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28 comments on “How Not to Get Locked Out of Your Microsoft Account While Traveling”

  1. My first free email account was with Yahoo. My reasoning was that I didn’t want to be locked into an ISP because of email. I have all of my accounts connected to at least 3 recovery accounts in case something goes wrong. I don’t even know the email address associated with my ISP because I’ve never used it.

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  2. I was traveling in China last year and experienced the Microsoft Challenge. My backup email account is on Gmail, which is blocked by the Great Firewall of China. Fortunately, I bought a 30 day China upgrade on my AT&T iPhone, which meant my cell phone was with me and on the network. One interesting note on the iPhone was my Gmail was accessible. My iPad could not access anything Google when connecting with WiFi nor could any hotel computers or local computers. The cell phone allowed me to answer the challenge and successfully log into my Microsoft account.

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  3. I’ve actually run into a technical problem with TunnelBear … repeated firewall requests when it’s installed on my Windows 10 machine, so I had to uninstall it there. (The request were benign, and not an indication of a problem, per se, but they were quite annoying. An implementation issue with TB’s networking hooks, as I understand it.)

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  4. Your theory about your Microsoft account on your usual Windows 10 machine I think is valid. We were up at our trailer this summer and I tried to access something with either my Yahoo or Google account, and they wouldn’t let me log in because it didn’t recognize me as having used this computer (I think I might have recently cleaned my cookies). They actually told me that was why and since I couldn’t correctly type the password (or answer a security question … I can’t remember which it was), it blocked me. Once I got back home, no problem.

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  5. Before I left the UK to visit Lithuania I visited my Microsoft account and set the laptop and tablet I travelled with as “trusted devices”, and had no problems. In case of accidents, I also had access to my Microsoft recovery code and ensured mobile phone number and alternate email were up to date and would work there, but did not need them. I think the “trusted devices” setup was the key to success.

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  6. Leo, thank you for your good work! However I disagree with the article’s apologetics on behalf of Microsoft. Microsoft has far exceeded my threshold of abuse and NEGLIGENCE to its users. This is the beginning of a rapid end to a 20 year relationship with Microsoft, where I will find alternative resources for my needs wherever possible, and recommend the same to All that I know. Their inconceivable arrogance and negligence is way way way over the top in locking me out ***MY*** hotmail/Live email accounts.

    Really? A frequent international traveler. Now I traveled from home in Japan to family in the USA, and Microsoft suddenly locks me out. ***NOTE*** None of my banks locked me out from online banking, nor did yahoo.mail or gmail. Somehow, a simple flight in the year ***2016*** is this huge premise for security lockdown from my own account… to extract even more personal information from me, and then still nothing. While I’m visiting the U.S. for treatment for Heart Failure, I’m cut off from correspondence with my hospitals in Japan and the U.S., my health insurance, medical payment sites, emails from my banks, friends, place of employment, my OneDrive documents including phonelists and password lists, etc…

    No Leo. Microsoft is royally damaging 10’s of thousands of users; as any search on this topic will show. Microsoft could ***at the very least*** have a link at the top of their hotmail/Live mail page that asks: “Traveling soon? Don’t get locked out of your account” that links directly to askleo.com and your solutions. Right?

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    • I’m sure that Microsoft has a policy against officially supporting any third party solutions site over which they have zero control (i.e. Ask Leo! :-) ).

      However you’ll get no disagreement from me: Microsoft could absolutely be handling this better, and they don’t need to be linking elsewhere to do it. My “apologetics”, as you call it, are simply to explain why they’ve taken the steps that they’ve taken.

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      • While this article is about Microsoft / Hotmail, I’m a regular contributor to the Gmail Help Forum and this is a very real problem we see daily with users of Gmail accounts as well. However, just like Leo, I’ve traveled to places very far away from home and didn’t get locked out. Maybe because I always take my familiar Work laptop with me. Maybe because I always take my phone with me and can receive codes by text if necessary. My wife travels with me and uses my laptop to access her account without getting locked out either.

