How to gain access to email account I no longer have access to?

Question

I am trying to log into an old Hotmail account I made pre-2012.

When trying to log in with the email address, Microsoft says that it couldn't find an account with that username. When trying to make an account with the same email, it claims that the username is taken.

That email is linked to my Facebook account, and I use it to log into other websites.

Answer 1

Hi, I'm John!

To help narrow down the issue:

Do you remember receiving any security alert before this happened?

If not, when was the last time you were able to access that Outlook account? I ask because Microsoft may permanently close accounts that haven’t been used for over 2 years.

Also, please try searching for the account using these steps from Microsoft: https://support.microsoft.com/account-billing/forgotten-your-microsoft-account-username-b2049472-3b8f-27d3-61c6-67a668453f4c Click on "Search" and follow the instructions provided.

If you receive any error messages, such as “account doesn’t exist” or anything else, please let me know.

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About trying to recreate the account:

If an old @hotmail.com, @outlook.com, or @live.com address is closed due to hacking, 2 years inactivity, or getting deleted as alias, it cannot be recreated again for security reasons.

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Click "Add comment" to let me know.

Regards,

John J.D.

Answer 2

Based on the symptoms, there are two likely situations:

1. The address is not currently a usable Microsoft account
2. The underlying mailbox/account has been permanently deleted due to inactivity

Follow these steps in order:

1. Confirm whether the email is a Microsoft account
   Go to the Microsoft account sign-in page at https://account.microsoft.com and enter the email address.
   • If the message shown is “We couldn't find an account with that username.” or “That Microsoft account doesn't exist”, then that address is not an active Microsoft account. The guidance is:
     • Check spelling of the name and domain (for example, .com vs .co.uk).
     • The account may have been closed. See the article on closed accounts for more detail.
   • If a password prompt appears instead, then the email is still a Microsoft account and the password can be reset using Forgot password?.
2. If the account was inactive for more than 2 years
   Outlook.com/Hotmail accounts that are not signed into for more than 2 years are permanently deleted. In that case:
   • The mailbox and its contents cannot be restored, even by Microsoft Support.
   • The email address itself is also deleted and cannot be reused to create a new Microsoft account.
   • There is nothing further that can be done to regain access to that specific mailbox.
3. If the address was an alias that was removed
   If at some point the Hotmail address was an alias on a Microsoft account and was removed:
   • Removing an alias that uses a Microsoft domain (like @hotmail.com, @outlook.com, @live.com, @msn.com) permanently deletes that alias.
   • It cannot be associated with any Microsoft account again.
4. Impact on Facebook and other sites
   If the Hotmail address is no longer a valid Microsoft account or alias, it does not affect existing logins on third‑party sites that already trust that email as an identifier. However:
   • Password resets or security notifications from those sites sent to that Hotmail address will not be deliverable if the mailbox has been deleted.
   • The only remedy on those sites is to sign in there (using their own recovery options) and change the contact email to one that is currently accessible.

If the sign-in page consistently reports that the Microsoft account does not exist and the account has been unused for many years, the mailbox and address are effectively lost and cannot be recovered.

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References:

• How to sign in to Hotmail
• How to check if your email address is a Microsoft account
• My username and password have stopped working
• Deleted hotmail email address from account - can I get it back? - Microsoft Q&A
• Attempting to access old email - Microsoft Q&A