Cannot reset a personal outlook password.

Question

I just created an outlook account to be able to set up my son's laptop under a family account. I have forgotten the password for this account. The recover method won't work as I didn't send any emails from this account so I can't complete this section of the automated form. In the meantime, I cannot update any of the settings on his laptop as it is controlled by this email address. He needs urgent access to an account and I can't give it to him as the email are going to this forgotten account.

Answer 1

Hi Moira FIELDING,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A forum.

I understand this situation is very urgent and stressful—especially since your child’s laptop is currently linked to an email address that you can’t access.

Please note that this is a user‑to‑user support forum. Moderators and contributors (including external Microsoft employees) cannot directly intervene in Microsoft product features or access back‑end systems. Our role is limited to providing technical guidance only based on reported issues, requests, or ideas.

Below are the official Microsoft‑supported options to help restore access and get things working again:

Please go to the Microsoft password reset page and select “Forgot password”: https://account.live.com/password/reset

If you still have access to any verification method (email, phone number, or Microsoft Authenticator), this is usually the fastest way to regain access.

If you’re unable to complete verification using a security code or the Account Recovery (ACSR) form, please contact Microsoft Support directly:

• Go to the Microsoft Support website and type Account Recovery in the search box.
• Select Get Help, then choose Contact Support.
• If you can’t sign in to the compromised account, sign in using a different Microsoft account.
• Under Products & Services, select Other Products, then Manage Account Security.
• Choose Chat with a support agent via web browser.
• Clearly explain the situation.

If your child needs to use the laptop right away, you can sign in using another administrator account on the device (if available) or create a new user profile using a Microsoft account that you can access (or a local account). You can then update Microsoft Family settings using the new account.

---

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.