Hi! When ID.me verification is stuck, it usually falls into one of these buckets:

1) The verification step can’t read what it needs (blurry ID photo, unsupported file type, glare, cropped edges).
2) The device/browser isn’t letting ID.me use the camera or upload flow (permissions, pop-up blockers, VPN, private browsing quirks).
3) The account is waiting on a review or an alternate path (self-service keeps failing and the system pushes you toward a different method).

To keep this safe (no “make a new account” or risky changes), tell me what you see:
• Are you verifying for IRS Online Account access?
• Where exactly does it get stuck: selfie/camera step, document upload, “we couldn’t verify,” or “pending/review”?
• Are you on phone or computer, and which browser?

You’re right to pause. Repeated submissions can sometimes trigger cooldowns or just create confusing “start over” loops, so we’ll do diagnosis first.

A few quick questions (order matters because it changes the safest next check):
• Did it ever get to a selfie/video selfie step, or does it fail right after the ID upload?
• Are you taking photos live with the camera, or uploading saved images from your phone/computer?
• Any recent changes that can cause ID.me mismatch issues: new address, name change, renewed license, or using a temporary paper ID?

That’s helpful because it points to two different failure types happening to you:
• “Couldn’t read document” is usually photo quality / file format / glare / cropping.
• “Camera opens then freezes” is often permissions, low storage, browser state, or an extension/content blocker interfering.

Let’s do low-risk checks (no changing your IRS settings, no creating duplicate ID.me accounts):

1) Camera permission sanity check: On iPhone, confirm Safari is allowed to use the camera. If permission was denied once, the selfie step can loop or hang.

2) Clean capture conditions: For the driver’s license photo, does the entire ID fit in the frame with all four corners visible, no glare, and sharp text? Scratches can be okay, but if they cross the name/ID number, it can fail the scan.

3) Format gotcha: If you’re uploading saved images, are they standard JPG/PNG, or are they iPhone Live Photos/HEIC? Some systems struggle with HEIC or motion photos and it looks like “stuck verification.”

When the selfie camera freezes, do you see any message like “permission blocked,” or is it just a spinner?

That’s exactly the kind of detail that explains “verification stuck” without assuming anything is wrong with your identity.

Two common loop triggers you mentioned (still diagnosis, not “magic fixes”):
• Privacy/relay/VPN-like features can disrupt camera/upload handoffs and secure redirect pages. Sometimes it looks like an infinite refresh or a blank upload screen.
• Link-to-phone upload can break if the browser cache/cookies are in a weird state, or if the link is opened inside an in-app browser (some apps open a stripped-down web view).

Safe tests (no risky account changes):

1) Browser control test: Try the same step in a second browser (Chrome on iPhone) just once, not repeatedly. If it behaves differently, you’ve proven it’s browser/environment related, not your document.

2) In-app browser check: If you’re opening the text link inside Messages, that’s fine, but if you’re opening it from inside another app, it can be an embedded browser. Embedded browsers are notorious for camera permission glitches.

3) Stability check: If your phone is low on storage or has many tabs open, the camera step can freeze and return you to the start without a clear error.

One more important question: are you using the same email/phone every attempt, or did you try signing up again when it failed?

Good news: trying different sign-in methods doesn’t automatically “break” anything, but it can make troubleshooting harder because you might be landing in different account states or prompts.

About the middle initial: small formatting differences usually aren’t fatal by themselves, but combined with other friction (scratched ID, camera freezes, address mismatch), it can increase verification failures or cause the system to request an alternate step.

Here’s what I’d avoid for now so you don’t get stuck deeper:
• Don’t keep restarting the verification flow back-to-back.
• Don’t create multiple ID.me accounts for the same person (that’s when people end up in confusing “can’t sign in / can’t verify” loops).
• Don’t submit photos where the ID is cropped or the text is soft “because it looks close enough.” Automated checks can be picky.

Safe clarification that helps narrow it:
• Are you failing on document scan (“couldn’t read”), on selfie capture (camera freeze), or after submitting everything (stuck “pending”)?

If you had to pick the most frequent failure in the last 24 hours, which one is it?

That’s a very classic pattern: the system is failing early at document readability, then you’re occasionally hitting a separate camera/permissions issue on the selfie step.

A low-risk way to “prove the cause” without forcing a full verification attempt over and over:

• Document photo test: Take one new photo in bright, indirect light (near a window during daytime is ideal), place the ID on a dark flat surface, and make sure the text is crisp at normal zoom. If you can’t read the small print when you pinch-zoom the photo, the scanner probably can’t either.

• Scratch placement check: If the scratch crosses the barcode area or the name/ID number, it can trigger “couldn’t read.” If it’s mostly cosmetic and the text is sharp, it’s less likely the issue.

• Camera freeze test: Before you try again, close all tabs, temporarily pause content blockers for the verification session, and confirm the browser prompts you for camera access (or that it’s already allowed). If the prompt never appears, it often means the permission is blocked or suppressed.

Also: if you’re getting a text link and the upload page is blank, that can happen when the link is stale, cookies are blocked, or the browser session got out of sync with the original attempt. That’s why controlled tests matter more than repeated retries.

It can be normal depending on what the message is referencing (a prior attempt, a document re-upload request, or a session that expired). The key is to treat those links like “resume tokens”: they work best when the browser session is stable and you’re signing into the same account identity each time.

A safe checklist for that scenario:
1) Confirm you’re signing in with the same ID.me account each time (same email/phone path).
2) Avoid switching devices mid-attempt unless the flow explicitly tells you to switch (like “continue on your phone”).
3) If an email link repeatedly restarts you, it suggests the original session is expiring or the browser state is preventing the resume step from attaching correctly.

If you want, you can describe one exact loop in your own words—like “email link → sign in → document upload → error”—and we can pinpoint which part is breaking without guessing.

Most likely causes (based on your symptoms) — still diagnosis, not a promise:

• Document image quality issues (dim lighting, glare, motion blur, cropped corners, scratches crossing key text/barcode).
• Unsupported photo/file behavior on iPhone (Live Photos/HEIC quirks or the camera capture step not producing what the upload scanner expects).
• Browser/privacy interference (content blockers, Private Relay/VPN-like routing, blocked cookies) causing the upload page to go blank or the session to restart.
• Camera permission problems (selfie step freezes because the browser can’t reliably access the camera or the permission prompt is suppressed).
• Account/session mismatch (switching sign-in method can land you in different prompts, making it feel “stuck” even though the system is just re-initiating the flow).

If you do only one thing safely: stop rapid retries, then run one controlled attempt in good lighting with a clean browser session. The outcome (same error vs different step) tells you which bucket you’re in—without touching anything risky on your IRS account.