HOW TO REMOVE RECOVERY EMAIL AND PHONE NUMBER FROM PERSONAL EMAIL ACCOUNT

Add and verify a security method that only you control before dealing with your father’s details, then check whether those details are listed as a verification method, an account alias, or a pending security-information change.

1. Add your own verification method

Since the earlier removal did not resolve this, use the dedicated Security page rather than Outlook settings:

1. Sign in at https://account.microsoft.com/security.
2. Select Manage how I sign in.
3. Select Add a new way to sign in or verify.
4. Add and verify one of the methods offered:
   • Your own recovery email
   • Microsoft Authenticator
   • A passkey
   • Your mobile number, if that option appears
5. Sign out and sign back in, confirming that the new method appears as a verification choice.

Microsoft is phasing out SMS for personal accounts, so adding another phone number might not be offered. Recovery email, Authenticator, and passkey can be available instead. Up to ten verification methods can be registered.^1^

2. Determine where your father’s information remains

Return to Security → Manage how I sign in, expand the old email or phone entry, and check its status.

• If it says “Scheduled for removal”: note the displayed removal date. Microsoft retains a removed verification method for 30 days, during which it can still receive codes.^2^
• Do not use the old security information during a full 30-day replacement process. Using recovered old information to sign in during that period can cancel the security-info update.^3^
• If it still has a Remove button and no scheduled date: after confirming your new method works, expand the old entry, select Remove, acknowledge the 30-day delay, and select Schedule removal. At least one verification method must remain.^2^
• If it is absent from this page: it is probably not currently registered there as a verification method. Check the alias case below.

A method supposedly removed a year ago should not still be within the normal 30-day removal window. Its current label and scheduled date will show whether a removal is actually pending.

3. Check whether the old address or number is an alias

An alias is an address or phone number used as an account username; it is different from recovery/security information.

1. Open Microsoft account → Your info.
2. Select Edit account info or Manage how you sign in to Microsoft.
3. Look for your father’s address or phone in the alias list.
4. If present, first ensure your own email address is available as an alias and, if necessary, make it primary.
5. Then select Remove beside the unwanted alias.

Microsoft documents alias management separately from verification methods.^4^

Be careful when removing aliases: this affects an account username, not merely where security codes are sent.

If you cannot get past your father’s verification method

At the Verify your identity screen:

1. Select I don’t have any of these.
2. Supply replacement security information that you control.
3. Complete the prompts.
4. Wait 30 days before normal sign-in becomes available.

Do not repeatedly request codes during this process; excessive requests can trigger a temporary block.^3^

Support agents cannot send verification codes, password-reset links, or directly change protected account details. If the pages produce an error rather than showing a manageable entry, use Contact Microsoft Support → Get Help → Contact Support, but the security change itself must still be completed through the account verification or recovery process.^3^

References

1. Microsoft account security info & verification codes | Microsoft Support
2. Removing a sign-in verification method | Microsoft Support
3. Troubleshoot Microsoft verification code issues | Microsoft Support
4. Change the email address for your Microsoft account | Microsoft Support