Why don't I get sent verification codes to my email?

Question

Why don't I get sent verification codes to my email?

Jasmine 40

Whenever I am asked to verify my identity when signing into my Microsoft account it sends an email to my gmail, however I never receive one. I have checked my junk, my spam, my unread, my bin, and followed the step-by-step guide on the Microsoft website, however I am never able to find it.

I tried to add my phone number so that they could send me the codes on there instead, however it caused my account to get locked out and I wasn't able to access it until I wiped my whole laptop. In the end, it never added my phone as a verification method, and only tries to use my email.

I know that Microsoft can email me because when I click reset password it will send me an email, however I don't seem to get one for verification codes and I can't understand why. As a result, I am unable to set up Microsoft Authenticator or change any of my security, privacy or account settings.

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Answer 1

Ian-T 12,840 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Jasmine,

Thanks for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A forum.  

I understand how inconvenient and frustrating it can be when you're unable to verify your Microsoft account because the verification email doesn't appear in your Gmail inbox.

To help locate the email, please try searching in Gmail using the following filter in the search bar:

from:(accountprotection.microsoft.com)

This will help surface the most recent verification messages directly from Microsoft.

Additionally, I recommend checking your Gmail settings:

Go to See all settings.
Navigate to Filters and Blocked Addresses.
Review if there are any filters that might be forwarding, blocking, or rerouting emails, especially those from accountprotection.microsoft.com.

It may also help to open your Gmail inbox in a private/incognito browser window and then resend the verification email. This can bypass any extensions that might interfere with email delivery.

If you've tried all of the above and still can't find the verification email, you can use the Sign-in Helper tool provided by Microsoft. It offers guided steps to troubleshoot and resolve sign-in issues.

In the meantime, please avoid sending multiple verification requests in a short period. Excessive activity may trigger temporary blocks on your account due to unusual behavior.

As a forum moderator, I don’t have access to your email or the ability to complete the verification process on your behalf. However, I hope these suggestions offer some clarity and help move things forward.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any updates or further questions. Thank you for your time and patience.

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Ian-T 12,840 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-29T13:07:31.3633333+00:00

Hello Jasmine

I just wanted to kindly follow up to see if you’ve had a chance to review my previous response.

I would greatly appreciate any updates you may be able to provide, particularly regarding the usefulness of the information we shared. Your feedback is essential to our ongoing efforts to enhance the quality of our support.

Thanks again for your time, and we look forward to hearing from you
Jasmine 40 Reputation points

2025-10-30T10:44:17.95+00:00

Hello @Ian-T ,

Sorry for the late response.

I have looked through my blocks and filters, and the only one I have for Microsoft is to never send it to spam. I know that they can email me because when I click forgotten password I will get an email, however I never seem to get one for the verification codes.

I have checked the Sign-In Helper but it states that my email doesn't exist. I tried my Microsoft email, my Google email, and my phone number. As a result, it insisting me to recover my account and sending me an email to my Gmail. However, I am then again stuck in the endless loop of not receiving my verification code.
Ian-T 12,840 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-31T10:14:38.8466667+00:00

Hi Jasmine,

Since the Sign-in Helper does not recognize your username, I’d like to clarify a few details to better assist you:

1. Do you have any additional aliases associated with your account, such as @outlook.com, @hotmail.com, or @live.com? If so, please try using those with the Sign-in Helper.

2. Is the affected account still active, or has it been inactive for over two years?

If the account has been inactive for more than two years, it’s possible that it has been permanently deleted in accordance with Microsoft’s account retention policy.

3.Regarding your Google email address (used for verification):

Besides not receiving verification emails from Microsoft, can it still send and receive other emails normally?

If you're unable to recover the account using the Sign-in Helper, you can contact a Microsoft Support agent by following these steps:

Step 1: Sign in with another Microsoft account at this link: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2214157

Step 2: Select Contact Support.

Step 3: Choose the appropriate category from the dropdown menu.

Step 4: Start a chat with a support agent

When you begin the chat, please make sure to clearly mention that the account you need help with is the affected account, not the one you're currently using to contact support.

I hope this provides additional helpful insight.

I look forward to hearing your updates.
Jasmine 40 Reputation points

2025-11-02T19:57:24.22+00:00

Hi @Ian-T ,

The email that I am currently using is the one I am unable to access the settings of, so I am aware that it is still active. The Sign-In Helper is now able to recognise my outlook email and says that they have no problems with it.

I have had a chat with Chris, the using the "Contact Support" button you suggested, and we were unable to find the cause to this problem. He said that I should wait 24-hours for the system to recalibrate before trying again to receive a verification code. I was able to receive the email code that he sent me, however when I tried requesting a code through the Sign-In page I am not able to receive one.
Ian-T 12,840 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-03T11:35:52.6633333+00:00

Hi Jasmine,

Thank you for sharing.

