I get so many variations of this question.
The most common scenario is travel. If there’s something “different” about your attempt to sign in — and being in a different country qualifies — Microsoft now often requires that even if you know your password, you must provide additional security confirmation. Usually, that’s a code sent to your phone or alternate email address.
I cannot stress this enough:
It is critical that you keep your recovery information up to date.
Not doing so is by far the fastest way to lose access to your account — forever — should something go wrong. It’s also a way to end up unable to access your email while traveling.
While many feel that the approach is somewhat ham-handed on Microsoft’s part, the reality is they’re fighting an incredibly difficult problem: account theft.
I’ll review the steps I believe you need to take, and explain why this is happening.
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I know my password, but…
Almost everyone who comes to me with this or a similar problem is convinced that they know their password, and that they’re typing everything in correctly, yet they still cannot log in. Either through an account hack, simply being wrong about being right, or being faced with that additional security step from Microsoft, they’re blocked from logging in.
On top of that, they do not (perhaps temporarily, while traveling) have access to any of the accounts or phone numbers they set up as alternates on their Microsoft account (any Outlook.com account, including Hotmail). Thus, when the login process attempts to send a verification code to one of those accounts or numbers, it can’t be fetched.
At that point, the only approach I’m aware of is to begin the account recovery process.
Account recovery without a password
Note that not all recovery mechanisms may be available in for all accounts. Not only do things change, but exactly which will be available may depend on your account settings, and perhaps even where you’re located.
After entering your email address at the outlook.com sign-in screen, you’re prompted for your password.
Click on Forgot password? for a list of ways to get a security code to prove your identity.
This is recovery information that you previously set up in your account configuration. In my case, I have two email addresses, as well as a telephone number with text and voice message options.
Assuming you didn’t set up recovery information, or lost access to those you previously configured, click on I don’t have any of these. You may then be given the opportunity to enter a previously established recovery code.
Assuming you don’t have one, click on No.
Continue below at Recover your account.
Additional verification, even with a password
As I mentioned, particularly when travelling, Microsoft may require additional verification even after you provide the correct password when signing in. When this happens, an additional dialog appears.
Assuming you no longer or don’t currently have access to the listed alternate email address(es) or phone numbers, select “I don’t have these any more”. The “Send code” button will change to Verify online; click that.
Recover your account
The recovery process now switches to a possibly manual account-verification process.
You once again provide the email address of the account to which you are attempting to gain access, as well as another email address at which you can be contacted. This second email address can be any account to which you currently have access.
Click Next. You may be sent a code to the second email account, which you’ll enter to verify you have access to it. You’ll then be presented with a page requesting an assortment of information.
This page asks you to provide as much information as you can about the account, including:
- Your name and birth date.
- Your location.
- The answer to your security question(s), if you had one or more set up.
- Other passwords you may have used on this account in the past.
- The subject lines of any emails you may have sent recently.
- The names of any folders you’ve created in your account.
- The email addresses of any contacts to which you’ve recently sent email.
- Billing information, including a credit card, if you have any associated with the account.
The goal here is to provide enough information to prove you are who you say you are: the rightful account holder.
And again, it’s important to provide as much information as possible.
Once you’ve done so, click Submit.1
Now you wait.
The information is submitted to Microsoft, and something happens. What that something is we don’t know, but I would presume it’s a combination of mostly automated attempts to verify the information that you’ve submitted against the account. I say “mostly” automated, because I would assume that some need human verification.
If you’ve given enough information, and that information itself is enough for the system to trust that you are the correct account holder, you’ll be emailed a password reset link.
If not, you’ll get something like this:
The “best option” listed is pretty much your only option at this point: go back to the account information form and provide additional and more accurate information.
Important: if you cannot do this, I know of no way to proceed and regain access to the account at this time. I cannot help you.
Why all this hassle?
It may be hard to accept, but all of this is for your protection. Seriously. This process has probably already prevented your account from being hacked in the past.
Account hacking and theft is a huge problem. For some reason, Microsoft accounts have been prime targets for hackers for years. Microsoft has responded with these measures to keep hackers out and legitimate account owners in.
From their perspective, it’s better to lock you out than erroneously let a malicious hacker in. I’d have to agree: I’d rather no one be able to access my account if the alternative is the possibility a hacker might.
Avoiding this hassle is simple: you must keep your recovery information up to date. Without it, you may not be able to prove that you’re the legitimate account owner.
The multi-day delay
Upon regaining access to an account, or sometimes before being able to access an account being recovered, Microsoft will sometimes enforce a delay of up to 30 days.
As frustrating as this can be, it’s another security measure designed to keep your account safe.
When you make a change to an account — like resetting its password or changing the recovery email or phone — Microsoft sends a notification to the old address. This message also allows the change to be aborted.
If you are not in the process of making the change yourself, this delay gives you 30 days to tell Microsoft “It’s not me, it’s a hacker. Disallow the change.”
If you are in the process of making the change, or even just trying to log in, I agree it can be annoying.
My recommendation
If you can get into your account again, or if you end up setting up a new Hotmail/Outlook.com account, please:
- Make sure you have a recovery email address associated with it. I recommend using a different service — the issues with overseas travel that might cause hassles on your Microsoft account could also cause those same hassles on the recovery account if it’s also a Microsoft account.
- Make sure your recovery account remains current and active. Log into it from time to time to keep it open, even if you use it for nothing else.
- Consider setting up a recovery code.
- Set up a mobile number, or even use a smartphone app if you have one, so as to provide even more recovery options.
- Set up more than one recovery option. You’ll note in my example account I had two different email addresses in addition to a phone number.
And above all, remember to keep all that up to date.
Do this
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Podcast audio
Footnotes & References
1: I declined to go further, since my account didn’t actually require recovery.
Your very interesting article hit the nail on the head. Last year, on a trip to South Africa I found that I could not get into my Hotmail account. My alternative Yahoo account was also blocked. It took two weeks of trying, fumbling and creating other accounts (GMail) but I finally got in. You can imagine my frustration! I still do not know exactly how I got into my accounts but once into the one I was in the clear. Thanks for your news letters, I find most of them interesting, with something new to add to my computer know-how.
Hello, my partner’s email has also been hacked and we dont have the landline number on the account or the old email address. we tried all that we could but it is still hacked and we desperately need access to it. please help
Without a working phone number or recovery email address, it’s not possible to recover.
Why is it not possible to send in a photo on ID card?
For me, i have not been using my hotmail on 7 years, and it is cruicial that i get in because of a friend that died recently.
But i cant get in, because i did not have a paycard to it.
and name, date, location + secret question was not enough…
The problem is that something like that would require paying a full time staff for the purpose of account recovery. Free services rarely would do something like that. You might say that they should make that option available for a fee, and I would agree, but unfortunately, companies decide their priorities, and there’s not much you can do about it.
I have a similar issue. Is there anyway I can gain access to the email. I desperately need to get in and willing to pay for it if I have to
If you’ve forgotten the password and no longer have the phone number or recovery email to your account, there’s no way to get back in.
https://askleo.com/a-one-step-way-to-lose-your-account-forever/
how did you finnaly get in
If you read her comment, you’ll see that her comment is 4 years old an she said she didn’t know how she got in.
Dear Leo
Hope this message finds you well
I cant access my hotmail account, and I asked to send me a verification code to my number but unfortunately I didnt receive any.
I submit a verification form, but I didnt get any solution
What should I do?
Best Regards
Leo doesn’t work for Microsoft and can’t recover your accounts.
Please see this article for more information on your options:
http://askleo.com/what_are_my_lost_hotmail_account_and_password_recovery_options/
Thank you very much Mark Jacobs , but the problem is when I submit the last four numbers from my phone, I dont get the code.
and tried many times to submit a verification form and nothing as well.
Now I dont know what to do?
Best Regards
Probably not the answer you want to hear – but read the instructions on the screen more carefully. Very often the clue lies there. And of course, if you did not set your phone up as a recovery option before you lost control of your account it’s simply not going to work.
i have been trying to recover my account and it never work. i dont use the phone number and alternative email no more and that form will tell u the information u provided doesnt match and yet that is all i know and remember. i need help please. thanks
If you don’t have access to the recovery accounts or phone numbers that were configured in the account, then you may not be able to get in.
I did put my phone number to get back my password but when i change my password i can’t sign in. Any help please.
what should i do .. i know my Microsoft account and the password but my phone was stolen.. and my Microsoft will need my phone number to send the code .. Help me please .. here my email. {email removed}
If you know your password then you can log in and change your security information to another phone number in case you need to recover the account.
Hi Leo I had a problem with Microsoft they say someone is trying to use my account and to change my password finally after 2 days they accepted my password I receive mail on my phone but not on my iPad
What’s wrong?
No way for me to know, I’m afraid. I would start by making sure that you can get email on the outlook.com website via a browser (on a PC for example), and then if that works (which I suspect it will since your phone does) you’ll have to double check the configuration being used on the iPad.
Did Microsoft force some hotmail users to open up Outlook.com email addresses and then drop their old hotmail.com account information, emails, contacts, etc without explanation?
At some point Microsoft moved to fast for its customers and as a result many lost emails and contacts.
Please explain how someone who has had their hotmail account stolen from them by Microsoft and forced to use an outlook.com account can recover their emails and contacts? Also, if the microsoft account security information was based on a previous live.com address for verification, and that address has also been “stolen” by Microsoft, how does a person get both their hotmail.com and live.com emails back under their control.
