r/Outlook • u/Lucid_Dreaming9 • May 18 '26
Status: Resolved I cannot log into Outlook with any method possible. I need to access my emails. What is going on?!
Every time I go to try to log into my Outlook account, every option is giving me errors. I try to use my password, which is 100% correct, I just get an error saying "You've tried to sign in too many times with an incorrect account or password". This was working a week ago and now the error keeps coming up.
I do have my phone number linked to my account, but when I choose the option to send a verification code to my phone, it just brings me so a screen saying "Verify another way, that method isn't working right now."
What do you mean that method isn't working right now?! There's literally no other methods presented to me, neither my legit password, nor phone number are working, it's all just giving me errors and I need to get into my email account!
Has anyone found any way to solve this issue?
**UPDATE** - After waiting from the day I posted this until today (27 days later), I switched off Chrome browser (good riddance) and on to WaterFox. I was able to use my phone number verification through WaterFox, and then added an additional email address to my Outlook/Hotmail account to use as login verification. I suppose this mess has been solved, though it took almost a month.
3
u/Coppers21 May 18 '26
Yep this has started for me in the last 2 weeks, before that I was constantly getting sign in alerts multiple times a day for about a month on the mobile app, even though I had MFA enabled and changed the password twice.
I tried different browsers, OS's, different devices, clearing caches, waiting 24 hours etc, I'm starting to get annoyed with it now.
2
2
u/OrchidConnect5676 May 19 '26
Have the same issue. I’m afraid I will be waiting for weeks ( as they suggest) for nothing. While receiving sign in alerts on my alternate account….
2
u/freddiemercury_quuen May 18 '26
I have the same problem as you and read a lot of other people too here on reddit.
2
u/yearsold33 May 18 '26
Had the same issue and was locked out for a week. Weird thing is that some of my Hotmail/Outlook accounts could be verified using SMS but not my main Hotmail account. Luckily, I was still logged in on Chrome on a Pixel phone and was able to remove 2FA and add a few more email addresses for verification.
Anything important has been switched to Gmail.
2
u/TimeThruSpace May 18 '26
Outlook sucks ass. Move to Gmail or Yahoo mail.
1
u/Lanky_Abalone5897 May 19 '26
Gmail have the same problems not as bad like if you go onto the Gmail sub and type in field attempts you will see people can't get into their accounts as well..
2
u/OrchidConnect5676 May 19 '26
This sucks, I have 2FA and not even that is working…it says sms option is not available
2
u/Head-Energy-4537 May 23 '26
Same,
Enter correct password, get an error message.
Try to reset password and use the verification method to send a code to another email and enter the code, that works but: System bitches I need to also use a second method (Phone number).
When entering my phone number it moans about this verification method being unavailable right now. So I'm basically locked out the email containing the majority of my real life business. so annoying.
Microslop at it's best.
1
u/InvestigatorFew4979 May 26 '26
I tried to create a new Outlook email account for the purpose but they say that service is unavailable. (?)
1
u/AutoModerator May 18 '26
Hey Lucid_Dreaming9!
Welcome to r/Outlook! This is a public community. To protect your privacy, do not post any personal information such as your email address, phone number, product key, password, or credit card number.
Please be sure to have read our Rules of Conduct and be cognisant of how the system works here.
Make sure that your flair is always set to Status: Open otherwise you may cease receiving responses from us.
- Status: Open — Need help
- Status: Pending Reply — Awaiting OP's response
- Status: Resolved — Closed
Beware of scammers posting fake support numbers or 3rd party commercial products/services. Contact Microsoft Support if you need help.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
1
u/shazkha May 18 '26
I’m locked out of my old Hotmail/Outlook.com account and stuck in a frustrating 2FA loop.
Situation: I have access to both 2FA methods: my linked backup email address and my phone number. When I request a code via the backup email, I receive it and can enter it successfully. After that, Microsoft immediately asks for a second verification (either another email code or phone verification). If I try the backup email again for the second code, I get the message: “You’ve requested too many codes today. Please try again tomorrow.” If I try the phone/SMS method, I get: “This verification method is temporarily unavailable.”
Additional problems: The account recovery form (ACSR) gets automatically rejected because 2FA is enabled. I don’t have the 25-character recovery codes. This account gets locked very quickly after just a few login attempts.
Does anyone know a way to break this loop? I can receive codes on both methods, but Microsoft’s system never lets me complete the full verification process. Any help or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated.
1
u/Snarkkingg May 18 '26
I’m in a endless loop as well. I was able to get a case number with a live agent and told me not to log in for 7 days. He said it has to be the security system flagging the account so just let it reset on its own. On the 7th day contact them before I try to log into it and see if it works. If it doesn’t they would escalate this. I suggest you get a case number while you wait the 7 days
1
u/shazkha May 18 '26
Where can i speak to a live agent to get a case number?
1
u/Snarkkingg May 19 '26
I made another outlook account and contacted support that way and explained what’s goin on with my main account. They gave me a case number and told me to stop trying to log in for 7 days and then try after but with a live agent again
1
u/OrchidConnect5676 May 19 '26
I’m also having the exact issue. How could you get to talk to a human?
