Locked out of Live Email - desperate situation

Question

Good morning all,

My partner has been locked out of his Live email as of yesterday and he was asked to submit a form to get back in which we did but they have said not enough info...he doesn't send any emails from the account just vet bills and bills for the household thing is he cant remember past passwords or what came in recently to the account.....what can he do to get back in as he's frightened he will miss something important.

Thank you in advance

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Answer 1

You’re welcome, and I’m pleased it’s sorted out!

If all is resolved, feel free to mark the answer for this thread. Otherwise, please let me know if there's anything else I can help you with.

I hope you guys have a great day!

Best regards,

Darhyl

Answer 2

Hey there! Nice to meet you!

If your partner does not have any linked verification methods for a password reset, I'm afraid the only way to recover/unblock the account is through the account recovery web form: https://account.live.com/acsr

Important: If he has an active 2FA, ACSR will inform him that his recovery request will be ignored. If he only receives a message that the recovery request is either successful or indicates insufficient information, this means that 2FA is disabled.

He will need to keep trying until he is verified by Microsoft, and he can do this up to 2 times every 24 hours.

If his Microsoft account recovery request was not granted, please have him review this link for tips on improving his chances of a successful recovery: https://support.microsoft.com/office/dc56c3e3-dff0-4ed5-8edb-60290eea6b53

Please be advised that Microsoft Support will not be able to grant you access to your account.

Lastly, since the account is blocked, if the account recovery request is successful and your partner can reset his password, his account may still be temporarily blocked.

If that happens, please have him perform these steps:

1. Perform a password reset/request an account recovery via Incognito/InPrivate window using different devices and network services.
2. If it doesn't work, wait exactly 48 hours to reset the password/request an account recovery.
3. If the issue persists, kindly wait exactly 1 week to request another account recovery. The idea is to wait for the account lock to expire first before you reset the password, as stated in this article: https://support.microsoft.com/account-billing/troubleshooting-verification-code-issues-409090c4-92b5-42b9-8ae6-bcc97e62fc48#:~:text=If%20you%20received%20a%20Microsoft%20verification%20code%20that%20you%20did#:~:text=If%20you%20received%20a%20Microsoft%20verification%20code%20that%20you%20did

Important: Please make sure not to attempt to sign in or reset the password within that timeframe (48 hours or 1 week), as this may reset the lock cooldown.

Thank you for your understanding.

Best regards,

Darhyl

Answer 3

Because the automated system rejected the first recovery attempt, the only options are to:

1. Use the standard password reset/recovery flow again
   • Go to the Recover your account page and enter the Live email address, phone number, or Skype name used to sign in.
   • Follow the steps to receive and enter a security code, then set a new password if prompted.
   • Tips from the guidance:
     • Make sure the correct domain is used (for example, outlook.com, hotmail.com, country-specific domains like outlook.co.uk).
     • Check for typos in the email name.
     • If the email address is not recognized, try any other alias or phone number that might be on the account.
2. If normal reset fails, complete the Microsoft account recovery form with more detail
   • Before filling it out again, gather as much information as possible about how the account has been used. Even if few emails are sent, the form can ask about:
     • Old passwords (even partial guesses are better than leaving blank; wrong answers do not count against the request).
     • Subject lines of bills or vet emails received.
     • Email addresses of senders (vets, utilities, services).
     • Approximate dates of recent messages.
   • Use a device and location normally used to access the account.
   • Provide a working alternate email address where Microsoft can contact with the result.
   • Answer every question and use any “add more” options to include extra details.
3. If two-step verification is enabled and no security methods are accessible
   • If two-step verification was turned on and none of the verification methods (phone, alternate email, Authenticator) are available, support cannot override this. The only route is the recovery form described in the official guidance.
4. If locked due to too many attempts or suspicious activity
   • If there have been many failed sign-in or recovery attempts, wait at least 24 hours without trying again before submitting another recovery attempt. Repeated attempts in a short period can keep the account locked.
5. If still unsuccessful
   • If the recovery form continues to be rejected, there is no manual override for consumer Microsoft accounts in the provided guidance. At that point, the focus should be on updating contact details with vets, utilities, and any other services that send important emails to that address, using a new email account.

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References:

• My username and password have stopped working
• Help with the Microsoft account recovery form
• Unblock my Outlook.com account
• Troubleshoot Microsoft verification code issues
• Microsoft account has been locked
• Why can't I log in to my Outlook account? - Microsoft Q&A
• My personal hotmail account hacked by hacker with authentication app enabled. - Microsoft Q&A
• Can't sign in to my email - Microsoft Q&A
• I need to speak with a real person and it seems impossible. - Microsoft Q&A
• hello my email was (Moderator note: PII removed)@icloud.com and now its (Moderator note: PII removed)@jerkoffmail.com can please someone help me and the team change it my username in xbox is (Moderator note: PII removed) please help me team and change it - Microsoft Q&A

Answer 4

Thank you very much for your reply and just to say my partner has managed to get back into his email but now we have a new concern as when he logged in the email is in a different language and we have gone into his account and its set at English so don't know how to sort this...could you suggest anything else we could do and make it simple instructions as were not IT people...thank you again for all your help regarding all this.

Answer 5

Hi there! I can see here that you still require further assistance. Is there anything else that I can help you with?

Best regards,

Darhyl