select it with my finger), it takes me to the google account authentication, I enter the right password, but a little while later I receive the same account failure notification. it just looks like something is misbehaving in the tablet

Svim,
You are right, is not the primary account on the tablet. I will follow your suggestion and start by clearing data from the chrome browser.

I sincerely appreciate your input guys

R

 

[VMuser]

Svim,

Thank you for your help, clearing the browser's data seems to have done the trick.

R

 

[VMuser]

I would login to your Gmail account on a PC and change your passwords for both accounts pronto.
No telling if someone hacked your account

Danny, Thank you for your help. I cleared the browsers data and it seems to have resolved the issue.
R

 

[VMuser]

Did you ever use it to sign into the play store or any other Google services? It might be trying to sync for updates or something but not necessarily as a sync'ed account. When it pops up for you to authenticate, is there any other information in the dialog or a notification in the notification bar? It might let us know where the prompt is coming from.

Lunatic, Thank you for your help. I cleared the browsers data and it seems to have resolved the issue.
R

 

[VMuser]

Nope,
Issue remains...Is there a way to track down (run a sniffer, create a log, etc) what app is trying to run & log in?

I have deleted just about every app that I can see.

Process for deleting:
- Uncheck notifications
- Stop App
- Clear Data
- Delete app (in some case this just brings it back to the pre-installed version)



R

 

[zuben el genub]

Google complains via Gmail every time I buy an app on the laptop, and I use Pale Moon browser because it supports NoScript and Tab permissions and it tosses all cookies, history and other junk upon closing.

I don't use Google Pay or Android Pay. NFC is disabled since it won't work with my printer.
I'm also getting complaints about my tablets.
I have an old Acer that runs Ice Cream, and a newer one that runs 4.4. Google wants me to clear them out of my account. I still use them. The old Acer will run HDMI and a normal USB stick so we can show stuff on the TV. They both use SD cards. They both run the astronomy programs I want. Why should I delete them from Google just for Google's housekeeping?

GMail is used just for Google's convenience and/or a spam trap.I'm wondering if they are going to do an involuntary cleanup just to make sure that all of us have the newest devices.

I got a complaint letter from Google in the Gmail mailbox. Those are normal since I use either w7 pro laptop or the linux desktop to search.

 

[VMuser]

Zuben,
Are you saying that google is doing this to force us somehow to upgrade our devices?
R

 

[Member2047631]

Sorry for asking, but what does the 'R' at the end off all your posts mean?

 

[VMuser]

Sluggers,
(Chuckles)
That is my first initial - - hehe you didn't think that my parents actually named me VMuser
At least now I know that my thread is being read.
R

 

[Member2047631]

Oh

 

[zuben el genub]

Zuben,
Are you saying that google is doing this to force us somehow to upgrade our devices?
R

I'm not sure if anything besides security is on their mind, but I've been doing things that way since my first Android phone and don't see any reason to change. So why bother me now? They have a precedent.

There have been complaints from Verizon (usually) and Samsung about getting security updates to the phone. The companies that demand the most of their apps and a locked phone are usually the culprits. The tipoff is the many complaints about NOT getting the next upgrade when it is available for their phone. I know Moto had complaints about the slowness of both. I had an XPRE

The only trouble I've found is that updates tend to disrupt my preferences on the phone. Stuff I've disabled has been enabled.

Some people are also getting upset about Google (Apple, Windows and to a lesser extent Amazon) trying to run their lives totally.

 

[PitCarver]

Some people are also getting upset about Google (Apple, Windows and to a lesser extent Amazon) trying to run their lives totally.

Yep.

 

[VMuser]

I agree that companies do try to be over intrusive - that is probably the reason why I have a hard time using an apple device: you either do things their way, or not at all (or at least very hard).

In comparison to my Samsung phone, this tablet runs pretty much a vanilla version of android, so thank you ASUS.

But....can we get back to my original question? Is there a way to find out what app is trying to log into my secondary google account?

Thanks

R