Since you were able to use a verification code provided by a support agent to access your account, I highly recommend updating your authentication method—especially the email address used to receive verification codes. Ideally, you could try using another Microsoft account to help determine whether the issue is isolated to your Gmail mailbox or affecting other mailboxes as well.

Additionally, could I kindly confirm what you meant when you said, "I was able to receive the email code that he sent me"? Was the support agent sending the code directly to you, or was it delivered to your Gmail inbox?

If you have any updates, please feel free to reach out.
Jasmine 40 Reputation points

2025-11-03T18:12:19.45+00:00

Hi @Ian-T ,

The verification code was sent to my email, just to see if it was the correct email. However the code doesn't allow me into the account and I am still unable to update my phone number or add my email to my Microsoft authenticator app.

I was informed that if the problem persisted that I should contact support again to try to further look into the problem. I will give you some more updates once I have contacted support again.
Ian-T 12,840 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-04T11:35:36.1133333+00:00

Hi Jasmine,

Thank you for sharing.

I truly appreciate your willingness to keep me updated after reaching out to the support team again. I hope the process with the support agent helps resolve the issue smoothly.

In the meantime, if you feel that my guidance has been helpful or pointed you in the right direction, please consider marking any helpful responses as “Accepted Answer”. Doing so helps others in the community find useful guidance more easily and keeps the conversation productive for everyone.

Thank you once again for your time and effort.
Jasmine 40 Reputation points

2025-11-06T16:29:18.5933333+00:00

Hi @Ian-T ,

I spoke to Kirtik on the 3rd November. Kirtik got me to go into the account and see if I could access the settings, which I am unable to, and then told me to leave it 24 hours for the servers to reset. However, after trying to sign in again, I am still unable to get a verification code. I then contacted support again today.

I have just had a chat with Aman, who has gotten me to add all the Microsoft Team's emails to my whitelist, and suggested that I should wait 2-3 hours for it all to synchronise before trying again. We ended up going around in circles for most of the conversation. In the end, when I tried to get a verification code, I clicked 'I don't have any of these' when I get asked for the verification method. This allowed me to add my phone number to get a code. When I mentioned this to Aman, I was told that I will have to wait 30 days for my account information to update before I can get codes using my phone number. I am hoping that this will fix my problem and not lock me out of my laptop like the last time I tried to add my phone number at the start of the year.

I was able to get an email from the Microsoft Team letting me know that I changed my account information and that I could bypass it by clicking the button 'This is me'.

However, when I click the button I get told that I don't have access to the website until the 6/12/2025. This is the same problem I had at the start of the year, which caused me to get locked out of my account (screenshot shown below).
Ian-T 12,840 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-10T11:55:10.26+00:00

Please note that our forum is a public platform, and we will modify your image to hide your personal information in the description. Kindly ensure that you hide any personal or organizational information the next time you post an error or other details to protect personal data.

Hi Jasmine

Thank you for getting back to me with your update.

Based on your latest update, the best approach would be to wait until the 30-day restricted period ends so your account can fully update its security information. I understand you’ve already gone through this process once, which led to the current account lock. However, I’m hopeful that with your new phone number and additional email address, this will help resolve the issue once and for all.

During this restricted state, some account functions may still remain active, such as

In the meantime, if possible, you could try reproducing the situation using another Microsoft account linked to the same Gmail mailbox. This will help confirm whether the issue might be related to your Gmail account. Please make sure to set up more than one sign-in method to avoid experiencing another lockout.

If the same issue persists with a different Microsoft account, I strongly recommend reaching out to Google Support for further investigation and insights on their side.

Once again, thank you for your time and for sharing these details. Your contribution is greatly appreciated.
Jasmine 40 Reputation points

2025-11-13T17:54:21.07+00:00

Hello @Ian-T ,

Thank you for the help you have given me for trying to fix my verification problem. Also, thank you for changing the image for me. I didn't notice that it included the affected email when I cropped the screenshot.

I am currently 7 days into the 30 day waiting process for the security information being updated, however once it is completed I will make sure to add my account to my authenticator app so that I have another form of authorisation.

Hopefully, once this has all gone through next month I will be able to access my account again on other devices. I will let you know if I have been able to successfully get a verification code after the first week of December.

Thank you again for your help over the past month. You have been very helpful with trying to help me overcome this problem.
Kal-D 7,375 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-17T15:22:27.9733333+00:00

Hi Jasmine

Thank you so much for sharing your feedback.

I truly appreciate the time you took to provide these insights.

I’ll make sure to pass your comments along to Ian personally.

We’re hopeful that your account will regain access once the 30-day restriction period ends.

If you have any questions or need further assistance in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Jasmine 40 Reputation points

2025-12-07T22:37:01.9266667+00:00

Hi @Kal-D and @Ian-T ,

The 30 day waiting process ended yesterday, and I have just tested to see if I can get verification codes through using my phone number instead. I have had a successful attempt and have now set up my Microsoft Authenticator to helpfully stop this issue from arising again.

Thank you for your time for helping me with this issue.

I wish you both the best.