I have worked with Aliases for a while, and the interface is subpar. You cannot see which emails were sent or received by that alias, and if you do want to see what your alias sent, you have to set up under a different account (in Windows Live Mail). If you accidentally delete your alias account in Windows Live Mail, you also LOSE ALL the items you sent from that alias. It is a nightmare.
This article helped me determine that I never want to use outlook again. What makes them think they have the right to block my emails because they don’t have a phone number for me on their file. That is outrageous crap and everyone should boycott it. Besides it’s not even the best email anymore. It’s like number 10th…
yeap i totally agree.. I recently moved in to Qatar. Well first i created an account in a forum using yahoo account. Apparantly i needed verification so i tried logging into yahoo, security verification. My phone number obviously was unreachable, and will be for a couple of years. So i selected hotmail. Same case while trying to log in hotmail. At least im happy i got gmail as my main mail id, which is not as OVERPROTECTIVE than yahoo and hotmail, yet.
I can no longer enter into my email without taging my personal details. I do nothing illegal but I have what I call dead emails set up for a reason. Blog, etc etc etc are hacked continually around the world, even Apple. If the NSA or any other govt entity wanted to look into my life, just ask, I will even sign in for them, but Microsoft is not the NSA. I will be killing ALL my MS hotmail accounts and moving to google because of this and when google do it I will delete those email accounts and move to who ever next respects my personal privacy.
I couldn’t care less if MS read my emails, however I will not be attaching “billing information” to this.
This is too much protection, and a bad solution to hackers. Why do you have to punish people who are unable to understand due to a disability, we are the targets of hacks by far. Yet when we try to reclaim we receive the most hardships. Attack the hackers by other means and do not treat people with disability like myself like the CRIMINALs . I am tired so tired of losing my accounts. Now I can not get into my subscription based games, because I need to verify My identity there and without this e-0mail account I can not do that. Meaning I have wasted thousands of pounds to this protection.
I know you don’t want to hear it, but find a provider that you pay a little bit of money to, and that can offer you some support. The free services are always going to have these problems. You may enjoy this article: http://askleo.com/what_forpay_email_providers_do_you_recommend/
Please solve this please
I cannot. I am not Microsoft.
Patience, Leo!
I got to this thread because of the same issue and eventually got to this precise comment – made me laugh! Kudos Leo!!!
Microsoft seems to enjoy their big brother status. They seem to glee in having such control. They are worse than the hackers.
I agree with you! but they get away with it, even although they know who they are.
some people are not punished for hacking, and as u and me know they will not be
This article has made me hate Microcrap even more. I’ve been trying for YEARS to get my hotmail back because I have 2 xbox live accounts that were attached to it with hundreds of dollars in games on them. When my hotmail got hacked, anything I had attached to the account got hacked. I got every other account back accept hotmail because there is absolutely NO WAY besides those stupid prompts to get the account back, It’s pretty much “oh we’re sorry you spent a crap ton of hard earned money with us, but your SOL”. Yahoo was a bit of a disaster and I didn’t get my account back for weeks, but eventually I got it back. They at least had a person I could speak with. Microcrap…….of course not. Every other Email provider has excellent security and even better tech help when needed. Microcrap is last on the list of tech support and customer service.
Working in the gaming industry, I have heard alot about this problem. The solution that I can try and give you, is if (and by the sounds of it you have) try and get your account back. (that didnt work). Next thing you can do is call xbox live support and tell them what has happened to your email account and that you can not log back on under those accounts. xbox live is able to see the ip address (and xbox. Every xbox which gets connected through “live” has it’s own id) which the accounts were attached to and then look at the ip address (and xbox) which now is using those accounts. If you ring and tell them what has happened they “should” be able to look it all up and regain your accounts that you have lost. (this may take some time but atleast you will be able to get your xbox live accounts back and you should be also able to change the email address to those accounts aswell) the downside is, it wont help you get back your hotmail account. But you will have your games back.
Hi and thank you for your article.
I followed all the steps and doing the manual verification process helps resetting my password. BUT when I login I meet the exact same page: “Verify your account
We’ve detected something unusual about this sign-in. For example, you might be signing in from a new location, device, or app. Before you can continue, we need to verify your identity with a security code. How would you like to get this code?”
I’m literally sent in circles and don’t know how to get out and simply login to my account.
Can you help out here?
I see all this info and I skimmed through and didn’t see the answer to my question so maybe you can tell me if I missed something I have a old Hotmail account which I would love to access but I don’t seem to remember my account name
I know I can answer all security questions just don’t remember my login name can you help
Since the Hotmail Login Name is the same as the email address, you might be able to get it by asking some of the people you sent an email to via Hotmail.
But……………….. The problem is, when i first time send an email, i typed the verification code 200 times and all correctly, but i still set as not verified, so i stopped trying to send.
Maybe there’s a bug in the method.
I also know an old solution of this problem:
1. Be sure you’re using firefox.
2. Click the address box on above.
3. Clear the current address and type “mailto:” then the email address.
4. If a window popped up titled “Write: no subject – Thunderbird” after, type in the subject(optional), and then mail like in your Outlook account.
I can not get to old account and I use this one for my job offers and job connects and my friends emails as well facebook comments.
I wonder if you can recover this email for me and did follow the steps — but I did not realise I hit the text instead of the phone number so
what do I now –help me (PLEASE) I need this email address A.S.A.P—
I have a back up email address for now — but I like to use my old one if I can get recovred
You know what this is bull crap, every time I need to access my account I’m going through this garbage, nothing but a headache I’m tired of taking 3 hours to access my account that never took this long before.
I have to major email accounts and keep having to go through this absolutely stupid process every damn time, no one to contact or talk to this is beyond ridiculous and over the top I’ve simply given up on this crap and don’t know what to do anymore the name they give me on my one account isn’t even mine nor is the number. I’m beyond stressed and just wish I could delete these accounts from this stupid outlook crap
10 weeks lockout –have no phone- no computer- use cafes —–cannot create new email address – no phone– required field– have no wish to own one
some service outlook —- hotmail— was better without —-YOU!
how to recover my Hotmail mails because now it`s open with live mail(outlook)
My friend’s cousin died in the early hours of this morning. He was the keeper of the computer, his wife had no access at all. Is there any way of finding out how to access for example: hotmail, facebook etc? She has no idea what was on there but knows he had many photos stored, this being her main worry. Would the providers be able to give her the information if say she could prove who she was and possibly supply them with a death certificate?
blocked for 10 weeks no phone could not create new email accessed hotmail live person got anew email cannot get code with hotmail from start
outlook is a dog pile its not a service BUT A DIS SERVICE TO HOTMAIL
Please I am still finding difficult accessing my mail on my phone for the past weeks.it can only b access on system.
Get this. After jumping thru endless deadend circular hoops fow weeks now ms sends me a “right on” message saying ive succesfuly giving them enough personal info to establish that I am who I say I am. They send me a link to my alternative email address to click the link , get into my account, and change my password. Problem is its a dead link saying temporarily down try again later…this has been for days now.. figures!!! Cant win. I have 3 more weeks overseas of no email… cant even chat with these poeple. Nice,
!!!
Same problem,
I wont jump through hoops for Micro$oft,
Very painful but I’ve just hosed all my accounts after 15years.
Now I use Gmail with no problems.
…..and Micro$oft can piss off.
I have been trying to get into my email address above but forgot the password I filled in all the forms but came
back to me it was incorrect tried it may times but still not accepting what I am saying, I can not even delete
the account I have a new email address now {email address removed} I can receive emails for the above
on my IPhone but not on my computer – Can you help
Regards
Barbara
Outlook are the biggest crap in the world! THEY have torn my partner apart by stuffing up, blocking her account because she used her bro’s internet when she stayed with him for a couple of days! What does outlook think they are?? Some king of the internet???? They should NEVER be recording anyone’s IP anyway!!! I am considering legal action against them and I am in Australia! Absolutely FURIOUS! will be closing my accounts with them and moving all my emails to another email provider and my partner as well!
Is there any way I can get my hotmail account nd typeface book
May be using a recovery email address from a different service is not a good advice.
I have two Hotmail accounts and it is my experience that when abroad they don’t block the recovery Hotmail account where the code is sent to. My brother on the other hand, has one Hotmail address and a recovery Yahoo account (and the other way around). When trying to log in abroad, both Hotmail and Yahoo asked for a code and were blocked. An impossible situation. Please advise.
thank you so much it actually worked
Hi Leo,
I’ve moved the country and i have changed my number aswell and unfortunately i have lost my old sim card, who’s number is saved in my hotmail account. Hotmail keep asking me for a code and they can only send it to my saved number they have. What will be the soultion to this problem, if you can help. Thanks.
Mohsin Malik
I recovered my account but I cannot get to my mails after successfully signing in. Microsoft asks me billing details, payment mode but no link to my mail. How to get in to my inbox?
Hi Leo
I’m having a problem of verifying my new Outlook email address as I am unable to get into my emails as well.
Please help
Kindly
Des
Cannot access my hotmail account. Why has it been redirected to outlook. What do I do? This is absurd.
Outlook.com is the new website for accessing Hotmail. You should be able to log into Outlook.com with your Hotmail address and password and access your Hotmail emails.
