Unable to recover two Outlook accounts – Recovery form not accepted and accounts blocked

Question

I have two Outlook email accounts that I created a long time ago:

******@outlook.com

******@outlook.com

About 1.5 years ago, I forgot the passwords and tried to recover the accounts. During the recovery attempts, both accounts got blocked. At that time, I stopped trying because I was not actively using those email addresses.

Recently, I tried again to log in because these email accounts are linked to important platforms related to jobs and education. However, I am still unable to access them. The accounts show as blocked, and when I submit the Microsoft account recovery form, it is not being accepted.

I have tried multiple times to recover the accounts by filling out the recovery form with as much correct information as possible, but each time the request is rejected.

These email accounts are very important to me, and I need help recovering them. Please guide me on what other steps I can take to regain access to my accounts.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello, I’m Virginia a fellow Windows user.

I suspect that as the account has been blocked by Microsoft due to not being able to confirm you were the genuine owner.

You can try these but I suspect the request will be denied or ignored.

Can’t sign in:

https://support.microsoft.com/account-billing/you-can-t-sign-in-to-your-microsoft-account-475c9b5c-8c25-49f1-9c2d-c64b7072e735

You can try also https://support.microsoft.com/home/contact & choose Account Recovery.

If none of the above work then you’ll require the account recovery form:

https://account.live.com/acsr

Please note if you have 2/multi factor authentication active on your account then you cannot use the form to recover the account.

If you’re successful in changing the details then you may find that the account is limited for 30 days, this is a security feature & cannot be circumvented.

Answer 2

To recover your blocked Outlook accounts, you can follow these steps:

1. Wait for Lockout Period: If your accounts are blocked due to too many failed sign-in attempts, you may need to wait for a temporary lockout period to expire, which is usually about 24 hours. Avoid further attempts during this time to prevent resetting the cooldown.
2. Use the Account Recovery Form: When you retry, make sure to use the Account Recovery Form from a familiar device and location. Provide as much accurate information as possible, including:
   • Subject lines of recent emails you sent.
   • Email addresses of your contacts.
   • Any past passwords you remember using.
3. Avoid Multiple Attempts: If you have reached the daily limit for submissions of the recovery form, you will need to wait until the next day to resubmit.
4. Contact Microsoft Support: If the recovery form continues to be rejected, consider reaching out to Microsoft Support directly for assistance. They may have additional tools to help verify your identity and assist with account recovery.
5. Check for Account Activity: If you regain access, check your account activity for any unauthorized changes or settings.
6. Secure Your Accounts: Once you regain access, change your passwords to strong, unique ones and enable two-factor authentication (2FA) if it is not already set up.

Remember, account recovery is automated for security reasons, and direct support agents cannot manually unlock accounts.

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References:

• Locked out of my Outlook account and recovery options not working - Microsoft Q&A
• My personal hotmail account hacked by hacker with authentication app enabled. - Microsoft Q&A