Many attempts to connect

Do not delete the Hotmail account from Authenticator; first identify which account receives the request, then secure that identity and—if it is the personal Hotmail account—disable the old address for sign-in by using a new alias.

1. Identify the account receiving the prompts

When the next notification arrives:

1. Select Deny—never approve a request you did not initiate. Without your approval, the sign-in cannot complete.^1^
2. Open Authenticator and select each account tile. Check whether the personal or work account displays the related request or recent activity.^2^
3. Note the account name shown in the request. If Authenticator offers Report suspicious activity, use it rather than only selecting Deny. This feature applies to work or school accounts when the organization has enabled it.^3^

Your empty personal-account history does not conclusively rule out attempts: Microsoft states that the Recent activity page does not show all account activity, only significant events.^4^

2. If it is the personal Hotmail account

1. Change its password to a strong, unique password:
   • Open Microsoft account Security basics.
   • Select Change password.
2. Review its security information and remove any authentication device or recovery method you do not recognize.
3. To stop repeated attempts against the known Hotmail sign-in name:
   • Open Your info → Manage how you sign in to Microsoft.
   • Select Add email and create a new, difficult-to-guess Outlook.com alias.
   • Verify it and select Make primary.
   • Open the sign-in preferences and allow sign-in using only the new alias; clear the old Hotmail alias as a sign-in option. This approach is specifically recommended for repeated Authenticator prompts targeting a personal Microsoft account.^5^

Aliases share the same mailbox, storage, subscriptions, settings, and password, so this changes the sign-in name rather than creating a separate account.^6^

Do not remove or delete the existing @hotmail.com alias. Removing a Microsoft-domain alias such as @hotmail.com, @outlook.com, or @live.com permanently deletes that address and it cannot be reclaimed.^7^

3. If it is the work account

Contact your company’s IT administrator and provide the approximate times of the denied prompts. Ask them to inspect:

• Microsoft Entra admin center → Entra ID → Monitoring & health → Sign-in logs
• Your user’s entries and Authentication details
• Events whose result shows MFA denied

Microsoft Entra sign-in logs contain authentication details for events that generated MFA prompts.^8^

For your own view, open the work account’s My Account → Recent Activity and search by app, location, or unsuccessful activity. If an entry says “Additional verification failed, invalid code,” the password stage succeeded but MFA stopped the attempt; change the work password immediately and have IT review registered security methods.^9^

Removing an account only from the Authenticator app is not the appropriate first response: it can remove your ability to approve legitimate access without preventing someone from continuing to enter the account’s sign-in name.

References

1. Authentication methods in Microsoft Entra ID - Microsoft Authenticator app
2. I keep getting authenticator alerts on my phone - Microsoft Q&A
3. Configure Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication settings
4. What is the Recent activity page? | Microsoft Support
5. I am still receiving unexpected sign in request authentication even after changing password - Microsoft Q&A
6. Change the email address for your Microsoft account | Microsoft Support
7. Can I change the email address that is connected to my Clipchamp account? | Microsoft Support
8. Use the sign-in logs to review Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication events
9. View your work or school account sign-in activity from My Sign-ins | Microsoft Support