I am not able to get into my e-mail account.

Check Microsoft’s Service Health Status first because an Outlook.com HTTP 500 error can be a temporary server-side incident affecting mailbox access rather than an account or password problem.

1. Check for an Outlook.com incident

1. Open the Microsoft Service Health Status site.
2. Expand Microsoft’s Consumer Products.
3. Select Outlook.com.
4. If an incident is listed, no browser or account change is required. Wait until Microsoft marks it resolved, then try again. Similar Outlook.com HTTP 500 incidents have prevented mailbox access across web, mobile, and desktop connections while Microsoft deployed a fix.^1^

Microsoft also publishes recent Outlook.com problems and workarounds on its known-issues page.^2^

2. If no incident is shown

Determine whether the failure is limited to the browser:

1. Open a private window:
   • Edge: menu … → New InPrivate window
   • Chrome: menu ⋮ → New Incognito window
2. Sign in to Outlook.com there.
3. If it still fails, try a different browser or a phone using mobile data rather than the same Wi-Fi network.

Interpret the result as follows:

• It works privately or in another browser: clear cookies and site data for Outlook/Live sites in the original browser, then sign in again.
• It fails on every browser, device, and network: the issue is more likely associated with the Outlook.com service or mailbox and should be escalated.
• Microsoft does not accept the sign-in credentials at all: use the Microsoft account sign-in helper. Microsoft recommends this specifically when an Outlook.com user cannot sign in.^3^

Do not repeatedly change the password if authentication succeeds and the HTTP 500 error appears only while opening the mailbox; that does not address a mailbox-loading or service failure.

3. Contact Outlook.com support without opening the mailbox

If the status page shows no incident and the error persists across devices:

1. Open Microsoft’s support route for users who cannot sign in.
2. Provide:
   • The exact message: mail.services.live.com can't currently handle this request
   • HTTP ERROR 500
   • The approximate time and time zone
   • Whether it occurs on multiple browsers, devices, and networks
   • Whether Microsoft account sign-in succeeds before the mailbox fails
3. Include a screenshot, but remove your email address and any other personal information.

Microsoft’s Outlook.com support instructions provide this separate route when the normal Help → Still need help? option cannot be reached because the mailbox will not open.^3^

References

1. Hotmail account login issue : Error 500 : Something went wrong - Microsoft Q&A
2. Fixes or workarounds for recent issues on Outlook.com | Microsoft Support
3. Can't send or receive email in Outlook.com | Microsoft Support