Login to outlook.com with your hotmail credentials. Outlook.com is the new user interface for accessing Hotmail accounts.
Can you tell me how to get into a Hot Mail account without having to sign in every time. I’m trying to find out for non-computer-savvy friend. Her main email is hotmail. She didn’t have to sign in every time on her old computer, but since she got a new computer in November, she has to sign in every time and it’s driving her nuts. I said I’d try to figure out what to do. Clicking the “keep me signed in” box doesn’t work. Can you help?
“Keep me signed in” is the solution, as long as a) she’s not signing out explicitly, and b) cookies aren’t being cleared. The signed in state is kept in a cookie.
That usually happens when cookies are deleted. When you click Remember Me or Stay Logged In, the login information is stored in a cookie. Deleting cookies makes you browser “forget “it was logged in.
https://askleo.com/why_would_a_web_sites_automatic_signin_suddenly_stop_working/
https://askleo.com/does-cleaning-cookies-force-me-to-re-verify-my-bank-login/
Dear Leo,
I had hoped that you would comment on my posting of December 19 concerning your advice:
“I recommend using a different service – the issues with overseas travel that might cause hassles on your Microsoft account could potentially also cause those same hassles on the recovery account if it’s also a Microsoft account”. As stated in my comment having Yahoo as a recovery address causes the same hassles, whereas Microsoft only blocks one Hotmail account and leaves the recovery Hotmail account alone. Could you please comment on that?
If Yahoo also locks you out when traveling, you’ll have to find an email service which doesn’t lock you out. I personally use gmx.com. It’s a free webmail provider which I normally use for throwaway addresses, and I have one dedicated to account recovery. To keep it alive, I log on to it about once a month. I have 3 or 4 recovery email addresses for each of my email accounts.
I’m not sure what you want me to say. We know that Microsoft does this on some accounts, and inconsistently it appears. Do you want to place a large, important bet on it NOT happening to your other Hotmail account? I don’t think so. The only comment I can add is that if Yahoo! is doing this as well, then I’d also avoid using them for this purpose. From what I’ve seen Gmail seems to be the most reliable free service. This is another argument for avoiding free email services in general, and using services that actually have actual tech support you can contact.
Dear Leo (and Mark Jacobs),
Thank you for your reply. I just wanted to point out that Yahoo as a recovery address (as advised by you) does not work. See quote:
“First, make sure to set that option up, and set it up using an email account on a different system. Create and use a Yahoo account for your Hotmail alternate email, for example”.
The problem is that Microsoft does not tell you beforehand which alternate address works and which does not and that you don’t know until you get confronted with it when abroad. I just cannot understand this. It is so stupid! Meanhwile I will follow your advice and look for a service with technical support.
That’s why I use several recovery email addresses. One of them is gmx.com which doesn’t use any 2 factor authorization and probably never will. That’s why I have several recovery addresses.
I am able to log into my account but the phone number i had connected to the account is my previous number as i have a new phone now, how can i get my hotmail back with my new number when it is asking for a verification from my old cell phone.
Hi leo
My partner cannot access his hotmail account there for as it will only send a security code to his old mobile number which has been disconnected for along time now n wont allow him to add his new number to be able to recieve the security code needed.. we have been through every which way possible to regain his account n nothin can be done. As for the “submit new form” area is also unhelpful as all info n first initial account setup was created by his “wife” at the time n never told him any info to do with his own account which is why we ended up opting for the “security code” feature.. how can he finally access his account by havin a new number? :)
I have tried to reseat my password and reason I simply forgot it. I have done your recover as indicated to sms me the code all i get back is, there’s a temporary problem with service please try later. How do I solve this?
after a year of no access and the useless form i tried calling my old number which went straight to voicemail. i then went in store and got a replacement sim for the number which i had not used for 5 years. could then get back into my account the form was useless.
Hi, I’ve done all the above and received an confirmation of ownership from Microsoft which says a reset link will be sent separately. This was 3 days ago and I still haven’t received the link and can’t see how to contact Microsoft to tell them and possibly get a re-send of the link. Any ideas much appreciated
Good evening,
I made an id on my apple I phone 6 plus but I did not gave an alternative I’d now after making a perfect I’d on hotmail they sent me a verification code on same id to verify id now without verification I can not open my id and can’t verify without opening id on which they sent me a code so please guide me now
Best regard
I’ve been trying to get into my windows.live account since before the summer last year. My phone number is on file, but most times windows.live only show my old number, that I no longer have. When I do receive a code, reset my password and recover my account it tells me someone maybe using my account. HELP ME PLEASE!!!
That message saying someone may be using your account probably refers to your unsuccessful attempt to log in.
I had the same trouble – being locked out of my Outlook e-mail when I travelled and used different computers. However, I could access my account on my iPad mini with no problem. And once I did that, I could access the account on my desk top and on other peoples’ laptops. I don’t know a lot about computer technology, so I don’t really know why, and I realise not everyone can get an iPad – mini or otherwise – but this has saved me a whole lot of frustration.
I lost my hotmail password, and also my Facebook password, I can only log into my Facebook because the password was saved on my browser, now I want to change my phone, when I request a change of password from Facebook, they ask me to open my hotmail and use the code sent, and when I try to recorver my hotmail password Microsoft says they don’t recognize my email account, how comes is this??? please reply me and help me out because I’m frustrated with this now and I need to change my phone please, thanks
I just want to post here because I’m sick of Hotmail and Yahoo insistence to add my phone number and personal data for their email service (Abandoned my Hotmail account after it’s blocking my account because of connection error and keep demanding for my phone numbers, like a crazy stalker). This is complete bullc**p. I love my privacy and I don’t want Yahoo or Microsoft to snoop in on my phone if I give away my phone numbers. They claimed that they won’t give my phone number to someone else. But they going to use it for datamining and they will bury me in ads.
Also if there’s another hack to those mail services I bet hackers will not only gain email access, but the phone numbers as well. After that it will be “Hello spam city! Population: Suckers!” Also for people who use online banking with that phone, good luck.
This is so true. I have had it with outlook. There are so many choices nowadays. I have a desktop and a tablet and by using one or the other I get messages that my email is being hact into. Who has time to go through these stupid question each time. This is what just happened to me. This is a new account with them after loosing a host of info from my previous account that I had with them for over 15years (previously hotmail).
I have a problem that is driving me crazy. Why is it that I cannot change my Outlook password to a previous password, presuming I made a mistake and this password is easier to remember, or I just damn hell want it like that? Why did the idiots at Microsoft think this is a good idea? Please help, I have tried contacting Microsoft Support, but the entire process is so tedious, I have abandoned it.
Nothing can be done about that. It’s just their policy, sensible or not.
still locked out even leaving messages on retrievial questionnaires stating problems Does not help
When I create my hotmail account I was in Malaysia now I return back my home country Pakistan and I am not use my old phone was in Malaysia.
How we can access my account I was log in but not access always they send verification code of phone number of Malaysia.
How I can change and access my account.
Anwar
i can’t access my account ,, it needs a verification code via my phone number , but i have not already that phone number , i migrated from afghanistan to pakistan, now i’m in afghanistan and microsoft needs a code of pakistan .. so please solve my problem ;;
Thanks
That’s quite a problem. Your only recourse is to follow the steps outlined in this article.
Hello I’ve got a huge problem with my account. I’ve reset my password but when I log in it says I need to verify who I am but do so it says I need to get a code from an email they’re going to send it to. But the the thing is, the email they send the code to is the same email I’m trying to get into which I think Is so stupid of them to do that.
Please help get back into my account and solve this problem for me ??
Unfortunately, your only solution is to follow the instructions in this article, and also read the instructions for recovery in your account. The lesson is that next time you need to have your recovery information set up properly before being locked out of your account.
I forgot my password and it have asked me to verify my identity but the email address they have on the system is old and is no longer in use….how else do I get them to change my old email address to the new one so that I can actually get my password?
Issues with hellmail are not new. They have been around since Adam was a speck in a carbon cells eye. I have always had set up a ghost account with another provider; exact same as for hellmail and have my hellmail account forward all mail to it. As hellmail has been my primary account for 14 years l do not want the hassle of changing it but my ghost account is an awesome fall back option. I only go into it every 3 months to clean it out or of course if l cannot access hellmail. It is also an ideal option if down the track you realise you have deleted an email you needed later.
looking for answer please help me how can i recover my hotmail account!! i’ve lost my email account and password it is possible to get bck again please help me dont know how to do:(:(
Unfortunately, Ask Leo! cannot recover hacked accounts, lost or forgotten passwords. Please see this article for more information on your options:
This article discusses recovery options for the various ways that Microsoft email accounts can be lost or compromised: http://askleo.com/what_are_my_lost_hotmail_account_and_password_recovery_options/
If none of those methods work, there’s not much else you can do.
Dear Mr Leo,
After a lot of frustrating and futile attempts of regaining my hotmail account of last 20 years I am asking you for help as I have read and heard a lot about you.
My hotmail account was hacked into on 2nd march 2015 and I received a test message on my mobile at 2:20am from microsoft that somebody has changed your mobile number, is it you ? I woke up at 7 am and saw this message and replied immediately that it is not me.
As time passes my friends from all over the world start and begin calling me and asking me if I am in Malaysia as they received a mail that I am stranded in malaysia and i need some financial assistance. I come to know that my account is hacked into an this happens to both my accounts hotmail and gmail. However gmail has a very intelligent security in place and asked me on my mobile once again and when i replied, they told me to go and change the password immediately, which i did and was successful.
