Sending, receiving, and organizing email in Outlook.com
For Outlook.com or another personal Microsoft account, a password alone is not always enough to sign in. Two-step verification can require a second proof such as a code sent to email, phone, or an authenticator app, especially on devices that are not trusted.
If the goal is to stop relying on that other email every time, the supported actions are:
- Check whether two-step verification is enabled on the account.
- Update the sign-in methods on the Microsoft account security page: https://account.microsoft.com/security
- Select Manage how I sign in.
- Add another sign-in or verification method with Add a new way to sign in or verify.
- Supported options can include a recovery email, Microsoft Authenticator, or a passkey.
- Keep multiple methods configured. Microsoft recommends having several sign-in methods so access is not blocked if one method is unavailable.
If the code is being sent to an email address that is no longer wanted or no longer accessible:
- During sign-in, select I don't have any of these if that option appears, and follow the prompts.
- If the security info shown does not look familiar, first verify that the email address domain and spelling are correct.
- If the account or username is no longer recognized, use account recovery.
If the password is correct but sign-in still keeps asking for extra verification, use the Microsoft sign-in helper tool. It is specifically recommended for cases where the password is known but has stopped working as expected.
For a work or school account, password-only sign-in may be disabled by the organization and cannot always be turned off.