Change a Hotmail Account Password

Outlook.com is the new name for Microsoft's web email service, formerly known as Hotmail and Windows Live Mail. If you need to change your password, read this article to learn how.

10 Second Summary

1. Sign in to Outlook.
2. Click your profile image.
3. Select "Account settings".
4. Click "Security and password".
5. Verify your account, if necessary.
6. Click “Change password”.
7. Enter your current password, then enter a new one.

Steps

Changing a Password From Your Account

  1. Sign in to Outlook (formerly Hotmail). Enter your Hotmail address and password to login and open your inbox.
  2. Click your profile image in the upper-right corner of the inbox.
  3. Select "Account settings".
  4. Click the "Security and password" menu option.
  5. Verify your account (if necessary). You may be asked to verify your account if you are using a browser you don't normally use. Microsoft will send a code to your backup email address. If you don't have access to your backup email address, select "I don't have these anymore".
  6. Click the “Change password” link. This is located under the “Password and security info” section of the Overview.
  7. Enter in your current password, and then enter a new password. There are three fields in the “Change your password” page. The first is for your old password, and the second two are for your new password. You will need to enter the new password twice in order to confirm it. Click the Save button.
    • This password is your Microsoft account password. That means that anything else that uses a Microsoft account, such as Windows 8, SkyDrive, or Skype, will need to have the new password entered the next time you log in.
    • If you are worried about your account security, you can have Microsoft ask you to make you change your password every 72 hours. To enable this, check the box at the bottom of the page.

Changing a Forgotten Password or Recovering an Account

  1. Open the.Outlook.com sign-in page. You can recover Hotmail passwords using the same method as recovering an Outlook password.
    • Hotmail accounts that were deactivated due to inactivity can be activated as long as it has been less than 365 days since your last login. If it has been over a year since you last logged in, your account and emails will be deleted and the name will become available for someone else to use.
    • Hotmail accounts that were manually deleted can be recovered for 30 days.
  2. Click the “Can’t access your account?” link below the Sign In button. This will take you to the password reset page.
  3. Select "I forgot my password" and click "Next".
  4. Enter your Hotmail email address in the “Microsoft account” field.
  5. Fill out the CAPTCHA underneath and click "Next". If you can’t read it, you can click New to get a new one or Audio to have it read aloud to you.
  6. Choose how you want to receive your reset link. If you have another email address attached to your account, you can have the password reset link sent to that email address. If you don’t, you can click the "I don't have any of these" option. This will open a questionnaire which will help Microsoft verify your identity.
  7. Fill out the questionnaire if necessary. Enter in an email address that you can be reached at. Answer all of the questions provided to the best of your ability to help verify your account. Using the questionnaire can take up to 24 hours to receive a response. This is the only way to recover your account if you don't have a secondary email address.
    • Do not trust any site that claims to have a toll-free number to recover your account password. There is no number that you can call to recover your account.
  8. Reset your password. When you get the password reset link, you will be allowed to enter in a new password. You will need to enter it twice in order for it to take effect. You can now use this new password to sign in to your Outlook account.[1]
    • This password is your Microsoft account password. That means that anything else that uses a Microsoft account, such as Windows 8, SkyDrive, or Skype, will need to have the new password entered the next time you log in.

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Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/outlook/forgotten-password
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