Original main account appears to be completely missing with no notice

Question

Hi, Recently I've discovered that my original outlook account ([Moderator Note: Personal Info Removed]@outlook.com) seemingly does not exist anymore? I'm unable to tell if it has been hacked or altered in any way due to obviously not being able to login. My recovery email ([Moderator Note: Personal Info Removed]@gmail.com) only has notes of a passkey being set up on it last Sunday, so it's been gone for less than a week. Ideally can this Email address be reinstated? If the address associated with the account has been changed so its no longer that email, can it be redone? If not, can all information from it be purged so it can't be used maliciously?

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[Moderator edit: Changed tags: Microsoft Security | Microsoft Authenticator ]

Answer 1

Hi Thomas Biggs

Please note that our forum is a public platform, and we will modify your question to hide your personal information in the description. Kindly ensure that you hide any personal or organizational information the next time you post an error or other details to protect personal data.

I’m sorry to hear that your original Outlook.com address is no longer recognized, especially after your Gmail recovery address received a notification about a passkey being set up without your knowledge. This may indicate that the account’s sign-in information or aliases were changed, but Microsoft’s official recovery tools will be needed to determine what happened.

Please note that this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators, 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 on reported issues, requests, or ideas only.

First, please use the Microsoft account sign-in helper and enter the original Outlook.com address. If it is not recognized, try any phone number, Skype name, or other email address or alias that was previously linked to the same Microsoft account.

If the account still cannot be found, use the Contact Support option and explain that the original sign-in address may have been changed without your authorization. You can also follow Microsoft’s guidance for recovering a hacked or compromised account.

Please note that if a Microsoft-domain alias, such as an @outlook.com address, was removed from the account, Microsoft states that it is permanently deleted and cannot be associated with any Microsoft account again. Closing the account and deleting its data also requires sign-in or ownership verification. If you cannot sign in, you will need to work directly with Microsoft Support.

Thank you for your understanding. 

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