claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix [BUG] Google OAuth login redirects to onboarding for existing Max subscriber, browser and desktop locked out while phone and CLI sessions remain authenticated

Preflight Checklist

• I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Preflight Checklist

• I have searched existing issues and confirmed this is part of an ongoing pattern (see Related Issues)
• This is a single bug report
• I am a paying Claude Max subscriber affected by this issue
• I am opening on this repo per the precedent in #47290 and #51002, where account and billing issues required engineering escalation because Fin AI support could not resolve

What's Wrong

After clicking "Continue with Google" on claude.ai in any browser or on Claude Desktop, Google authentication completes successfully (the page briefly shows "You are logging back to your account"), but the Anthropic-side handoff fails to match the Google identity to my existing Max account. Instead, the flow drops me on the onboarding / "Let's create your account" page, as if I were a brand new user.

My existing Max subscription is active and being billed. I have always signed up and signed in via "Continue with Google". I have never used the email magic-link flow.

My Claude mobile app and Claude Code terminal session are still authenticated and fully functional with full Max access, which confirms the account exists, the subscription is active, and only the browser and desktop OAuth handoff is broken.

I have deliberately NOT clicked "Create account" on the onboarding page, to avoid creating a duplicate account under a different auth provider as documented in #51002.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Have an existing Claude Max subscription originally signed up via Continue with Google
2. Be currently signed in on the Claude mobile app and Claude Code CLI on the same Google identity
3. Open claude.ai in any web browser (tested in Chrome, Safari, and Firefox)
4. Click "Continue with Google"
5. Observe: page briefly displays "You are logging back to your account"
6. Observe: redirected to the onboarding flow / "Let's create your account" page rather than the existing logged-in account dashboard
7. Same behaviour on Claude Desktop app for macOS

Expected Behavior

Clicking "Continue with Google" with a Google identity that maps to an existing Max account should authenticate the user into that account and route them to the dashboard, regardless of device or browser.

Actual Behavior

• Google OAuth handshake completes
• Anthropic backend fails to recognise the Google identity as belonging to the existing Max account
• User is dropped on the onboarding flow as a new user
• No error is surfaced; this is a silent auth-routing failure
• Browser and Desktop are now unusable for signed-in work; only the previously authenticated mobile app and CLI sessions still function

Environment

• Plan: Claude Max (active subscription)
• Issue first observed: morning of 7 May 2026 (now over 24 hours)
• Tested browsers: Chrome, Safari, Firefox
• Tested networks: home WiFi, separate WiFi, mobile data
• Tested machines: MacBook Air, Mac Mini
• VPN: disabled during testing
• Cache and cookies: cleared specifically for claude.ai before testing
• Auth provider: Google (Continue with Google), originally and only

Working Access Points (proving account integrity)

• Claude iOS / mobile app: still logged in, full Max access
• Claude Code CLI: still authenticated, see /doctor output below

Claude Code /doctor Diagnostic

Diagnostics

• Currently running: npm-global (2.1.81)
• Path: /usr/local/bin/node
• Invoked: /usr/local/bin/claude
• Config install method: native
• Search: OK (vendor)

Updates

• Auto-updates: enabled
• Update permissions: No (requires sudo)
• Auto-update channel: latest
• Stable version: 2.1.119
• Latest version: 2.1.132

Note: I have intentionally not run "claude install" or any uninstall / migration command, since the npm-global install is currently my only authenticated CLI session and I do not want to risk losing it before this auth issue is resolved.

Support Path Attempted

1. Fin AI Agent on support.claude.com, conversation 7 May 2026, exported 02:38 PM PT, Conversation ID 215474217164643
2. During that conversation I explicitly requested human escalation seven times, including phrases such as "talk to a human", "talk to a representative", "request a hand-off to the product support team via email", and "I beg you"
3. Fin did not pass the inquiry to Product Support, contrary to the behaviour described in Anthropic's "How to get support" article for Pro and Max users
4. Fin repeatedly recommended logging out of all sessions and logging back in to clear authentication, and refused to provide written confirmation that this would not put my Max subscription, conversation history, projects, memory, and skills at risk
5. Email sent to [email protected] with full details and the same Conversation ID, currently pending

Related Issues

• #36797 (Mar 2026): Authentication redirect loops to onboarding for existing account with active subscription. Same "Let's create your account" redirect with "Not found" error, unresolved.
• #39788 (Mar 2026): OAuth login redirects to account creation instead of authenticating existing Max subscription. GBP 90 per month being billed against an account the backend cannot find. Closed as duplicate, no resolution posted.
• #51002 (Apr 2026): Desktop app connector flow routes paid Max subscriber to signup, allows duplicate account creation under same email with different auth provider, locks user out of original paid account. Demonstrates the disaster scenario this issue is trying to avoid.
• #47290 (referenced as escalation precedent): Billing issue Fin AI support could not resolve, required engineering intervention.

This is clearly a recurring pattern affecting multiple paying Max subscribers across at least an 8-week window. It is not isolated.

Impact

• Paid Max subscriber unable to access claude.ai or Claude Desktop
• Daily workflow blocked on browser and desktop, partially recoverable via phone and CLI only
• Existing projects, conversations, memory, skills, and artifacts are inaccessible from any UI surface that supports them properly
• Direct cost in lost productivity for an active paying customer of more than 24 hours and counting
• No self-service recovery path exists; Fin cannot escalate, support email response time unknown, official OAuth revoke and re-grant procedure has not yet been attempted but is the only remaining safe self-service step

Request to Engineering

1. Urgent (individual case): Route this to a human Product Support specialist who can inspect the server-side account record , verify the Google OAuth identity mapping to my existing Max account, and repair the mapping so that "Continue with Google" on browser and desktop authenticates against the existing account rather than dropping me on onboarding. Verification details (last four of the card on file, Stripe invoice references, account creation timestamps, mobile app screenshots showing active Max plan) available privately via official support channels.

2. Product fix (broader): The OAuth callback handler for Continue with Google should never silently fall through to the new-user onboarding flow when the Google identity matches a billed but unmappable existing account. At minimum, this state should surface an explicit error and route to support, not allow the user to click "Create account" and silently spawn a duplicate. This is a data-integrity issue that has now affected at least four paying customers in the public record (#36797, #39788, #51002, this issue).

3. Process fix: Fin AI should hand off to human Product Support when a Pro or Max subscriber explicitly requests escalation, as described in the public "How to get support" article. In my conversation it did not, despite seven explicit requests.

Happy to verify identity, payment, and account ownership via any channel that is not a dead-end bot loop.

What Should Happen?

Expected Behavior

Clicking "Continue with Google" with a Google identity that maps to an existing Max account should authenticate the user into that account and route them to the dashboard, regardless of device or browser.

Error Messages/Logs

### Actual Behavior

- Google OAuth handshake completes
- Anthropic backend fails to recognise the Google identity as belonging to the existing Max account
- User is dropped on the onboarding flow as a new user
- No error is surfaced; this is a silent auth-routing failure
- Browser and Desktop are now unusable for signed-in work; only the previously authenticated mobile app and CLI sessions still function

Steps to Reproduce

not related

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

No response

Claude Code Version

latest

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

No response