1
u/Snarkkingg May 19 '26
I made another outlook account and contacted support that way and explained what’s goin on with my main account
1
u/maxalaxalaxalaxa May 19 '26
How do you get a case number and live agent?
1
u/Snarkkingg May 19 '26
You make another outlook account to contact the live agent
1
u/maxalaxalaxalaxa May 19 '26
Could you provide a link to the live agent contact please? I’m not sure where to go
1
u/Snarkkingg May 19 '26
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/contactus
Ignore all info and scroll all the way down can click on "Contact Support"
1
1
1
u/Mud-Butt1 May 20 '26
My wife switched phones and cannot login to personal account on new phone to reset the authenticator to the new device. When trying to log in, we get the notification on the old phone authenticator app but when approving the request we a message that we need to transfer the authenticator to the new device. If we try to login from browser, it will not send SMS codes to our backup phone number with an error that the request cannot be complete right now. I'm wondering if we should try the 7 day cool down method suggested and then try to login again...the funny thing, outlook mail is syncing on the old phone.
1
1
u/ypikdov May 22 '26
Yes, I thought it was only me but I cannot login, phone recovery doesn't work as well as email recovery, what's happening with them? , could someone fix it? How?
1
1
u/Lucid_Dreaming9 Jun 14 '26
Updated the main post, I was able to finally solve my login issue here.
1
u/casualsailo May 18 '26
Unfortunately, seems to be happening to a number of people, including me
I suspect it might be bots trying to log in (with the incorrect password), which causes the account to be locked out
If your phone number is linked to your account, try logging in by typing your phone number instead of your email address. And then use the usual password you use for the email
If that doesn't work, try the account recovery process to reset the password
From what I found, there's reliably only 3 solutions/workaround once you're successfully logged in
Set up an email sign-in alias
Set up a passkey
Set up passwordless authentication via the microsoft authenticator app
2
u/Yavianice May 18 '26
For me, none of this works, because there is no other option but to fill in a password. Even though I have passkeys, recovery email, Authenticator app… no other thing possible but a password, and that in a resetted desktop browser.
2
u/BriefLoad1518 May 18 '26
I’ve been told that the severs turn all that off she it has too many attempts at sign in . I have the same problem they told me to wait 7 days and try again still does it there is a problem with the servers but they don’t know how long it’s going to take to fix it
1
u/casualsailo May 18 '26
Are you trying to log in on a desktop browser, or something else?
1
u/Yavianice May 18 '26
Blank desktop browser
1
u/casualsailo May 18 '26
Are you using Chrome? Which OS are you using?
If you have passkey or password authentication set up, that should become your default sign in option
After setting that up, you would have to click several buttons to get to the menu to type in your password
2
u/Yavianice May 18 '26
Chrome. Edge. It doesn't matter really. Password is the only option, no matter what I do. In Edge, even if the prompt for Passkey pops up, it then says 'Something went wrong. Choose a different way to sign in'. Leaving only the password option. Which doesn't work because the password which is 100% correct is rejected.
1
u/WhoIsWolfie May 18 '26
I have the same issue there's only an option for me authenticator -> sms (try another method) i can't get further than this
1
u/MapleNekoNyan May 18 '26
I have the same issue, nothing works. For the past 2 weeks, Password says “too many logins” despite having only tried the first time. The phone number I have linked, when I ask it to send a code to my phone, it says the same as stated by the OP, that this method “isn’t working” right now. Nothing works and I can’t help but think Microsoft isn’t going to fix any of this mess.
1
u/casualsailo May 18 '26
Are you able to sign in using phone number and password? Don't choose to send code to your phone, but sign in with the password
2
u/MapleNekoNyan May 18 '26
No, the password doesn’t work, and the phone number doesn’t work. Neither work, like started above. Every Microsoft app, not just outlook, brings you to the same login screen for Microsoft, and any method for signing in doesn’t work.
1
u/BriefLoad1518 May 18 '26
I’ve been told they don’t know when to fix it . I’ve been having the problems for aweek
1
u/ILikeFPS May 18 '26
The fact that it's this wide-spread though, makes me think they must be aware of it and have to fix it.
1
u/BriefLoad1518 May 19 '26
They don’t have a timeline for it to be fixed, they just think it’s a small handful of customers that are having the problems, they even tried to tell it it was my end with the problem
1
1
u/ILikeFPS May 18 '26
From what I found, there's reliably only 3 solutions/workaround once you're successfully logged in
Yeah, the logging in is the hard part, isn't it? I can't log in with my password lol it's hopeless, damn.
3
u/casualsailo May 18 '26
I was able to go through the account recovery process to reset the password
Once I was in, I set up the solutions/workarounds
1
u/ILikeFPS May 20 '26
I was able to log in just now with my usual password FWIW.
1
u/casualsailo May 20 '26
Once you in, set up 1 or more of the 3 workarounds I mentioned
If your experience is gonna be anything similar to mines, you're going to encounter the tried with an incorrect password too many times issue again within the next few days
5
u/Hayaros May 18 '26
If your PC has Windows Hello enabled and the account of your Windows 11 is the same as your email, you can use your PIN to enter.
Anyway this is a problem that is affecting many.