How to Reset a Lost Windows Live Hotmail Password

It's easy to reset your Hotmail password if you've forgotten it. Maybe it's been too long since you last used your email and so you're having trouble remembering the password. Regardless of the reason for resetting your Hotmail password, you can use Outlook.com to do it.

Directions

Resetting a Hotmail password is just as easy as resetting any Microsoft account password: just follow the instructions to verify your identity and get a new email password.

1. Open Outlook.com in your web browser, and select Sign In.

2. Enter your Hotmail email address, and then choose Next.

3. Select the Forgot password link at the bottom of the Enter Password box.

4. Select Show More Verification Methods.

5. Choose an appropriate option from that list:

   • The email option sends a password reset link to the email address on file. You have to enter the full address in order to use this method.
   • The text option sends a text message to help you log in. Type the last four digits of your phone number to use it.
   • Another option, if you've enabled it in the past, is to use the authenticator app to reset your password.

   If you don't have access to any of the verification options, select I don't have any of these. You will be taken through the process of recovering your account.

6. Select Send code, if you picked the email or text option, or select Next, if you're using the app to reset your Hotmail password or if you don't have access to any of those methods.

7. Follow the on-screen steps to complete the process.

   • You'll get a code sent to your phone or email account that you have to enter on the web page to reset your password.
   • Using the app requires that you type the number you see in the app, after which you can reset the Hotmail password.
   • If you don't have access to any of those three methods, you can follow additional on-screen steps to verify your identity and get a new password.

8. Enter a new password into both fields provided on the website, and press Next to finish resetting your Hotmail password.

Tips

To avoid having to repeat the above steps should you ever forget your password again, store your new password in a password manager. A password manager requires that you remember just one password—a primary password. If you remember that one password, you'll be able to see a list of all your other saved passwords, including your Hotmail email password.

If you don't use your Hotmail account very much anymore, and that's the reason you've forgotten the password, consider forwarding emails sent to that address to some other account that you do use and check often (like a Gmail or Yahoo account, or even another Outlook.com account). You can access the forwarding options through the Mail > Forwarding settings. You can use similar settings to forward only specific emails to your other email account.

To include password security measures with your Hotmail account, access your Microsoft account security settings and choose Add security info. From there, you can add a recovery email address or a phone number. You can also add an identity verification app to your account, get recovery codes, and more through the additional security options page. If you need to reset your email password again, you can use one of those methods to get the login code.