Now after writing to microsoft daily for 7 days and providing them with all the necessary security info,t hey tell me to make a new email account..
i wish you can help me recover my email account.
My two important questions are :-
1) The time allotted to change a mobile number is normally 30days, how did they accept this change of mobile number in 5 hours.
2) my skype account with the same hotmail account continues to work, will it be of any help to recover my hotmail account?
Please help me and thank you !
Leo cannot recover hacked accounts, lost or forgotten passwords. Please see this article for more information on your options:
http://askleo.com/what_are_my_lost_hotmail_account_and_password_recovery_options/
Dear Sir,
I opened an microsoft account but when I sign in my account i cant see mail home page only open setting page
after many attempts at resetting password, i can safely conclude –
SCREW outlook.com BACK to GMAIL
Hello sir . Hope you are doing well !
I’m waiting for an answer from ms support.
Sorry to bother you ! Just in case meanwhile anyone got a sugestion. .
Any chance you know if this is normal ?:
I got the link for the password recovery after filling succesfully the autentication form (i’ve proved thet im the owner of the account).
I did open the link , it says ”you need to type the email adress you are trying to recover and press next”
The problem is that theres no place to type the adress name ,just the next button . wich is useless , if i try to click on ”next” nothing hapens !
”Before accessing …
For security reasons , you must know the email address of the Microsoft account that are trying to recover . Enter it and click Next to continue .”
Best wishes !
Julian
I have lots of time to recover my account {removed}@hotmail.com and also gave the right gmail.com but still my account has never been recover. The Microsoft just does not wants to work and it is really disgrace. Even you get all details proper they just do not want to accept it.
i hate it. i can’t recover my old hotmail account. i’ve tried everything. i got the stupid msg to “reset” my password but when i click on the link to “reset” it just takes me back to that crap page of “i forgot my password, i know my password, but can’t sign in, and i think someone else is using my account” in the email i got it said to choose the “reset password option” WELL WHERE THE F*** IS IT?! STUPID SHIT JUST HAS ME GOING AROUND IN CIRCLES!
I have not been able to access my yahoo account in years. The gmail account that I put down is my current email address I have no problem wiht that one it is my yahoo one that I can’t access and I need help with it. I need it because I need to get on my myspace page. My daughters father was murdered and I have alot of pictures on there and I need to get them and I can’t get on there because of not being able to get on there. Please help me if you can
Thank you it would mean alot
I’M WITH YOU ! THEY MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE ! IF YOU HAVE THE EMAILS YOU SENT MAIL TO…THEY SHOULD LET YOU IN……. I HATE MICROSOFT
Microsoft doesn’t give 2 f**** about anybody’s situations. I’ve had my account for the last 10 years, and I have my SAT scores and my old high school transcript website usernames and passwords saved on that email. As far as I can remember, I even remember updating my alternate email addresses, but now the alternate email addresses are completely different. Many people have told me that my account has been hacked, but Microsoft doesn’t give a s***. I’m told to wait 24 hours for a response. If they don’t respond this time, I will cancel and delete EVERY SINGLE one of my accounts that have anything to do with Microsoft, and take them somewhere else. Microsoft.. you can take your “customer service” and shove it up your a**.
You are giving out rubbish idea, there is no way to recover Microsoft account once it is barred from access
i just started a new Hotmail , got in only once and second time password invalid . now to make things worse it does not except the base phone i been using for years , i need my own phone , with what money . Hotmail was a second way to job hunt . No money no phone no Hotmail , employers can not reach me , so without Hotmail , no employment .
For all of you on here trying to get your account back after not having enough information to get your account back stop. it is not possible i have had my account frozen for around 2-3 years now. Everything i had on there was lost including my xbox profile which had around 200$ worth of downloads. A class action lawsuit should be against microsoft. It would be one thing to give us all this protection and ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO CALL THEM IF WE NEED THEM. they did this without our consent and you cant even call the bastards @yahoo.com forever from now until the end. i will be happy if just 1 microsoft worker sees this {redacted}!!!!
They did this with your complete consent when you agreed to the terms of service when you created your account. This is the cost of a free account. (And another reason that you probably should have been backing it up all along.)
Sir
From past two years I have not used and now I want to open my hot mail account. Its telling could not recognise please help to recover my account.
Thank you.
Ravi
After 2 years of not using an account, it would not be recoverable. It might be possible to open a new account with the old name if it’s available, as the addresses of closed accounts are usually eventually released to be used again.
Two years is too long. It’s probably been closed and cannot be recovered.
sir, my name is mohsan mansha , i am using hotmail id since last 10 years . i was not facing any problem before this . my same ID is used for face book. i dont know where probelem occur .i input my same password but they said your email id is used with some one else. and i verfiy it so much for trying this. for this sake i input my cell number last 4 digits . but can;t received verfication code on my cell . i tried so much time . please help me . i want to open one of my special email which i received for my job test. and resolved this issue as soon as possible. my login id : {email removed}
same id used in yahoo from last 10 years.
Please don’t post your email in a public forum! More than likely you have been hacked. Your only options are to follow the recovery paths created by Hotmail and/or Yahoo.
does any body have any info on support,
my daughters Hotmail/outlook account was hacked and
she changed the security settings now outlook still has her locked out
and she has done the 2 step security but would really like to talk to a human
in the support department thanks kim
Unfortunately, free email services generally don’t offer live support.
https://askleo.com/are_free_email_services_worth_it/
Outlook.com/Hotmail does not offer telephone support. The options discussed in the article are your only options.
Dear Sir. I have a Email account and $17 credit. I log in with my Skype {Name Removed} and every time I use
the password it will not work. I reset my password it won’t work even so they send me new passwords I
still can not get into my account?????. Hope you can help me
forgot password
We cannot recover hacked accounts, lost or forgotten passwords. Please see this article for more information on your options: http://askleo.com/what_are_my_lost_hotmail_account_and_password_recovery_options/
Hello, I have 3 hotmail accounts that I use (some for personal, some for work) and every time I travel I get locked out of all of them because the single use security code requests just get sent between my hotmail accounts, and all 3 of them request the codes, so I can’t get into any to retrieve the codes for the other accounts… and traveling I don’t have access to cell phone which could have been other option locally … I’ve thought about opening an account just for code retrieval on another service, but have heard that gmail and the like cause the same problem… any suggestions on a good service that doesn’t have this problem, and/or some setting in hotmail to prevent them from asking for security codes constantly while traveling? Thank you!
I used gmx.com.
Hello Leo,
I am abroad and i cant access my email. If i return home , do i need to fill this form or i will have access with only my email and pasword ?
Thank you for your advice!
It’s likely that you will be able to log in with no issues when you return home.
Thank you Connie!
This is why I would never use outlook or Google, or Yahoo. They also require an alternate email address to access your settings, once you have already logged in! Well, sorry MS, but my login information should be enough. And, MS, you will never have access to my phone number, ever. There is simply no way I am going to go through a access number system each time I want to access my account from different computer or want to access my account settings, to, for instance, set up a forwarder. This is the reason I left yahoo and Google. I was out of the country, and did not have a phone or a phone recover number. So, I typed in my password, and got locked out–even though the password was correct. I don;t need MS taking care of my “account security” in that way. I’m an adult. I should be able to choose the option. It infuriates me when corporations treat me like a child. So. . .
Hello Mail.com.
The time hotmail was turned to Outlook, I couldn’t access my account anymore. I knew the password, typed it but it would always show it incorrect. My alternate email was yahoo but that too could not be accessed suddenly. I tried filling in the recovery form but I didn’t remember most of the stuff they asked for, so it didn’t help much. So, is there a way I can recover my email?
Unfortunately, probably not.
Hello Leo and thanks for your help!
I would like to know how I can transfer my hotmail.com emails to my yahoo.com account without loose anything and/or make a mess.
Is there any chance to see in realtime the transfer and recover something missing email in case the transfer does not run smooth due to Internet connection?
I am using a dongle as Internet, and that is another concern due the speed or stable connection.
Thanks a lot Leo and I eagerly await your response.
Respectfully,
Guido
PS I have been hacked a few days back, hotmail.com!
I have already chanced my password and checked with several password check meeter, but even the previous pass I had was very strong!
Another concern is I am using a old Ubuntu 10.04 LTS version, obsolete but very stable and no problem what so ever in watching movies and so on.
security add-ons I am suing are the following: NoScripit (I have already removed many of sites allowed by the white list), Server Spy, Tamper data and Firebug.
Any suggestions on these add-ons? Any one to add to them or by the browser bar in terms of safety surfing
You can use IMAP to move your emails from one server to another. In the article I’m linking to, the section IMAP: you can upload explins how to do this. What is IMAP? And how can it help me manage my email?
If your aren’t already using an email program, you would have to export the contacts list from Hotmail and import it into Yahoo Mail manually.
As for those security add-ons, I’m only familiar with NoScript and found it works well.
I am from Jamaica and I was in Trinidad I easy using a Trinidad number at the time. I use the number to great my FB account so all personal tings will send to it. But I don’t have that sim card anymore so now I don’t remember my password so I can’t log in my account because it sending the code to the Trinidad number that I don’t have an any more
I know my email and my username but I need to make my password for niter and Netflix
The login pages of those sites should have a password recovery option to click on if you’ve forgotten your password.
