Hotmail account blocked

Question

Hi there,

Here goes nothing I guess...

My father (86 year old) has been blocked out of his Hotmail account. According to Hotmail, due to too many incorrect log in attempts. I, (and my husband, and my brother and my sister), tried to help him unblock the account. But because he forgot to adjust his security information when he got a new mobile number (16 years ago), he cannot receive the security code on his mobile phone in order to access his Hotmail account. My father has had the Hotmail account since the late 90's. We tried to call his old number in order to ask the new owner if they would be willing to help and share the security code upon receiving it. But the number is not active. We contacted and visited the phone company (Vodafone) in order to ask if the phone number could be activated or if we could open an account in this old number. Non of these options were possible.

We answered the security document questionnaire many times, but each time we received the answer that the answers were not accurate enough to unblock the account. Which is strange because we filled it in as accurately as possible.

We cannot reach any physical person at Microsoft, Outlook or Hotmail who can help us.

So this is the last option that came to mind.

Who could help my father regain access to his Hotmail account?

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Answer 1

Hi M.J. Snijders,

I'm sorry to hear about your father's situation. I can appreciate how frustrating this must be, especially considering he has been using the account for such a long time.

Unfortunately, Microsoft Support representatives do not have the ability to bypass the account ownership verification process for personal Microsoft accounts. Access can only be restored if ownership can be successfully verified through the account recovery process.

Since the recovery form has already been submitted multiple times, here are a few suggestions that may improve the chances of a successful verification:

• Submit the recovery form from a device and network that your father previously used to access the account regularly.
• Include as many previous passwords as possible, even if they are no longer current.
• Provide details of frequently contacted email addresses, folder names, email subjects, or other information that only the account owner would likely know.
• If the account was ever associated with other Microsoft services (Skype, OneDrive, Xbox, Microsoft subscriptions, etc.), include any relevant details during the recovery process.
• Ensure the account recovery form is completed by your father or with information that reflects his actual account usage history.

If the old phone number is no longer active and cannot be recovered through the carrier, then the Account Recovery Form remains the primary path available for regaining access.

I realize this may not be the answer you were hoping for, but continuing to provide increasingly detailed and accurate historical account information often offers the best chance of success.

I hope your father is able to recover his account, and I wish you and your family the best of luck.