Can’t recover account

Question

Can’t recover account

Ghislaine Stokes 0

I am unable to recover my account <removed PII>@hotmail.co.uk. It worked once but got deactivated a couple of weeks later.

I have access to the verification email but I am not getting any codes either. Is there any way I can get support to verify my account is mine and reactivate it?

thanks

Theo

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2 answers

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Answer 1

John Jefferson Doyon 72,920 Independent Advisor

Hi, I'm John!

When you say the account worked once and then was deactivated a couple of weeks later, what notice or message did Microsoft show when that happened?

Also, when you try to receive a verification code, do you get any error message, or does the code simply never arrive?

Ghislaine Stokes 0

Hi John,

thank you for your reply.

the code never seems to arrive with no error code.

It looks as though it has been further blocked. This is an email I got at the end of April;

Hello,
Hello,
Thank you for contacting Microsoft Support.
We recently received a request to recover your Microsoft account jo********@hotmail.co.uk. Unfortunately, we have determined that the information you provided was not sufficient for us to validate your account ownership.  Microsoft takes the security and privacy of our customers very seriously, and our commitment to protecting your personal information requires that we take the utmost care in ensuring that you are the account owner.
We have taken the additional step of blocking your account until we can verify you as the account owner. This will prevent any further use of the account and protect you from any possible malicious activity.
Here are few tips below to help you complete the form:

Answer as many questions as you can.
Submit the form from a device you frequently use from a familiar location.
Use the information you provided when you created the account, or last updated it.
If you use Outlook, you will be asked to list recently used email addresses and the subject lines from recent emails. Ask for help from contacts to confirm their email addresses and tell you the subject lines of the last three emails they sent you.
Make sure you are trying to recover the correct account. Information to recover your username is here.
More tips are available here.

|Ready to make a new submission?| || |Submit a new form| || |Account recovery request is now closed. Please do not reply to this message. Replies to this message are routed to an unmonitored mailbox.| || |Thanks,| || |The Microsoft account team| || Privacy Statement

Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052

thank you for any further suggestions,

Theo

John Jefferson Doyon 72,920 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-06-02T07:54:02.7066667+00:00

I see, I understand how frustrating this situation must be. Have you already tried the Account Recovery Form again today? You can try https://account.live.com/acsr up to twice a day.

Answer 2

For a Hotmail (Microsoft) account that was re‑deactivated and is no longer receiving verification codes, only the documented self‑service recovery paths are available.

If the username/password stopped working or the account is reported as not existing
- Go to Recover your account and enter the Hotmail address: Recover your account.
- Make sure the domain and spelling are correct (for example, hotmail.co.uk vs hotmail.com, and correct name spelling such as rachel vs rachael).
- If the email isn’t recognized, and there is another alias or phone number on the account, try that instead.
If verification codes are not arriving
- Follow the guidance in Troubleshoot Microsoft verification code issues. If the offered phone/email for the code is not recognized or not working, you may need to move to account recovery.
If sign‑in or reset still fails
- Use the Sign‑in Helper tool first, as recommended in the recovery guidance: Sign-in Helper.
- If that does not resolve it, complete the Microsoft account recovery form with as much accurate information as possible: Account recovery form.
- The recovery form is the only way to prove ownership when normal verification methods fail. Microsoft reviews the answers and responds within about 24 hours.
If the account has been inactive for a long period
- If the account has not been signed into for more than two years, it may have been deleted and cannot be reopened.
If two‑step verification is enabled and no security info is accessible
- If two‑step verification was turned on and none of the alternate methods (phone/email/app) are available, support agents cannot override this or manually verify ownership. In that case, only the automated recovery form process applies.

There is no separate manual verification channel for consumer Hotmail/Outlook accounts beyond these tools. If the recovery form is not granted, the account cannot be reactivated.

References:

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Can’t recover account

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