I need to reset or recover a microsoft account password.

Use the Microsoft account recovery form for the inaccessible personal Microsoft account, but handle the Office licenses through another Microsoft 365 administrator or the purchasing partner if these are business subscriptions.

1. Recover the Microsoft account

Because neither the retired email address nor the landline can receive a code:

1. At the verification prompt, select I don’t have any of these and follow the prompts to replace the security information. Replacing all security information can restrict the account for 30 days.^1^
2. If password recovery instead presents the account recovery form, provide:
   • A working email address where Microsoft can contact you.
   • Previous passwords, including the one that last worked.
   • Historical billing or card information.
   • Details about Microsoft services used with the account.
   • Exact email subjects and contacts, if the account had Outlook mail.
3. Submit it from a previously used computer and the company location from which the account was normally accessed.
4. Microsoft normally sends the result to the working contact address within 24 hours. If verification fails, the form can be submitted again, up to twice per day.^2^

Do not repeatedly request codes for the unusable methods; excessive requests can cause a temporary block.^1^

Important limitation: a support agent cannot send a password-reset link, issue a verification code, or manually change the account details. If two-step verification was enabled and no registered verification method remains accessible, Microsoft states that the account cannot be recovered through the recovery form or overridden by support.^2^

2. Reach a support agent without the inaccessible account

Use Microsoft’s Contact us page and select Can’t sign in. If needed, sign in with a different accessible Microsoft account, then choose Microsoft 365 or Office and continue until the live-chat option is offered. The page provides self-service options first, with live chat available for eligible cases.^3^

The agent can guide the recovery and determine the correct licensing channel, but cannot bypass identity verification.

3. Separate route for Microsoft 365 business licenses

If these are licenses in a Microsoft 365 business tenant—not purchases attached to the locked personal Microsoft account—do not wait for personal-account recovery:

1. Ask any other Microsoft 365 administrator in the organization to sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center.
2. Select Help & support at the bottom right.
3. Enter a description such as:
   “The only known administrator is inaccessible; its recovery email is decommissioned and its phone is a landline. Assistance is required restoring administrative and licensing access.”
4. If suggested results do not resolve it, select Contact Support, choose phone or email, and submit current contact information.^4^

This route requires a business administrator and at least one subscription purchased directly from Microsoft. If every subscription was purchased through a reseller or Microsoft partner, contact that partner instead.^4^

If there is no accessible administrator, use the public Contact us route and state explicitly that this is a Microsoft 365 business tenant with no accessible administrator, rather than describing it only as a password-reset issue. Have invoices, subscription details, company-domain information, and billing records available for the ownership checks Microsoft requests.

Once access is restored, add at least one additional administrator and replace the obsolete recovery methods so licensing access does not depend on a former employee’s account.

References

1. Troubleshoot Microsoft verification code issues | Microsoft Support
2. Help with the Microsoft account recovery form
3. Contact us
4. Get support for Microsoft 365 for business