This blog would be better entitled “things you could do to get back into your hotmail account, if you had a TARDIS”.
For those who don’t know a TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) is a time machine from Dr. Who. And that really often is the only solution.
So stupid! For hotmail, people cannot travel
have a different number now and cannot login
I am unable to access my Hotmail account, although I have the password. I haven’t used the password in a while – more than a year. When I try to recover the password they give a message saying “Try entering your Microsoft account again. We don’t recognize this one.” Could they have deleted my account altogether. I am very sure my account existed and I used skydrive also but it seems to have vanished.
Replacing my laptop. Can not get into my email on new laptop; pass words won’t work. Fallowed instructions for loss/forgotten passwords but this needs an alternate email address which I do not have access to. Why can’t I uses my one an only email address and then I could read instructions sent to it on my old laptop?
The security questions that they ask, are useless answering. You need to know the specific titles of E Mails that you have recently sent. How completely impractical and nonsense is that. That however is exactly what I did about one and a half years ago, knowing that I was going on a work related trip to another country and that the system would automatically block me because I was using a different computer. So I wrote down all neccessary information required over one A4 sheet size of paper. I entered all this copied down information, word for word, letter for letter, masses of data, and the system told me that I had not entered sufficient information to allow me entry. Then I phoned about three different Indian based help lines, who all said ” Ah, someone has been trying to hack into your E Mails” . Rubbish! It was the account holder who was ” trying” to do this. An elderly relative across the other side of the world stayed up till 5.30 am to receive the confirmation code that I needed. What happened? The system timed out, and because it took a few minutes too long to make an International phone call, it did not work. Currently also struggling with constant pop ups telling me to sign in with some kind of cloud password that has nothing to do with me, and Microsoft have built in securities that no longer allow you to remove this annoying rubbish by using online available tips. I am now back with the problem of not remembering my outlook password. Why, because for over one year, the system did it ask me for it, the system just automatically opened up, then yesterday, the system decided to start asking me for my password to log in. Password? That,s long gone, after not needing it five times a day consecutively for 400 days. Try finding other online assistance to provide IT tips, and you get this gobbledygook language spewed out, hyper drives, flash drives ( or is it Flash Gordon, can.t remember) etc which just causes more frustration. This cloud thing, whatever it is, seems like another gobbledegook invention someone has dreamed up, creating yet more superheated steam to vent from the ears.
I had this problem. For no reason my account was locked and asked for code. I reluctantly give a phone number but they refused to send the code. My account is locked!
Going through the web, too many people encountered this problem. Tired to say much. But NO MORE MS PRODUCT FOR ME. F**K!!
The day when I find a way to move out of Windows, I’ll dump MS completely!
Please help me ! I’m am trying to log onto my hotmail account. It won’t accept my password so I tried to reset it. So, when I enter my email address and then I type in the letters/number I see, in the next box, I get a message saying email incorrect – but it isn’t ! So I tried again with my telephone number instead and then again it said it was incorrect/didn’t recognise my account! When I tried to contact Microsoft it wanted me to sign into my email account first – but of course I can’t!
This is SO frustrating! Please please help me.
My emails used to just pop up on my email page on my iPad when I touched the “mail” button – and now they are not.
I tried to sign on hotmail via the safari page but can’t do that either!
Thank you for your help in advance
Dolly
From what you describe, it sounds like your account may have been hacked and the password and recovery information has been changed. The only thing I can think of would be to contact the police, but unfortunately, I’m not sure if they have enough resources to prioritize this kind of thing.
So I’m to wait 30 days on Hotmail? That’s brain death. They never communicate. Also, they think was hacked and it wasn’t!! I gave all the info that they wanted: e-mail addresses I had sent to, some contacts – all that. Hotmail promises to send a “code” to my alt e-mail address and never send! Still no communication and still can’t get in without going to another website. That worked a couple times, but now does not work.
I cannot recover my account on Outlook. I would like to talk to anyone personally to tell them about the information. I can tell them almost everything about the account to prove that I am the real owner. It seems like I am going to lose it forever. :(
Unfortunately, it’s not possible to get any person to person support from most, if not all, of the free email providers. For around $10-12 a year, you can get your own domain which you can use for your email address, eg. myself@myowndomain.com.
https://askleo.com/are_free_email_services_worth_it/
@Leo, I helped my brother back-up his Lumia phone to an outlook account I signed-up for him and I gave him all the sign-in credentials. But unfortunately he misplaced the credentials and the phone just crashed. The problem now is not the phone but the contacts that we backed up in the outlook email that I opened for him. How can I know both his email and password? I can access my email anytime.
If you set up a recovery email address or phone number, these articles give instructions on how to reset the password. If you don’t know the email address, you might be able to go to the computer where you set up the account and go to the outlook.com create account or login page and try typing different first letters in the account name field. The auto-complete might bring up the address you typed in. If you set it up on the crashed phone or didn’t set up a recovery email or phone, you might not be able to recover it.
http://askleo.com/what_are_my_lost_hotmail_account_and_password_recovery_options/
http://ask-leo.com/would_you_please_recover_my_password_my_account_has_been_hacked_or_ive_forgotten_it.html
@MarkJacobs (Team Leo), thank you. Please, a point I forgot to include in my query was that I used my email as the recovery email for this forgotten mail / crashed phone but I set it (the email) up on that crashed phone.
@MarkJacobs (Team Leo), my definition of forgotten email is that both the username and password are not known (forgotten).
I had a problem with using Microsoft’s password reset/account recovery procedure and this is how I fixed it (BTW, Microsoft rejected my landline phone number and did not use my secondary email tied to this account). I had repeated errors in the account recovery procedure even though I correctly entered info in my account, I use it to back up my Lumia phone. From the computer you set up the account (entering the username and password), download Nirsoft webbrowserpassview, install it. It will list all the typed usernames and passwords in almost any browser. Locate the account and write down what was in the history. I found my outlook.com password using this method after Microsoft’s password reset, account recovery, and help desk technicians could not solve it.
please help me recover my Hotmail account..it is vital to me
Please read the article you just commented on. All your options are here.
I forgot my password so clicked on ‘forgotten password ‘…you have to type email address and then type in the CAPACHA box for security. But even having typed in the correct captcha code several times its saying I’m not matching it.
Help??
That would be because you are not matching it. Try refreshing the page or image until you get one you can read accurately. And remember, it is probably case sensitive.
what should i do if i make an accont on microsoft and i can’t open my pc co’z i make that account not seriously i put a wrong information about me on that . now i need to open my pc badly because all my files are there and i need it now. i hope you answer my question . thanks!
If you don’t remember the password or the recovery information, there would be no way to get into the account.
I am using my email account. I tried to log in and it asked me to type my alternate email address to get a code. I did this and a screen came up asking me for the code. I opened a new tab to sign in to my alternate email to get the code – only I couldn’t. I got the same message, asking me to type my email address to get a code. How do I sign in to my alternate email?
Please please help!
If both accounts are asking for a code, you may not be able to. You’ll need to use alternate verification mechanisms if any are offered.
Good Day i am trying to get my password to my live.co.za account but some how they say that my account does not exsist but that is the same email address i have use to sign up to facebook 10 or so years ago. How do i get that email and password?
If you haven’t used your live.com account in several months (logging on to Facebook with it doesn’t count), it is possible that Microsoft has closed your account. I’m not sure, exactly, how many months that is, but it is somewhere between 6 months and a year.
Hello,
Very interesting subject. I am facing the same problem here for last two days and already I wasted a lot of time as well.
Unfortunately, my associated Phone Number with my hotmail account is no longer exist. So I tried to ask the code through my another email. After the code there was questionaire, which I tried my best to fill it. But they say it is not sufficient and tried several times. So they said it was final attempt.
My question is- If we take the Phone back and I try again through that phone, can I do one more attempt. Please guide me?
There’s really no way to know that. It would be worth a try though.
Hello
I am trying to recover my password, but unfortunately when I input data requested the replied answered is failed to recovery the account. I retired many times but no success. What should I do
Your site keeps asking the same questions over and over, sending me to a recovery site and even though I answer all the questions, it says it doesn’t recognize me! I have tried over and over to no avail! I have pictures on my account of my grandchildren and do not want to lose them!
If by ‘your site’ you mean Hotmail, the Ask Leo! website has nothing to do with Hotmail or Microsoft. This article and the suggested links contain all the information we have on Hotmail/Outlook.com account recovery.
What a frustrating process. I was in the middle of sending an e-mail, and flick, the screen changed , and now I have to try and get access to my hot mail. Ho can a person remember subjects on your e-mail. I understanding security, but why did hot mail all of a sudden go away. Stupid. if you linger too long, you get the
message that time is up.
WHAT IS I DONT KNOW MY ACCOUNT NAME?? YOUR SUPPORT IS ****, GMAIL LETS you know all the account that is verified with you
Your account name is your Hotmail/outlook.com*live.com/MSN.com etc. email address. That being said, I’d never use MS email accounts as my primary email address.
Also… Ask Leo! is not Microsoft Support.
“YOUR” support? You’re aware that I am not Microsoft, yes?
