How do I access email an old Google Apps account?

June 17, 2013 8:28 AM

A few years ago (2008?), I set up Google Apps for my domain. I used it for email, docs, etc. Eventually, I deactivated the account. Now I'd like to go back and recover some of the emails. I can login to the admin panel, and can access Google Drive, but I can't get to the email. Help!

When I attempt to login to email (or calendar, but not docs), I get an error: "This service has not been enabled by the administrator of the doman @DOMAINNAME. You can sign into another account to use this service. If you are the Google Apps administrator, please read these articles to learn more about controlling user access to Google Apps services and turning services on/off for certain users."

The problem, of course, is that these services are on and enabled for the one and only user in this domain (who is a superadmin, of course). I've tried deactivating gmail and reactivating gmail (a commonly suggested solution) but to no avail.

What are the odds that anyone here can help me access my old emails again?

posted by jdroth to Computers & Internet (4 answers total)

I don't think it should be a first step, but maybe a later step, but I was able to get at old emails in an apps domain by creating a new user and then assigning the old users emails to that account. I am not that technical so explaining it is less than what I can do, but I followed the directions in the admin panel to do it. I would also create another user first, call it something like "Administrator" and make that user a super admin type so that you have another way in to the admin if anything screws up with the current admin account.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 8:32 AM on June 17, 2013

I'd probably try contacting support, but if you're up for a bit of an adventure, you could try issuing a mailbox audit request for the superadmin account. Make sure to read the documentation on using GPG if you haven't done this before.
posted by trunk muffins at 8:33 AM on June 17, 2013

Best answer: Huh. Problem resolved. When I reactivated the account, there was some sort of hour-long lag as Google re-entered me into their system. Once that happened, they logged me out. When I logged in again, I was prompted to pay for service and then given access to the new admin panel. From there, email was accessible.

Nothing to see here. Move along...
posted by jdroth at 8:50 AM on June 17, 2013

Glad we could help...
posted by JohnnyGunn at 9:44 AM on June 17, 2013