Failure of repeated attempts to recover my Outlook account password

Question

I have an Outlook email account but forgotten my password. I have gone through the recovery process, gaining a verification code and then being presented with a list of questions such as email addresses recently used and the titles of the messages, as well as the bank details of my Microsoft subscription. I am told that I will hear back in 24hours. I have completed this process 4 times and had no response. What is the next step?

Answer 1

Hey there! Nice to meet you!

You mentioned that you have gained verification codes to no avail.

If you received an error message when resetting your password through your verification method, this indicates that your account is blocked due to the system detecting unusual activity, possibly from multiple failed sign-in attempts.

Your verification method will not work until the account block expires.

Kindly perform these steps to fix the error:

1. Perform a password reset via Incognito/InPrivate window using different devices and network services.
2. If it doesn't work, wait exactly 48 hours to reset the password.
3. If the issue persists, kindly wait exactly 1 week to perform another password reset. 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! Please feel free to let me know if you need anything else.

Best regards,

Darhyl