You attempt to open a shiny new TikTok account. You enter your email. But instead of welcoming you, TikTok pops up a puzzling message:
“Email address isn’t registered yet”.
This frustrating error is one of the most common issues faced when trying to sign up on TikTok. If your email isn’t registered properly, you can’t access one of the hottest social video apps that all your friends are obsessed with lately.
So why does TikTok fail to recognize your email? Well, there could be a few different reasons contributing to this annoying glitch.
Possible Reasons TikTok Says Your Email Is Not Registered
Before we jump into troubleshooting, it helps to understand what causes that confusing “not registered” error when attempting to create a spanking new TikTok account.
You Already Have an Existing TikTok Account With Same Email
The most likely culprit is you or someone else has already created a TikTok account in the past using the email address you are now attempting to register.
TikTok does not permit multiple accounts with identical emails, to curb spam, bots, and fake profiles. So when their system detects your email tied to an existent user, it assumes you already have a profile – hence the “not registered email” error on TikTok.
For example, you could have signed up long ago and forgotten about it. Parents sometimes create accounts for young kids using their emails. Or someone random may have mistakenly used your email during their registration.
Whatever the case, investigating whether there’s a pre-existing TikTok account linked to your email is the first step in diagnosing the root cause of not being allowed to register.
Typos or Misspellings in Email Address
It’s not always deeper system issues at play. Sometimes, the problem lies in our own clunky human data entry fails.
If there are typos, extra spaces, capital letters, or other inaccuracies when you manually enter your email into TikTok’s sign-up form, you’ll likely run face-first into the registration error.
In such instances, TikTok will alert you with “Account doesn’t exist” error message.
TikTok tries to match the string of characters you input to an email address stored in their system. When the emails don’t identically match because something was typed incorrectly, it appears as an “unregistered” email to TikTok.
So double…no…triple check for any typos sneaking in and sabotaging your email entry.
Restrictions on Certain Email Domains
To curb abusive accounts, spam, and bots, TikTok imposes restrictions against temporary, unknown, or suspicious-looking email domain names during sign-ups.
For example, you may get the instant error message if attempting to register using email domains like:
- @yopmail.com
- @spambox.us
- @10minutemail.net
- Other generic, numbered, or non-standard domains
These types of domains are easy to generate and often abused by fake accounts and malicious actors. So TikTok bars them wholesale instead of trying to chase down bad actors.
Unfortunately, legitimate users get caught in this dragnet if they happen to have an email-tied domain name flagged or blacklisted by TikTok registration policies.
Switching to a better-known email provider like Gmail, Yahoo or Outlook tends to fix domain restriction issues when signing up.
How to Fix TikTok “Email Isn’t Registered Yet”
Phew, lots of potential causes for why TikTok fails to validate your email during account creation.
The key is methodically troubleshooting and checking each possibility until you track down the culprit. Then, take corrective steps to get your email properly registered.
Here is a step-by-step game plan…
1. Check For Existing TikTok Account With Same Email
First, investigate if there is already an associated TikTok account linked to the email you are attempting to register. Here is how:
- Navigate to the TikTok login page on TikTok web.
- Click on the “Log In” button and choose “Use phone / email / username.”
- Choose “Log in with email or username.”
- Proceed to click the “Forgot password” option.
- Input email that got “email isn’t registered yet” error when signing up
- Click on “Send code” to request for a 6-digit code to be sent to your email.
- Check your email account and enter the code for verification.
- Enter your password to finish it up.
If you receive the verification code, then there is already an account tied to the email in their system.
2. Check for Typos and Misspellings
If step 1 comes back clean with no existing account found for your email, next double check the entry in TikTok’s signup form.
Look for any:
- Misspellings
- Extra or missing letters
- Errant spaces before, after or within the email address
- Other inaccuracies
The simplest way is copy-pasting your email from another trusted source instead of manually typing. This skirts fat-finger typos during data entry.
Additionally, auto-correct on mobile devices can accidentally alter spelling as you type emails. So review carefully before submitting!
Another tip is entering email variations to uncover errors:
- All caps EMAIL → email
- Lowercase Email – → Email
- [email protected] → [email protected]
Catching typos can save many headaches down the road!
3. Review Email Domain Restrictions
If no existing account and no typos are present, next check if domain restrictions are at play.
As outlined before, TikTok may instantly flag and block registration attempts from:
- Disposable, temporary, or unknown email domains @yopmail.com, @spambox.us
- Generic domains
@email.com, @mail.com - Oddly named or numbered domains @xmail99.com, @email555.com
Solutions?
