Recovering an Old Hotmail Account You Haven't Used in Years

First, find out if the account still exists

First, find out if the account still exists

Go to Outlook.com or account.microsoft.com and select Sign in. Type the full address exactly as you created it, including the ending, such as @hotmail.com, @hotmail.co.uk, or @live.com. Enter the last password you remember, even if you think it is wrong, and select Sign in again. A missing letter or a different ending counts as a different sign in.

Read the message on the screen before you try anything else. If it says the password is incorrect, the account is still there. Microsoft accepted the address and only the password failed, so this is an account you can try to recover in the next steps. Make a note of the exact wording before you close the page.

If the message says Microsoft cannot find an account with that username, stop there. That points in two directions only: the address you typed is wrong, or the account has already been closed for inactivity. Either way, there is no point trying to reset a password yet.

Check the spelling carefully, then try another ending or spelling only if you actually used it for this account. Do not assume an @outlook.com version exists. Changing the ending creates a different address, and that version may never have been created. If each version you truly used gets the same message, the account is likely gone.

What Microsoft does to a Hotmail account left unused

Microsoft works on a two-year rule for Hotmail accounts: if you do not sign in at least once every two years, Microsoft may treat the account as inactive and close it. The time runs from your last sign in, not from when you created the address or when someone last sent you mail. An address last used ten years ago may already be past that limit.

Some accounts stay active past two years, because a current subscription tied to the address, a purchase made with the account, or money left in the account balance can be signs the account was kept active. You can still check for those signs in old bank or card statements, renewal notices sent to another address, and store receipts that name the Hotmail address. Note the dates and amounts you find.

If Microsoft closes an account for inactivity, the loss is final, and your mail, contacts, and files linked to the account, such as OneDrive files, are deleted. Microsoft cannot restore a closed account, reopen the address for you, or bring that content back, and a new password will not help. A new account will not bring back the old mail or files.

That is different from an account you closed yourself on purpose, where you have 60 days to change your mind and signing in again during that time reopens the account. After those 60 days, the account you closed is also permanently deleted, so act before the deadline if that is your case. The 60 day chance to reopen does not apply once Microsoft has closed an account for inactivity.

Reset the password when your old phone and email no longer work

If the check in the last section showed the account still exists, go back to the sign in page, enter the full Hotmail address, and select Forgot password. Microsoft will then show the security proofs it has on file, usually a phone number or a backup email address, with most of the number or address hidden. Work through each proof in the order shown before you rule it out.

For an old account, those proofs are often dead ends. The number may be a landline that cannot receive a text, a mobile number you canceled years ago, or a backup email address you no longer use either, perhaps an old work address. You cannot change, replace, or remove an old proof until you have signed in to the account.

Try any proof you can still use, even if you are not sure it is still active. If Microsoft sends a code and it does not arrive, follow the steps on our verification code not arriving page instead of trying each phone and email fix here. If you have no working proof, do not keep guessing at the old password.

On the proof screen, select the option that says I don't have any of these, even if you recognize one of the proofs listed. That ends the normal password reset and takes you to the Microsoft account recovery form. It is a separate form, not another password guess, and it is the next step when the listed proofs no longer work.

Old details that can still prove the account is yours

Do this gathering before you open the recovery form again. Write down the sign-up details exactly as you entered them years ago, even if they have changed since: your name, date of birth, country, and postal code. Add every old password you can remember, starting with the earliest one, with its capitals and spelling kept as you typed them then. Keep each version separate if details have changed.

Next, add what only someone who used the mailbox would know. List folders you created yourself, rather than the standard Inbox or Junk folders, and the email addresses of people you wrote to. Add exact subject lines from messages you sent, copied word for word if you can find them, instead of a rough description of what the message was about. These details are hard for a stranger to guess.

Look beyond your memory for this evidence. An old PC or phone may still be signed in, or may still hold sent mail, folder names, and contacts. Check paper address books and printed emails too, and ask friends and family to search their inboxes. A message they kept can be forwarded back to you, giving you the exact subject line and address. Take notes as you search, not after.

Finish with any extras tied to the same account. If you played on Xbox, write down your gamertag exactly as it appeared. If you used Skype, list old Skype contacts. If you bought anything from Microsoft, add the card details used for that purchase, found on an old receipt or statement rather than guessed before you submit the form. Leave a blank if an extra never applied to you.

If the recovery form says no or your security info is out of date

A denied form is frustrating, partly because Microsoft will not tell you which answers were wrong. The reply only says the information was not enough to prove the account is yours. Microsoft gives no breakdown to work back from.

There is no shortcut around that decision. The form is the only route left at this stage. Microsoft support staff cannot set the form aside, reset your password for you, or add new security info to the account. Anyone who offers to do it for a fee is not Microsoft, however convincing the message looks.

You can try again, but only when you have something new or better checked to add. Resubmitting the same guesses does not improve the result. Microsoft allows two recovery form attempts in 24 hours, so use the second attempt for a correction, a newly found old password, or a subject line you have confirmed with the person who received it.

If you do get back in and must replace old security info, expect a wait before you have full access again. Our page on the security info wait explains how that delay works and what you can and cannot do during it. If repeated sign in attempts have locked you out instead, see our page on too many requests.

After you get back in, or if the account is gone for good

If you get back in, look around before you change anything. Check which mail, contacts, and files are still there, so you know what you have and what is missing. Then set a new password you have not used on this account before.

Next, replace the old security email and phone number with ones you use now, and turn on two-step verification if it is off. Save a recovery code on paper or in a safe place, away from the account itself. This stops the next password reset from going to a number or inbox you no longer control.

Check the services that used this address, such as OneDrive, Xbox, and the sign-in on your Windows PC. Send a short message to regular contacts to say the address works again, so a real message from you is not a surprise later.

If the account is gone, the clean move is to create a new Microsoft account. The old address may not be available again, so pick a new one and update banks, services, and contacts that still list the old address. Set a calendar reminder to sign in at least once a year, well before two years pass.