        Unlike Leo, my Work laptop is not configured to log in with personal Microsoft credentials, although it is on Windows 10. Actually I think the last time I traveled was before it even got upgraded from Windows 7, so the Microsoft account sign in would not have been an option anyway.

        My “real” account is Gmail for communications, some subscriptions I put through Yahoo, and I have a Hotmail just for testing. They all have Security Challenge procedures. Yahoo challenged me a few weeks ago right at home, saying something didn’t look right with recent activity. I got distracted before answering the challenge, and left it open. When I came back a few hours later I logged right in as though nothing had ever happened.

        I fully endorse the paragraph above sub-titled “Be Prepared”.

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    • I couldn’t agree more. I DID prepare, and I am STILL locked out of the account where I pay my bills. Also, I have plans to meet friends and search for jobs and now I can’t reach these people. It has literally ruined my travels at times. Yes, my phone works here in Taiwan, but they did not send the security code. I tried sending to another email, but that was locked too. I answered all their questions correctly, including emails and subject lines from recently sent emails. I did not make any errors. STILL LOCKED OUT. FU Microsoft. I’m trying to get a job here.

      Before leaving, I also prepared by calling banks and credit cards to let them know my travel dates and locations. They asked a lot of information to verify that I am me. This is something I’ve done for 20 years. But, Microsoft does not offer this.

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      • Which steps did you take to prepare? It might help to prevent others from being locked out. One way to prevent this is to use a different email service provider such as Gmail, although it’s still necessary to follow the preventative steps outline in this article.

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  7. One reason the VPN might not be working is that websites eventually get wise to the VPNs which are accessing them. For example, Netflix eventually blocks some VPNs once they learn of their existence. Since MS realizes that they are being accessed via a VPN, they probably block that VPN as a hacker might be using a VPN to look like they are in the US.

    A few years back, when I went to South America, I was asked to confirm my identity by GMail. All they asked for was my full phone number. Once I entered it, they allowed access. This to me sounds like enough proof that I’m me, like a second password, as the odds of a hacker from another country would never guess my password and phone number.

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  8. We have just returned from a month’s stay in England and Wales. I hadn’t thought ahead to learn how to set up text verification on my phone with a UK sim card installed. How should I have handled this? Not all sites offer the alternative of verification via email. Thanks again for your great contribution to my sanity.

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    • Having a recovery email address (or more) should allow you to have access to your Hotmail account when you travel. You don’t have to use that email address for anything else but you do have to check it regularly (monthly is good) so that it isn’t closed down for lack of use. You also have to be sure that that account doesn’t require a second factor when you travel overseas. I use gmx.com for that. You can test the recovery account by using a VPN which makes it appear you are in a different country. Set the virtual location to the one(s) you’ll be visiting.
      The Opera browser offers VPN browsing. It isn’t a true VPN but it’s sufficient for this test.

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  9. Regarding VPN workaround – I actually find it quite effective. I use PIA and their app has 2 usefull features – killswitch and location selector. Killswitch makes sure your mail clien won’t get through before VPN is activated ever time you connect to Wi-Fi in another country. Location selector allows you to select location that looks OK for your provider – Microsoft, Google etc. The best thing is that you can test it before you leave your country and make sure it works while you still have access to your phone and local internet in case something goes wrong.
    The only problem with VPN is remembering to turn it on. Las time I was in Mexico I forgot and got locked out of hotmail. Furtunately I realized what happened and turned it on before opening my gmail app so was able to recover my hotmail access using gmail.
    One more potentially useful feature Microsoft offers is Recovery Key, you can get one in your account’s security settings and use to get your access back. They recommend printing it out and keep with you. I did not test it so not 100% sure it will work for this scenario, may be it works only for “forgot my password”.
    Another potentially useful thing is Microsoft Authenticator but as far as I understood it only works with 2-factor authentication, no mentioning of recovery options.

