Unable to login. Login helper returns no problems I'm asked to update password

Question

This is annoying.

I was able to login to my Microsoft account (using my passkey) just fine yesterday. Today - No luck.

Redirected to use Login Helper, which did not find any problems but is directing me to change my password.

Don't quite understand why I need to change my password when I have a passkey...

Help me understand why things out of my control "break"....

Answer 1

Hi, James Palmer

Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A forum.

Sorry for this frustrating experience you're having. Even if you sign in with a passkey, your Microsoft account can still have a password on file, and Microsoft may require a password update when its security checks detect risk or need to re-verify the account’s security state.

Here are some suggestions you can try:

Reset or change the password (even if you prefer passkeys)

Use the standard reset flow at https://account.live.com/password/reset and choose Forgot password if you cannot get past sign-in.

The “update password” prompt usually means the password credential needs to be refreshed before the system will allow any sign-in method to proceed cleanly, including passkey-based sign-in.

Try a clean sign-in session (removes stale cookies and cached challenges)

Open an InPrivate/Incognito window, try a different browser, and if possible try a different network (for example, mobile hotspot).

Cached cookies or a stuck sign-in token can repeatedly trigger the same “password update” or verification loop, and a clean session forces a fresh authentication run.

If you can sign in on any other device, add backup options immediately

If one device still accepts your passkey, sign in there first, then go to your account security settings and add a recovery email/phone or another sign-in method.

Having multiple recovery methods prevents you from being locked out if one passkey device is unavailable or a new security check is triggered.

Contact Microsoft Support

You can create a fresh account just to reach out to Microsoft Support, then provide details on your current account that you cannot use to sign in, they can still help you with this situation.

Hope this helps. Feel free to get back if you need further assistance.

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Answer 2

One of the solutions provided from my post was to contact support, but if I can't login to my Microsoft Account, it is impossible to contact support.