- Switch to a well-established email provider like Gmail, Yahoo or Outlook.
- Purchase your domain to generate a professionally branded email
- Use a domain reputable enough to pass TikTok restrictions
This sidesteps any blanket domain policies throwing off email validation during sign-up.
4. Attempt Sign-Up With Alternate Email
If you have eliminated the usual suspects – existing accounts, typos, blacklisted domains – but that confounding unregistered message persists…try using an alternate email address as a control test.
Create a brand new Gmail account if need be, and attempt to sign-up with it.
If the fresh email registers without issue, this points to a deeper problem related to your original email that TikTok Cannot resolve through usual means.
At least you have a working email to access TikTok in the meantime while figuring out why failure with the original.
5. Clear Browser Cookies and Cache
Old cached data and cookies in your internet browser could be interfering with TikTok properly recognizing your email address during sign-up.
To clear cache on Firefox
- Click ≡ Menu > Options > Privacy & Security
- Under Cookies and Site Data click “Clear Data”
- Check relevant boxes like Cookies, Cache, Offline Website Data
- Click “Clear”
Chrome
- Click 3 Dot Menu > Settings > Privacy & Security
- Select “Clear Browsing Data”
- Check boxes for Cookies, Cache, etc.
- Click “Clear Data”
Safari
- Go to Preferences > Privacy > Manage Website Data
- Click “Remove All” to clear browser data
Try signing up again after refreshing your browser of old data causing conflicts.
6. Use Incognito or Private Browsing Mode
Private browsing blocks cookies, history, cache, and other browser data from interfering with account registration.
Open an Incognito/Private window and navigate to TikTok to attempt to sign up with your problem email again in a fresh, data-free session.
7. Attempt Registration on a Different Device
Something device-specific could be causing TikTok validation issues for your email.
Try signing up with the email using your smartphone, tablet, work computer or a friend’s device.
If successful registering the email elsewhere, it points to a browser, operating system or other environmental factor on one device specifically blocking validation.
8. Use a VPN or Proxy Service
Your network IP address could be blacklisted by TikTok or flagged for suspicious activity, preventing registration. Using a VPN or proxy service masks your IP address so TikTok sees you coming from a different network.
Download a free VPN browser extension like Hola or set your network setting to route through a proxy to attempt TikTok sign up under a different IP. This skirts any blocks related to your geographic location or network.
9. Try Alternate Web Browsers
Something related to your particular web browser may be clashing with TikTok’s email validation.
Install and test alternate browsers like Firefox, Opera, Safari or Edge to check if others have better compatibility signing up using the problem email address.
10. Disable Browser Extensions One-by-One
Overprotective browser extensions designed to block trackers or ads could inadvertently interfere with TikTok validating your email.
Try selectively disabling extensions one-by-one and retry email registration each time to isolate if a particular add-on causes conflict. Restore extensions after testing.
11. Contact TikTok Customer Support
If you have carefully troubleshot with no luck, bring in the big guns.
Reach out to TikTok’s customer support team directly via their in-app messaging system.
- Inside TikTok, go to your profile
- Tap 3-Line menu icon (☰).
- Choose the “Settings and privacy” option then “Report a problem.”
- At the bottom of the TikTok help page, tap on “Submit a report.”
- Enter the requested details to complete the form, then submit it.
Explain in detail the “email not registered” error you are receiving despite troubleshooting efforts. Providing as much context helps their engineers properly diagnose.
TikTok support can further investigate why your email fails validation checks and hopefully resolve any deeper issues on their end so you can register properly.
While waiting for their resolution, try using the alternate email account to access TikTok and stay patient for a proper fix. Persistence pays off!
Conclusion
TikTok throwing up a “Your email isn’t registered yet” error during sign-up can seem confusing and frustrating. But in most cases, there are identifiable reasons why this happens.
The main culprits are pre-existing accounts already linked to the email, misspellings and domain restrictions. With some targeted troubleshooting to check for and resolve these common problems, you can get registered and access TikTok properly.
While still annoying in the moment, unregistered email errors often have straightforward solutions. So don’t abandon all hope of dazzling your friends with those viral dance moves just yet! Stay persistent trying the most probable fixes.
And if all else fails, leverage TikTok’s customer support resources to diagnose why that pesky email fails validation. They have additional tools to uncover deeper issues blocking registration if common tactics come up empty.
The TikTok world of memes, filters and challenges awaits once email problems are solved! Just be thorough and methodical troubleshooting to determine the root cause, in order to get accounts created and access unlocked.