I am having this exact problem – when I tried to log in to my hotmail account this weekend its says “it appears someone else is using your account”. I stupidly hadnt updated my phone number /alternate email so went through the online verification process several times, filling in all the details as I can still view my email on my phone for some reason (i just can’t forward or reply to anything). The verification process was rejected several times despite me being sure it’s accurate. I’ve just about resigned myself to the fact it’s lost forever, I guess my question is – is the account now blocked completely or is a hacker still able to access it? My skype sent out a load of weird links too and I also can’t access that. I would be satisfied if I knew the account wasn’t accessible by anyone at this point, but can’t seem to find an answer online / get through to anyone on the phone!
Cheers
From your description, Microsoft blocked the account, therefore a hacker would have a similar problem to yours getting in. It appears that Microsoft won’t let anyone in with out the required recovery information.
I set up account long time I only used it for my Facebook account never used any other email never used any other password and never sent email to anybody HAVNT been in email account like said only used it for Facebook Facebook have sent me link I need to get to email how can I recover if the questions don’t apply ? As keeps saying not have enuf info
Facebook asks those questions to prevent hackers from being able to take over your account. If you can’t supply enough information to prove you are you according to Facebook’s satisfaction, you may not necessarily be able to recover the account.
I am having the same issues as most above, I have been through the recovery process and can’t get access to my hotmail account.
I refuse to believe that the account is gone forever, I have critical emails/info stored that I need access to asap. I understand that Microsoft doesn’t offer support for this but there must be someone to get in contact with, if you scream loud enough. Any ideas on numbers to call or people to reach out to?
Rylan
Microsoft doesn’t pay anybody to answer the phone to help people with their free services. If you find a number it is likely that it’s a scam. Be very careful.
https://askleo.com/risk-searching-support-phone-number/
I traveled 200 km eastward of my normal residence on 25/11/2016, and used wi-max connection for network instead of ADSL which normally I use.
my hotmail a/c was hacked and still it is used by the hacker although I have recovery email and submitted as much as possible of required data.
It is noted That I did not receive note from Microsoft or message on recovery email or mobile due to geographic location change as usual.
It is astonishing that the hacker still issue messages asking transfer of money (from all my contacts) through WESTERN UNION and using documents in my files.
I wonder why Microsoft do not investigate or trace that and feel it is suspicious, because normal owner don”t do that. The account is not blocked yet, and not recovered to me although I have mobile no as recovery one and recovery email address. Sure with technology available Microsoft knows the LOCATION of the present hacker (user), and know my normal residence location. Lot of questions to be answered.
A simple check by recovery team of Microsoft for my document, they can discover that I have some papers published in http://www.paralia.fr as Author and also available through http://www.google.com . Microsoft could face the present user (hacker) by such facts or block it immediately and cal me on my mobile personally
I am trying to gain access for a non computer literate friend who has forgotten her password. How can you provide recent emails and subjects if it is several months since you last gained access?
I have read the discussion up to this point and it is very helpful but how do I pass the Microsoft access test?
Morning, I had a hotmail account hacked a few years ago so it was shut down, {removed}y@hotmail.co.uk.
This account was linked to my facebook account. I’ve been trying to get into this account to pick up some links so I can reset my password to facebook, very complicated but I don’t know how todo this as a lot of the recover your account questions aren’t applicable, haven’t used the account for years HELP
JULES
If the methods mentioned int the article don’t work for you, unfortunately, we don’t have any further advice.
Hi
My problem is I have set my hotmail account as my phone account about 9 years ago. I never accessed this account for any use and now can’t remember the password. I have a new phone now iPhone 7 and have registered this with all new gmail account and recorded all my passwords so I don’t have this problem again. I am signed into iCloud with this {removed}@hotmail.com so no one can have this phone as the iCloud and iTunes requests password all the time and yet again I don’t know it. I have tried this retrieval of password application that outlook says to follow and I keep getting a message that I can’t be verified. I would like to give my daughter the iPhone 6 as it is only 2 years old and in great condition. I cannot erase the data on the phone as it needs the iCloud password hence I don’t know it. Apple can’t help me as it is a Microsoft account. This is an ongoing problem. Please are you able to help. I am a lot smarter with my computer knowledge but back when I first used an iPhone I didn’t know what I was doing . Please can you help
Hello,
I went to follow the instructions in the article, but the Outlook login screen has changed and there’s no “forgot your password” option. What now?
Once you’ve entered your email address on the Sign-in page and clicked the Next button, the Forgot my password appears on the next page
Cannot get into my email account. Help!
We cannot recover hacked accounts, lost or forgotten passwords. Please see this article for more information on your options:
http://ask-leo.com/would_you_please_recover_my_password_my_account_has_been_hacked_or_ive_forgotten_it.html
If this is a Hotmail, MSN.com, Live.com or Outlook.com account, then this article discusses recovery options for the various ways that these accounts can be lost or compromised: http://askleo.com/what_are_my_lost_hotmail_account_and_password_recovery_options/
As of today in order to recover an account you must have an active cell phone with a major carrier – Does AskLeo have a fix/ suggestion/ and or work around for this – Many do not have cell phones and this will be an improper recovery process for the average Hotmail/Outlook user – Clearly poor planning on behalf of Microsoft — thank you with Respect M
Microsoft still allows you to use another email address to recover your account.
In addition, you can set up a recovery code in order to recover a Microsoft email account later:
https://askleo.com/recover-your-microsoft-account-later-by-setting-up-a-recovery-code-now/
My understanding is that it does not have to be a mobile phone – landlines are acceptable. Indeed, NO phone is required – you can use alternate email addresses as well.
I still cannot get my messages
Your only option is to follow the instructions as listed in this article, and on the outlook.com site itself.
I can’t get in my email says someone else been used it
I want to see my Hotmail account, but I’m on a different computer.
So open up a browser on that computer, go to outlook.com and then login with your Hotmail credentials.
Using Microsoft with all these security limitations renders any Microsoft accounts useless. Yeah its great that they have all these strategies in place to thwart hackers. The security is so good it keeps legitimate account holders locked out as well. I’ve been trying to recover an hotmail account for a CEO of my company. With all the information she has on this account it just isn’t enough to get in. You can’t expect non technical users to abide by the security protocols no matter how much you educate them. So I just advise they don’t use Microsoft.
I can say with absolute certainty that having a hacked account renders it more than useless. It’s actually dangerous for you and for the people in your contact list.
trying to get line details on new phone but wont let me log in
How do i get into my hotmail to check my messages forgot password
Read the article you are commenting on.
This article basically lists the recover steps that Microsoft already provides. When users state the standard method is ineffective there is no further help offered by the authors, so, I really don’t understand what value the article is adding…
My mother is trying to recover her account, for which Microsoft apparently randomly wanted a password verification and eventually locked her out. The only alternate contact linked was an expired email account. There is a form to confirm additional details about the account (former passwords – well, I believe there was only 1 and if it was known, the lock out wouldn’t have occurred), recent email addresses sent to – but Microsoft is rejecting these.
This is a little ridiculous to say the least.
This article exists because so many people hope for some magic bullet that somehow bypasses what Microsoft provides. There is no magic bullet.
Your experience underscores the critical importance of keeping recovery information (that alternate email) up-to-date. Hopefully others that visit here will learn from this.
How do I recover a my live/hotmail/outlook email if I only have the password and the recovery email. I forgot the email address.
You will definitely need to know the email address in order to recover it.
Do you know anybody who you’ve emailed from that account who might be able to tell you?
I’m afraid you do need to know your own email address. Sorry.
i cannot log in to my email address i have try 3 years to get back my email address but i failed its say some one is using your email addres and i submit the form to recover my email but still failed please help
Sounds like someone else is using your email address. That happens when an email is abandoned over several years. Email services will usually hold on to an account for a period of time, but will eventually see the address as abandoned. They then open the account up for someone else. So if some one else took over the account, it now belongs to them.
I am having a nightmare with this problem.
I have a very old Hotmail account that I had forgotten the password for. I finally remembered the password and managed to regain access. My intention was to permanently close the account, but when I did regain access I was asked to update some information including the alternative email address. I did that and everything was fine, but I was told that I would not be able to make further changes (such as closing the account) for 30 days.
No problem, just wait the 30 days and then delete the account. The one stupid thing I did was close the alternative account during that period without thinking. I did this because I am in the process of closing down as many of my online accounts as I can just to clean things up a bit. All was still fine, I was accessing the Hotmail account every few days to make sure everything was ok. Then I made the heinous mistake of trying to access that account from a different device after replacing my computer. That’s all I did and now I am locked out. I’m getting messages telling me that there is “unusual activity” related to the account, such as log in attempts from a different device. What is “unusual” about logging into an existing account on a different device? I buy a new device and attempt to use it… big deal. How is that “unusual” exactly? I can’t get into the account no matter what I do now. I have tried all the steps, completed all the forms, received and entered the codes Microsoft have sent me and nothing works. I tried their online chat and ended up talking to someone whose English was terrible and they were no help at all. I have logged a request and received an email stating that I would be contacted within 24 hours, which hasn’t happened. Even that email ended up in the junk section of my present OUTLOOK account. Yes, Microsoft put their own email in the junk section of a Microsoft outlook account!
This isn’t looking good. I am in the UK and have managed to find a phone number for Microsoft technical support and I will try it. Why do I get this feeling that I will end up talking to an Indian guy speaking in broken English who will tell me that he can’t help me and that I need to use the online recovery methods I’ve already used unsuccessfully?
