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Guides organised by what you are actually seeing, not by feature. Find the symptom that matches your screen and go straight to the fix for it.
Every guide below starts from a symptom rather than a feature, because the fix for "it says my password is wrong" has almost nothing in common with the fix for "no code ever arrives". Find the line that matches your screen and go straight to it.
- You cannot get in and the password is right. Sign-in problem, not a password problem.
- You genuinely do not know the password. Reset it, or recover the account if no code can reach you.
- You need a new mailbox. Setting one up takes about three minutes.
One thing that saves people hours: read the exact wording on screen. "Password is incorrect" and "your account has been locked" look equally like being shut out, and they need opposite responses.
- Hotmail, Outlook.com, Live and MSN are one system. A guide for one applies to all.
- Guides are organised by what you are seeing, not by what feature it belongs to.
- Every guide shows when it was last checked against the live interface.
- We say plainly when a problem cannot be solved by the account holder.
Which guide do you need?
Match the row to what is actually on your screen.
| What you are seeing | What it usually means | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Correct password rejected, or the page loops back to sign-in | Session, cache or account-state problem | Cannot sign in |
| You do not know the password | Straightforward reset, if a code can reach you | Forgot password |
| No verification code ever arrives | Recovery contact is stale or filtered | When no code arrives |
| Account locked, blocked or suspended | Protective state; resetting will not clear it | Locked accounts |
| Recovery form keeps getting rejected | Scored submission, not identity proof | Why it gets rejected |
| You need a mailbox from scratch | New sign-up, about three minutes | Create an account |
| Unsure whether a sign-in page is genuine | Check the address before typing anything | Check a sign-in URL |
All guides
This list is short on purpose. We publish a guide when it is finished and tested rather than filling the section out, and it grows steadily. If your problem is not covered, tell us and it goes on the list.
Are Hotmail and Outlook the same thing?
Yes, and it causes constant confusion, so it is worth settling once.
Hotmail was Microsoft's original webmail service. It was rebranded to Outlook.com, and the two now run on identical infrastructure with the same inbox, the same sign-in system and the same account settings. An @hotmail.com address and an @outlook.com address are handled exactly alike.
- Existing @hotmail.com addresses still work and are not being migrated.
- New sign-ups get @outlook.com. See the account guide for what that changes, which is almost nothing.
- Live.com and MSN.com addresses are the same system too.
- Any guide here applies to all of them unless it says otherwise.
They are separate accounts, though. Same system does
not mean same mailbox. [email protected] and [email protected] are
two different accounts, and signing in to the wrong one is a common cause of a password
that looks broken but is not.
What can these guides not do?
Worth saying before you spend time here, because the honest limit is a real one.
We cannot access, unlock or recover anyone's account. MailFixly is an independent publisher with no relationship to Microsoft, no access to any account system, and no ability to influence a decision about an account. Only the provider can do that, through its own recovery process.
Some accounts genuinely cannot be recovered by anyone. Where that is the case our guides say so and explain what remains possible, rather than padding the page with steps that will not work. That policy is written down in our editorial policy.
Nobody restores account access for a fee. Microsoft does not recover accounts by phone, and any site or caller offering to do so is defrauding you. We will never ask you for a password, and no page on this site has a field to type one into.
What should you try first?
When it is not obvious which guide applies, this order resolves most cases quickly.
- Read the exact error wording. "Incorrect password" and "account locked" are different problems with opposite responses.
- Confirm the address. Check which domain you are actually signing in with. Wrong-account attempts look identical to wrong-password attempts.
- Try a private browser window. This eliminates cache and cookie causes in about ten seconds, and they are more common than people assume.
- Stop retrying once something fails twice. Repeated attempts can trigger or extend a protective lock, turning a small problem into a longer one.
- Then pick the guide by symptom from the table above.
Sources
- Microsoft: How to reset your Microsoft account passwordThe official reset route referenced across these guides.
- Microsoft: Help us secure your accountWhat the account recovery form is and how it is assessed.
- Microsoft: How to create a new Microsoft accountSign-up route and the rule that addresses cannot be reused.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hotmail the same as Outlook?
Where do I start if I cannot get into my account?
Can MailFixly recover my account for me?
Do these guides apply to Live.com and MSN.com addresses?
How often are these guides updated?
Why You Can Trust This Guide
MailFixly publishes plain-English fixes for email account problems. Every step is checked against the provider's current process and updated when their interface changes.
- Independently written. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Microsoft.
- No credentials collected. Always sign in on Microsoft's own pages, never on a third-party form.
- Reviewed before publishing and at every update. See our editorial policy.
- Last reviewed: .