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  10. I think that microsoft just wants to have my tel number…they block your account and even if you answer all the questions in the right way, they do not unblock it….if you dont give your tel number. Thats why I will do my best to change to google…at least they dont have these stupid complications. The funny thing is that I have all the mails downloaded in outlook and I know I am answering all the questions….like “write the exact line of the subject of the last mails you sent”. This is unbelievable….another question is “where you opened your account”, you have to remember the town and the postal code! You have to remember your skype contacts and the email of your contacts…… Only if you have outlook you can copy this info….but even like this the account stays blocked….
    it is a joke…really!!!

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  11. I am a frequent traveler to Thailand. Sometimes Microsoft blocks my hotmail access, sometimes it doesn’t. Like other people here, I take great care to advise financial institutions of my travel plans and they enable access accordingly. All of this difficulty and confusion could easily be eliminated if Microsoft would allow the user to contact them in advance of travel to advise of travel plans so there will be no concerns regarding login from a different local. Unfortunately, Microsoft does not offer this. Why? The implications of not having access to email are substantial as I need to pay bills since my travel times often exceed several weeks. Why not reward responsible users?

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  12. I set up devices as ‘trusted’ and emailed customer service to let them know I was going overseas – gave them dates, locations etc. I was still locked out. I have tried many times to get them to resolve the issue now I am back at home and on my pc – no joy.

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  13. I get locked out even traveling in the US. I need to just give up on Hotmail. When I change the contact information—it insists on keeping a dead email as the backup email—it still locks me out for at least a month. Seriously?? And zero way to get around it safely?

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  14. “had to use one of my example Hotmail accounts to run the tests I did, because from the moment I arrived in Holland, my primary Hotmail account just worked. I was never asked to respond to a challenge.
    I have a theory on why. I have to stress it’s only a theory.
    It’s the account I use to log in to my Windows 10 machine – the Windows 10 laptop I was carrying with me.
    My guess is that that machine acts as an additional layer of security confirmation, a pseudo second factor”

    I’ve had similar experiences with other services. I only had to verify the second factor once on that device and never again. I wouldn’t call it “a pseudo second factor”. Possession of a verified device is a true second factor. Two factor equals what you know plus what you have.

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    • I called this a pseudo second factor because I wasn’t using it as a true second factor (for login-time confirmation). My theory is that if you sign into a machine in (say) the US, say “remember me”, and then take it elsewhere, like The Netherlands, it remains logged in and the additional security from coming from a different location doesn’t kick in.

      Put another way, the additional security only(?) comes in to play at login time.

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  15. The quickest rejection of Microsoft ..Had a new account tried the password , ok maybe I forgot it was a capital whatever. Tried a second time and locked out, accused of a “VIOLATION!” which I find offensive !!! No I don’t want to give my phone number just allow me another attempt to get the capital in properly , is that the scam ?
    Never used . I actually had tried to go back to Microsoft because I really do prefer the format and look , but Google servers are kinder and more polite , despite probably taking my data with a smile , I prefer that to rudeness !!

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  16. Just this last week either an update/issue in Microsoft, Thunderbird or Chrome has caused chaos in my accounts with various machines not recognising passwords and sign-ins for the 5 Hotmail accounts I have on 3 separate machines.
    Have had a tortuous time logging into each separately and resetting passwords then trying to get them recognised within Thunderbird (v 102.0.2) on each machine.
    Very irritating. Good job I am retired or a lot of productive work time would have been lost!

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  17. I am using Thunderbird too, and I have 1 Microsoft, 1 Hotmail, and 2 Gmail accounts, and now I need to log into each of them every time I close Thunderbird and try to re-open it. I do keep getting error messages too, about trouble logging in, even when I have not done anything but used another App.

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  18. This sounds like a problem that I have been dealing with recently and I figured that it is related to security upgrades that Microsoft has made. I use one web-based email provider to “pick up” emails from my Microsoft-based email address through Microsoft’s POP server. Microsoft seems to consider that to be a security concern (e.g. different IP addresses being used to download messages) and Microsoft sends me “Microsoft account unusual sign-in activity” messages.

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