No VPN in my case but the IP address changes every 24h, and the browser is set to clear all data on exit, so I can't really say if Google's suggestion to try lo

No VPN in my case but the IP address changes every 24h, and the browser is set to clear all data on exit, so I can't really say if Google's suggestion to try logging in from a "known" browser and location would have changed anything. A good (unofficial) summary of the account recovery process, if anyone in the same situation wants to try their luck: http://gmailaccountrecovery.blogspot.com/ http://gmailaccountrecovery.blogspot.com/