Unable to login to Outlook even after successfully resetting password

Question

One of my devices regularly loses access to my hotmail account and I have to reconfirm my password. On the most recent occasion this did not work. I tried logging, both on apps and browser, on several other devices and I cannot. I have successfully reset my password and I am still having the same issue.

When I try to login in on the browser, a code is sent to my reset email account (my wife's), it is accepted and then the outlook logo just spins until I gt an error message. On Gmail I get a password/username incorrect error.

Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Hello

This is related to an outage/incident that's going on today.

Below is the latest update from Microsoft.

Users may be unable to connect to, or experience degraded functionality with Exchange Online

Issue ID: EX1464935

Affected services: Exchange Online

Status: Service degradation

Issue type: Incident

Start time: Aug 31, 2026, 10:08 AM CDT

More info

We've confirmed that the authentication component issue impacts other services beyond Exchange Online. For more information regarding other impact scenarios, please see: MO1465074.

We've opted to keep this post (EX1464935) open as Exchange Online remains the most predominantly impacted service.

Users may experience a variety of symptoms related to this event, including but not limited to:

• Delays, failures, or incomplete results when searching for content within Exchange Online mailboxes.
• Delays or failures when sending or receiving email messages.
• Authentication-related errors when accessing Exchange Online services.
• Difficulties accessing or performing actions within Exchange administration experiences.
• Intermittent failures affecting mailbox operations and message delivery work

Scope of impact

This issue may impact users attempting to send or receive email messages through Exchange Online. We're continuing our investigation to determine the full scope of affected scenarios and will provide additional information as it becomes available.

Preliminary root cause

An issue within a core authentication configuration used by multiple Microsoft 365 services is resulting in impact.

Current status

Aug 31, 2026, 7:01 PM CDT

We're progressively restarting targeted sections of affected infrastructure to ensure the re-applied authentication components are effectively implemented across affected services. We expect this will aid the recovery of affected scenarios. Users should expect delayed delivery of backlogged messages and residual impact across downstream scenarios as these actions are continuing. We'll provide an expected recovery time as soon as one becomes available to us.

Next update by:

Monday, August 31, 2026 at 8:00 PM CDT

Answer 2

Since the password reset succeeded but sign-in still fails across browser and apps, use the Microsoft account sign-in helper first. It is the primary troubleshooting path for cases where the password is correct but access still fails.

Recommended steps:

1. Run the Microsoft account Sign-in Helper and enter the Hotmail account details.
   • It checks for account-specific sign-in problems and guides the next recovery steps.
2. Verify the account name carefully.
   • Check the full Microsoft account domain, such as .com vs .co.uk.
   • Check for spelling differences in the email name.
   • If the email address is not recognized, try another alias or phone number associated with the account.
3. If the browser keeps looping after the verification code is accepted, try the browser-side isolation steps that match this symptom:
   • Clear browser cache and cookies.
   • Try an InPrivate/incognito window.
   • Disable browser extensions.
   • Try a different browser.
   • Try a different device and a different network.
   • If using a VPN or proxy, disconnect it and try again.
   • Wait a few hours before retrying if there were repeated sign-in attempts.
4. If the issue appears in Outlook or Hotmail on iPhone/iPad Mail, re-enter the password in:
   • Settings > Mail > Accounts > select the Outlook account > Account Settings or Password field > enter the updated password > Done.
   • Then open Mail and confirm the account syncs.
5. If Outlook mobile keeps prompting for the password, install the latest Outlook mobile app version.
6. If the account still cannot be found or sign-in still fails after recovery attempts, contact Microsoft Support. Support agents cannot send password reset links or change account details, but they can route the issue appropriately.

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References:

• I can't sign in to my Microsoft account
• My username and password have stopped working
• "You have tried too many times with an incorrect password" error when signing in to your Microsoft account
• iOS & iPadOS users may experience issues accessing their Outlook and Hotmail accounts from the iOS/iPadOS default Mail app
• Can't sign in to the Outlook mobile app
• I cannot log into my hotmail / outlook account in the browser. - Microsoft Q&A