Overview
This article explains how to resolve the following error that can occur when attempting to update a user’s information.
Error! The specified new email already exists.
This error prevents the changes to the user’s record from being saved.
Applies To
- User Management
- Change Email Flow
Cause
The issue stems from a conflict between a user’s current information and older data persisting in a separate database when a Get User script is active.
Even if an email is not visible in the Dashboard’s Users menu, the external database might still hold a record linking that email to a user, causing the system to incorrectly flag it as “existing” when reuse is attempted.
In this specific scenario, it would typically imply that Import Mode is OFF.
This behavior is heavily influenced by whether Import Mode is enabled for the database connection; the Get User script’s execution scenarios, which help understanding how existing users are identified and managed during various operations like signup or password changes, vary significantly depending on this setting, as detailed in the Auth0 documentation.
Solution
To fix the issue preventing a user’s email address update, the custom Get User script and the external database must be checked and updated to ensure current data.