how to access old account

Question

I am trying to manage an instagram account that is linked to my old hotmail address and and old phone number. I cannot gain access to either of these. Is it possible to retrieve an old hotmail password for my old account?

Answer 1

Hey there! Nice to meet you!

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

Important: If you have an active 2FA, ACSR will inform you that your recovery request will be ignored. If you only receive a message that the recovery request is either successful or indicates insufficient information, this means that 2FA is disabled.

You'll need to keep trying until you're verified by Microsoft, and you can do this up to 2 times every 24 hours.

If you didn't receive the results from the account recovery webform, please try submitting another request via Incognito/InPrivate window and using different devices and network services. Then please check your email inbox, junk, and spam folders.

If your Microsoft account recovery request was not granted, please review this link for tips on improving your 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 assist you with manual recovery, unblock, and escalation for this case, as stated in this article, that they are not permitted to send password resets, access, or even change any details on the account:

https://support.microsoft.com/account-billing/help-with-the-microsoft-account-recovery-form-b19c02d1-a782-dee6-93c3-dc8113b20c42

Lastly, you mentioned that this is an old email address. If you haven't signed in to your account for more than two years, I'm afraid your account may have already been deleted/closed due to inactivity.

As stated by Microsoft, accounts that have not been signed in or have been locked for more than 2 years will be deleted due to inactivity, and they can no longer be recovered: https://support.microsoft.com/topic/microsoft-account-activity-policy-7c0a9fa7-0982-b7c6-fd72-df852b63699f

Thank you for your understanding.

Best regards,

Darhyl

Answer 2

If the old Hotmail (Outlook.com) account can still be accessed, the password itself cannot be retrieved, but access can be restored by successfully signing in or resetting the password. If the account has been inactive too long, it may already be permanently deleted.

Use these steps:

1. Check whether the old email is still a Microsoft account:
   • Go to https://account.microsoft.com and enter the old Hotmail address.
   • If a password prompt appears, the address is still a Microsoft account.
   • If the message "We couldn't find an account with that username" or "That Microsoft account doesn't exist" appears, either the address was never a Microsoft account or the account has been closed/deleted and cannot be recovered.
2. If the account still exists but the password is forgotten or not working:
   • Follow the guidance in I can't sign in to my Microsoft account:
     • If the password is forgotten, use the Reset your password flow.
     • If the password is known but not working, use the Sign-in Helper tool.
     • If the email/username is forgotten, use Look up your Microsoft account.
   • If verification codes cannot be received because the phone number and recovery email are no longer accessible, use the Microsoft account recovery form and provide as much information as possible (old passwords, contacts, email subjects, etc.) as described in Help with the Microsoft account recovery form.
3. If the account has been inactive for more than 2 years:
   • As described in I can't sign in to my Microsoft account, if there has been no sign-in for more than two years, the account may have been deleted and cannot be reopened.
   • A deleted account and its email address cannot be restored or reused, and there is no way to retrieve the old password.

If the account is deleted or recovery fails, there is no supported method to regain access to that Hotmail address, and Instagram account recovery would need to be handled through Instagram’s own support options instead of Microsoft.

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References:

• How to sign in to Hotmail
• I can't sign in to my Microsoft account
• How to check if your email address is a Microsoft account
• Help with the Microsoft account recovery form
• Attempting to access old email - Microsoft Q&A