All this because I attempted to sign in to MY account using the correct details and password, but on a new device! This is ridiculous Microsoft!
That’s a lot to go through if you only want to close the account. The fact that it’s out there and potentially active can’t affect anything else you do online. If you ignore it for a year, Microsoft will close the account. But the catch is, you can’t check. If you log in to check, the clock will restart on shutting the account down.
It sure is a lot to go through and I am not sure that what you are saying about Microsoft closing the account after a year is true. I didn’t log in to the account in question for much longer than a year when I forgot the password and never used it. When I did finally manage to remember the password and get back in the account was just completely empty with all previous emails deleted, but it still existed.
I have no idea if I will ever be able to close this old Hotmail account, but what I do know is that Microsoft seem to be intent on making that as hard as they can.
I wanted to close down an apple id a while back and, despite all that is said online about this being an impossibility, I simply requested a call from apple, they called within one minute and a very helpful guy permanently closed and deleted the apple id as requested. No problems whatsoever. I can’t even get a response from Microsoft, let alone any actual help with this mess.
Typically an account remains open because some how, somewhere, there’s an app – like OneDrive, or Skype, or who-knows-what, on one of your computers that’s still logging in regularly and keeping the account “active”.
After having supplied a fair bit of detail, (the usual, plus recovery email, past passwords, recipients/subjects etc) I’m awaiting recovery of my very current @outlook.com email account which appear to have been ‘got-at’ tonight probably via a bounced-back-to-me mail from a business, which I then re-sent. I’m normally 110% security conscious, but dropped my guard at the end of a frustrating day.
I had tried getting back in to change password, entered the last four digits of my mobile phone, but it wouldn’t send the verification code. That’s never happened before, and I change password frequently (very high strength) so it comes up fairly often.
Can’t find any info as to how serious a hack this might be and what might be the consequences. Would anyone be kind enough to tell me?
the recovery page just freezes…….I know all the information required, they blocked the account, they want £39.99 to unblock it…..their ‘recovery’ page…….does not work…….thanks microsoft
PLEASE HELP! Out of nowhere and not the first time and again for no reason explained to me, it says:
Your account has been temporarily suspended
Someone may have used your account (XXXXXX)@outlook.com to send out a lot of junk messages or done something else that violates the Microsoft Services Agreement.What do you need to do?We’ll send a verification code to your phone. After you enter the code, you can sign in.
BUT! I don’t have that phone number I signed up with or any phone number to update my account with. I had listed a separate email address to use as a backup but nowhere on any page, and I’ve looked over and over, is there an option to receive a verification code by email and not phone.
What am I supposed to do? I have always kept my info current and now it’s giving me no alternative other than a text by phone.
Honestly, I’d take a hacker accessing my account over microsoft blocking it because when my account is hacked I can still use it at least. Microsoft just removes me from the matrix, naked and alone.
My favorite thing about Microsoft support is that to contact support about an account you can’t access, you are supposed to first login to that account. So millions of users probably create dummy accounts in order to get “support”.
If I need support for an account I can’t access why would logging in be a requirement to get human help?
Because Microsoft :-(
I am using the ({removed}@hotmail.com) id and i have the correct password also, when i am trying to login message can be show (It looks like someone else might be using your account). i don’t login recovery email maybe the domain is not working (myway.com). Pls help me. My email a
What is all this rubbish about security and keeping your account safe, you are requested to set up alternate email for recovery, using I might add, all your original details, name/date of birth/address/postcode/have you bought this or that, who are your contacts, why not just supply your bank details and pin code and let them take you for a real ride, BIG BROTHER IS HERE, nobody seems to have noticed yet,
Hi Leo and other people looking for an answer to this.
I managed to do this very same thing and couldn’t answer the questionnaire properly and thought that was the end for my email account!
However, something saved me – My Skype account.
I was still able to log into my Skype account, as it was under a different username and I knew the password – Once in my Skype account, I called a bunch of mobiles and my contacts, as well as adding €10 credit to my account with my card.
When I came back to filling in the questionnaire, it asked if I had Skype, which I said I did, and filled in all the details of the calls, credits and contacts I’d recently made along with all the other usual stuff – And bingo, it verified me!
Hope this can help some people!
Thanks,
HP
Nice! Thanks for sharing this technique.
I need assistance please. I got an email that someone might be using my account an since then I am unable to access my account. I have done all the step to retrieve my account but no success. I sent up the account in 2008 and have used one password since them, I have never had any issues. What can I do to get access to my account because this email is a base of everything I have ever registered for. My banking and everything is registered with the email address and I need it. PLEASE….PLEASE….someone assist me.
Please read the article. It has all of Leo’s suggestions for what you should do if you find yourself in a situation like this.
Stupid Microsoft!!
I could not Login even if I think I remembered my password correctly.
I have sent request, with enough information, but I got only “nfortunately, we were unable to verify your ownership using the information that was provided. ”
What a poor service, I highly recommend that all you guy stop using hotmail and use Gmail!!
I’m having the same problem. I created a new outlook account through the OneDrive app on the Google play store. When I tried to log back in it wouldn’t let me, eventually Microsoft sent me the following message: “Unfortunately, our automated system has determined that the information you provided was not sufficient for us to validate your account ownership. Microsoft takes the security and privacy of our customers very seriously, and our commitment to protecting your personal information requires that we take the utmost care in ensuring that you are the account owner.” Seriously I gave them all the information I could and since I had made an account through the OneDrive app (which only asked for the basics & i typed my password in correctly twice when i made it too) how am I supposed to send an email to another account? Furthermore how can you tell someone that “the information provided wasn’t sufficient enough?” How is it they can detect unusual activity on one of your accounts & send you the activity along with the IP address but they can’t help with this? So then I was forced to create ‘another account’ which they ended up temporarily blocking cause they claim it was sending spam. (Really? I’m trying to at least prove that my other accounts exits & that they belong to me and this is what I get for it?). Besides I wouldn’t have had to create another account if they hadn’t sent a message stating that my account would be frozen next month if I didn’t get rid of the extra space on my OneDrive account because I was over the 5GB Limit (how am I’m responsible for your actions? If I had somewhere safe to store my files don’t you think I would have done that to begin with?). I honestly thought they could be trusted but apparently they don’t seem to care about their customers and if they do they have a funny way of showing it.
With so many people being locked out of MS email accounts, I’d suggest switching to a more user friendly email provider like Gmail.
Same problem as everyone else. In my case the account was set up several years ago when the only additional security was Date of Birth and a security question. I have these but I never get asked for them.
Irritating and typical poorly thought through Microsoft apporach.
From reading hundreds of comments on Ask Leo! “poorly thought through Microsoft approach” is the rule rather than the exception.
This is ridiculous. I commented on this months ago and still can’t access my account.
I can’t believe Microsoft have locked me out of my own account purely because I attempted to access it on a different device. The different device was my new Microsoft laptop for heaven’s sake!
I can’t believe a company the size of Microsoft doesn’t offer phone support either. The arrogance of this company astounds me and I will never use their products or services ever again. All I want to do is close the thing down and I can’t do it. It’s an old account that I opened years ago and, after initially managing to get back in after a very long period of inactivity, I just wanted to close the damn thing.
Who the hell do these internet/technology companies think they are? They store heaven only knows what data about us without our consent, sell our personal information, offer no phone support and basically treat their users with complete contempt and think they own us. Throw in the constant hacking they are subject to and their willingness to conspire with governments who are spying us and I can’t see a single positive thing about using any internet-based service.
I am done with the internet. It’s just a Big Brother, mind-rotting, anti-social pile of crap and the world was a better place without it. You can’t trust any internet-based company at all. They are a law unto themselves and have managed to completely end the very concept of privacy. In the UK, a human rights group named Liberty are taking the government to court over all this. I sincerely hope they win and I also hope it paves the way for civil action against the likes of Microsoft and internet service providers that ends up forcing them to change their arrogant attitude to how they treat our personal data in order to avoid being bankrupted by subscribers being given the right to sue them.
If I had the money, I would seriously consider legal action myself because this is absolutely disgusting. We have absolutely no control over our own personal and often very sensitive data at all and this needs to change.
I’m having trouble signing in through my Hotmail account i remember my password but when i type in the password its says i need to verify my account and the number which i had given i dont use it any more what do i do can you help?
Read the article you are commenting on, it discusses the question you are asking.
i have remember my mail but password and other details are not remember. so what can i do now? i definitely want recover soon as possible my account, so please help me.
You can’t recover your account unless you are able to identify yourself, somehow, to your email provider. If your email is with your ISP, that is very easy to do. Calling up with your account ID would be enough. But for a free service like Gmail, Yahoo, etc., your only option is going to be to use recovery details. If you never entered those, or do not know them, you will probably not be able to recover the account.
We cannot recover hacked accounts, lost or forgotten passwords. Please see this article for more information on your options:
http://ask-leo.com/would_you_please_recover_my_password_my_account_has_been_hacked_or_ive_forgotten_it.html
If this is a Hotmail, MSN.com, Live.com or Outlook.com account, then this article discusses recovery options for the various ways that these accounts can be lost or compromised: http://askleo.com/what_are_my_lost_hotmail_account_and_password_recovery_options/
If this is a Facebook account then please see: http://askleo.com/how_do_i_recover_my_facebook_log_in_password/ and/or http://askleo.com/how-do-i-recover-my-hacked-facebook-account/
Need your help. I haven’t use my Hotmail account for quite some time. I cant’t erember my passwood and I used all the alternatives that Microsoft offered me and I still don’t know what else to do to recover my account:{removed}@hotmail.com
Please read the article you are commenting on. It discusses the available options.
