KEEP THIS MESSAGE: "You've tried to sign in too many times with an incorrect account or password."

Question

Hi,

Why do I keep getting this message: "You've tried to sign in too many times with an incorrect account or password", when I DID sign in with the correct EMAIL and PASSWORD.

I keep getting this message and I cannot get rid of it. I do not have a two-step verification setup, and I do not want one. It takes two long to sign in, and I'm not always signing in on my laptop.

What is the issue? And this is happening with ALL of my accounts.

I need help with this, please. And I need a REAL LIVE PERSON HELP, not an AI.

Thank you.

Answer 1

@Rishia Lee said

Why do I keep getting this message: "You've tried to sign in too many times with an incorrect account or password",

Could be either because:

The Microsoft Security Infrastructure is having problems. We have all seen this at one time or another. There is nothing you can do but wait it out.

Someone has your email address and is trying to repeatedly access your account and failing because of a bad password.

This you can fix. You can setup a Login Only Alias and disable Sign-In for your current email address. Then, if all the Bad Guys have is your email alias, they get "This username has been turned-off for sign in" at the very first step of the logon process and can not continue to the "Enter Password" stage.

For detailed instructions on how to setup a Login Only Alias and disable Sign-In for your current email address:

See the answer by "Hornblower409  on Feb 27, 2026" in
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5789093/i-get-a-few-2fa-notifications-from-canada-daily-us

Answer 2

Hello. Your account got rate-limited because of repeated sign-in attempts. Even after resetting your password, Microsoft temporarily locks logins to prevent brute-force or fraudulent access.

To fix this, do not attempt to log in again for at least 24 hours. Each failed retry restarts the cooldown timer.

In the meantime:

• Don’t change your password again.
• Don’t keep trying on other apps (Outlook, Xbox, OneDrive, etc.).
• Don’t trigger SMS or Authenticator codes.

The lock usually lifts automatically after a clean 24-hour window with zero attempts.

Answer 3

The message “You've tried to sign in too many times with an incorrect account or password” appears when Microsoft detects repeated or unusual sign-in attempts, even if the credentials being entered are correct. This is a security lockout to protect the account from possible malicious access.

Key points from the documented behavior:

1. Too many attempts or unusual activity
   • Error 400 and similar lockouts occur when there have been many sign-in attempts in a row or other suspicious activity from the same device, app, or network.
   • Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication and Microsoft account protections can temporarily block further attempts to reduce security threats.
2. Device or network can be the trigger
   • The issue can be specific to a device (for example, an iPhone or a particular browser/app) or a network.
   • In similar cases, users could still sign in on another device, but one device kept showing the “too many attempts” message.
3. Temporary lockout and waiting period
   • When too many failed or suspicious attempts occur, the account or device can be temporarily locked.
   • The recommended action is to stop trying to sign in and wait at least 24 hours before trying again, as repeated attempts can restart the cooldown.
4. Steps that have helped in similar cases
   • Reset the password once, from the affected device, and then sign in again. In one documented case, resetting the password on the phone immediately resolved the repeated “too many attempts” message and allowed adding Outlook back to the Mail app.
   • If another sign-in method is available (for example, another device where the account is already signed in), change the sign-in preference there and then try again.
   • If the account appears blocked due to suspicious activity even after waiting, use the “Unblock my Outlook.com account” and “Request for Account Reinstatement” options referenced in the Outlook.com support guidance.
5. When nothing seems to work
   • If password resets, recovery options, and waiting out the lockout period have all hit rate limits, the only option is to wait for the lockout to expire (typically about 24 hours) and then retry using the account recovery form from a familiar device and location.
   • Account recovery and unlock are automated; forum moderators and most support channels cannot manually override these protections.

Although two-step verification is not enabled, the same protection mechanisms (rate limits and temporary lockouts) still apply to standard password sign-ins. The core issue is not the password itself, but the system detecting too many or unusual attempts across the accounts and devices being used.

Recommended sequence based on the documented guidance:

1. Stop all sign-in attempts for at least 24 hours on all devices and apps.
2. After the waiting period, on one trusted device:
   • Go to the Microsoft sign-in page and reset the password once.
   • Sign in with the new password.
3. If still blocked or seeing the same message after that:
   • Use the Outlook.com “Unblock my Outlook.com account” and “Request for Account Reinstatement” options as described in the Outlook.com support article.
4. If the problem persists across all accounts even after following these steps and waiting, contact Microsoft account/Outlook.com support directly via the official support channels referenced in the Outlook.com help pages.

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References:

• Error 400 when signing in
• Common problems with two-step verification for a work or school account
• Cannot login to my outlook account from iphone even though details are correct - Microsoft Q&A
• Why can't I log in to my Outlook account? - Microsoft Q&A
• I have issue signing in to my microsoft office account. - Microsoft Q&A
• Locked out of my Outlook account and recovery options not working - Microsoft Q&A
• Lock or block login attempts - Microsoft Q&A