Password re-set

Question

I can not re-set my password or use forgot password

Answer 1

Hello REBILT,

Greetings! Thanks for raising this question in the Q&A forum.

Since this is tagged under Microsoft Entra ID, I'll focus on a work or school account first, but I've included the personal Microsoft account path too in case that's what you're actually signing in with, since the fix is different for each.

If this is a work or school account (for example, a company or school email you use to sign into Microsoft 365, Azure, or Teams)

The most common reason "Forgot password" doesn't work for this type of account is that self-service password reset (SSPR) simply isn't turned on for your account by your organization's administrator. This isn't something you can enable yourself. Work through the following:

Try the reset flow directly at https://aka.ms/sspr and note the exact error text you get. Common messages and what they mean:

• "Your organization doesn't have this feature enabled" or "Some of your organization's settings prevent you from resetting your password" means SSPR isn't turned on for your account, and only your IT admin can fix this.
  • "We couldn't verify your identity because you have not registered the required number of authentication methods" means you never completed security info registration (phone, email, or authenticator app), so there's nothing on file to verify you with.
  Check if you registered authentication methods. If you can still sign in normally with your current password, go to https://mysignins.microsoft.com/security-info and confirm you have at least one working method listed (authenticator app, phone number, or alternate email). If nothing is listed, that's why "Forgot password" has nothing to verify you against, and you'll need your admin to reset your password or help you register a method first. If you cannot sign in at all and have no registered methods, self-service reset genuinely cannot work in this state. You will need to contact your organization's IT helpdesk or administrator directly to have them reset the password for you from the Microsoft Entra admin center (Users > [your account] > Reset password). This is expected behavior, not a bug. If you are the administrator and SSPR isn't working for your users, confirm SSPR is enabled under Microsoft Entra admin center > Protection > Password reset > Properties, and check that the affected users are included in the selected group or "All" scope.

If this is a personal Microsoft account (outlook.com, hotmail.com, live.com, Xbox, or similar)

1. Go to https://account.live.com/password/reset directly rather than clicking through app-level "forgot password" links, which sometimes route incorrectly.
2. If you're told the recovery code can't be sent, confirm your recovery email or phone on file is still one you have access to. If it's outdated, use the "I don't have any of these" option, which starts a longer identity-verification form instead.
3. If you keep landing on a CAPTCHA or "we can't verify your identity" loop, try a different browser or device and disable VPN/proxy, since Microsoft's account recovery flow is sensitive to unusual network signals and will sometimes silently block the attempt.

If you can share the exact error message you see when you try to reset, and whether this is a work/school account or a personal Microsoft account, I can narrow this down further.

If this answer helps you kindly accept the answer which will help others who have similar questions.

Best Regards,

Jerald Felix.