Never post personal information such as an email address or phone number on a public forum. It opens that address up to spam.
Hi Leo,
I hope this message finds you well. Let me start by wishing you a Merry Christmas!
I was hoping you can help me out with an issue I am facing which honestly I am unable to solve.
My Facebook account (that i haven’t used for quite some time now) got hacked and my recovery email is an old hotmail account that i do not have access to.
I know that I should have updated my recovery information but I am now in a bit of trouble and can’t access my hotmail account to try and reset the Facebook Password and recover my account.
I really count on your support because I have tried all the proposed solutions in your above article and i am keep hitting walls.
I am worried about the hacker and would really appreciate if you can help me out.
Thank you,
Lou
The recovery information you supply to Facebook is their means of identifying you as you. If it were possible to recover the account without this recovery information, a hacker would also be able to gain access to your account. We don’t know of any other way to recover an account.
https://askleo.com/a-one-step-way-to-lose-your-account-forever/
Im not happy I cant recover my email account I have given my information my mobile has changed and my accommodation so how can I retrieve my account
Unfortunately, it’s likely that you can’t recover it.
I’m sorry that I didn’t read the 300 comments on here to see if it is covered (I only read 50!) but what if I have full access to my alternate email account and never, ever receive a code? I’ve asked for one about 6 times over the past 7 months, I have submitted correct information on forms with quick rejection – I understand why security is important, but I don’t understand how someone who has the beloved recovery systems in place and also correct information like contacts and sent/received subject lines still cannot get into an account?
The system is flawed if one follows the steps requested correctly and still cannot get in.
Has anybody else not been able to get a code sent to a working, accessible alternate email address?
Hello i need help with something important. I forgot my password to my outlook account and can’t access it because the phone number is a old one i don’t have that again so what can i do to regain my account?
Unfortunately, if you lose access to your recovery email accounts and phone numbers,the account can be unrecoverable.
https://askleo.com/a-one-step-way-to-lose-your-account-forever/
I am a 62 year old woman with the same hotmail account for over
20 years, and now hotmail have block my account saying I need parental permission. I must give my credit card details or a passport
of my passport. I should need to give these details as hotmail know that I have had the account for 20 years and I am not a child.
Make sure that whatever is asking you that isn’t a scam. It could be Microsoft, but that sounds a lot like a phishing scam if you’re getting it via email.
sorry i am looking to open my Hotmail account which is {removed}@Hotmail now i have forgetting the password now i have Facebook address which is the same same to my Email also i have new telephone number {removed} you can send me at any code as you can realize that i don’t have or use my old phone number which was {removed} i thanking you so much
Read the article you are commenting on. Your account may be unrecoverable. And never post your email address or phone number in a public forum.
So there’s no way in hell I’m giving outlook my phone number, and I know this is ‘to keep my mailbox safe’ but I’m safe enough online and I just want access to my email account without having to make another one.. Is this not allowed? Am I going to have to change the Email I’ve used for the majority of my life because of this? If so that’s fine but please let me know. Thanks
As long as you have an alternate email account for recovery, you can recover your account without a phone number. Make sure you designated recovery email account is one which doesn’t require authentication when you travel.
I don’t see any reason not to give them my cell phone number. They don’t use it for anything other than account recovery.
I’d recommend you give Outlook your number. I really don’t agree with everyone’s paranoia over that.
That being said, you should be able to just use an alternate email address, or recovery code, or other alternatives as listed in the article. I don’t believe a phone number is required.
I forgot my old phone number and the password, how can i access my ac
count again
Unfortunately, if you no longer have access to your recovery phone number and email addresses, it’s likely your accounst is lost forever.
A One Step Way to Lose Your Account … Forever
Thanks for this post. I forget my Outlook Email password. Its useful to me
Unfortunately, if you don’t remember your password and don’t have access to you recovery email accounts or phone number, there is probably no way to recover the account.
I will NEVER use outlook again!!! This is the second time this year my account has been blocked by outlook, just before I am attending university. I have important emails coming through and I can no longer access my account! Never again! why not just upgrade your bloody system. I have provide all email address and emails that have been sent. No number to call either
this is ridiculous I have hard copies of multiply office versions lying around that are tied to my lost account why is that not listed for recovery information so they are just going to steal over 1000 dollars worth of software because I dared to try login to my hotmail account while traveling with my correct password on a laptop that has my account active? I think its time to tell 4chan that you can lock people out of their Microsoft accounts my trying to recover it 2 times a day. lets see what microsoft will do if 4chan gets bored and starts messing with thousands of microsoft users.
My hotmail account is locked today because I put the password many time, It is posible? after today my email it come back
Yes, it is possible that your account will be locked if you put in the wrong password too many times.
Perhaps just me but the passcode instructions is nothing like my hotmail / accounts. I never did find “replace recovery code”
I got the verification screen which is different from the verification screen as shown in the article, the verification screen i got has no “I don’t have any of these” Button, what should i do?!
Mines the same with the stupid verify account, they want to know all emails sent and other stuff. I set my account up years ago and recovery email and phone number no longer in use and Microsoft don’t care and was on chat and told person how stupid they are as more like American and an idiot anyway as they are stupid and thick they just read stuff of a screen….
I keep saying it: KEEP YOUR RECOVERY INFORMATION UP TO DATE. Without it there’s no way to prove that you are who you say you are. IMO Microsoft did the right thing here. (And telling them how stupid they are is not how you get them to help you.)
I cannot access my account. It’s old I have no verification emails or phone numbers to use. I really just want to sue ms. Class action. Whose in? Funny that under this box it says name and email. Because I used to have both of those.
Unfortunately, if you no longer have access to your recovery email accounts of phone numbers your accoun may be unrecoverable.
A One Step Way to Lose Your Account Forever
Are Free Email Services Worth It?
I’m no lawyer, but there’s no class action basis here. Ultimately maintaining your password and recovery information is your responsibility, not Microsoft’s. As is backing up your information. All part of the terms you agreed to when you set up the account.
hi .. i want to cry
i can’t go into my inbox only after 30 days !!
i was inside my inbox in my outlook email , and suddenly a message appeared to me asking me for verification code because i was trying to access sensitive things in my account !
the number phone on they want me to send the code to it was old ,i do not use it anymore , so i asked to change it to receive their verification code , i received the code , i send it , then they said that i cant access my account only after 30 days !!
i sent jobs requests to that email , how can i see my messages ?? who can i go to my inbox ??
You may not be able to — at least not for 30 days. This is why it’s so critical to keep your recovery information — like your phone number — up to date at all times.
thanks for your fast reply ! and sorry for the writing mistakes in my previous message i found a lot
did it take 30 days or less?
Please read the article you just commented on. It has all the information we’re able to provide.
Hi Leo,
Really clear and understanding article, in my case, someone have provided updated recovery info that was and old mobile number without access anymore, I checked and it is not in use when called, they replaced old recovery info with an alternate email address that I don´t know.
However if it can be of any help I was able to change my password providing many subjects emails and recipient also, so for now the can´t access my account, but still need to wait for the 30 days period to change recovery info.
My concern is if the were able to updated without the old number active I SUPPOSE that change will be rejected and I will be in full charge of my account when period expired without a confirmation from the old mobile number, if this is correct I suppose I will be in the same situation to update my recovery info.
Really annoying that I was able to probe to MS system that I own and have access to the account and I need to keep waiting for the period with the high risk that security info finally updated and will lose any access and the have total control of my acount.
Regards
Hi,
A friend of mine forgot his email account passwords, and because he changed job he changed also mobile number that I have set it as recovery option when I helped him create his account.
The problem is that he has still access from his mobile phone (iPhone) and he receives new emails but can’t send as it’s prompting for password! I have tried all options for recovering his account even send data from last emails send and Microsoft replied we haven’t supplied enough information! That is a joke of course. What else can we do? I have even tried to send same email as recovery option that in our case would work but the system it does not accept it !
Thanks for your time.
BR, Ilias
Actually, slow is correct in this case. Slow can also be used as an adverb.
The only absolute rule in English is that there are no absolute rules in English.
Has he tried going to that email account’s website and clicked the “Forgot password” or “Reset password” link to reset the password?
Dear Sir or Madam ,
I try to log in to my email (hotmail) after 8 years approximately. It show me this
Help us secure your account
We have detected unusual activity on your Microsoft account (email), or believe your credentials are at risk. For your security and to ensure only you have access to your account, we will ask you to verify your identity and change your password.
What is this message? please help me
Thank you
It is exactly what it says it is, I’m not sure I understand your question. If you can login to your account then change your password.
Thank you for your answer.. i want to know, if I do not use my email for more than 5 years, it turns off by itslef? or show me this message “Help us secure your account
We have detected unusual activity on your Microsoft account (email), or believe your credentials are at risk. For your security and to ensure only you have access to your account, we will ask you to verify your identity and change your password. ”
to confirm that I am the owner of the email
It depends on the service, but yes, Microsoft will close your account due to inactivity.
Generally, email accounts are automatically closed after much less than 5 years. I believe outlook.com, Gmail, and Yahoo close after a year of inactivity.