Locked out of your Apple Account or Microsoft account? The official way back in

If you can’t get into your Apple Account or your Microsoft account, you haven’t lost it. Don’t pay anyone who rings offering to unlock it; that call is the scam, not the help. Apple and Microsoft each have their own way back in, and you can start it yourself, on a phone. If you’d like someone to sit with you while you do it, we offer help getting back into your own accounts, beside you.

Did someone ring to say your account is locked?

Hang up. Apple’s advice is that if you get an unsolicited or suspicious phone call from someone claiming to be from Apple or Apple Support, just hang up, and it warns a scammer may call from what looks like Apple’s real number. Microsoft says it will never proactively reach out to you to provide unsolicited PC or technical support.

Apple also says it never asks for your password or verification codes to provide support, and that anyone claiming to be Apple who asks for them is a scammer. Never pay anyone with gift cards to fix an account. If a caller already got onto the computer, what to do after the fake technician call has the steps; if it was a text or email, how to check a message without tapping the link shows how.

Which way back in is yours?

It depends on which account it is, and what you still have. A device you’re still signed in on is quickest, then a phone number or email on the account. With neither, both companies have a slower recovery process.

Nobody genuine rings you to unlock an account. If a caller offers, hang up.

Which account

Apple Account Microsoft account

What you still have

A trusted device Only your phone number or email Nothing

Apple Account + A trusted device

1. Settings
2. Your name
3. Sign-In & Security
4. Change Password

Apple says to change your password on a trusted device you're already signed in on, such as your iPhone. It's the quickest way back. The steps

Apple Account + Only your phone number or email

1. Forgot password?
2. Your trusted phone number or email
3. Follow the onscreen instructions
4. iforgot.apple.com

Choose Forgot password? where it asks for your password, or go to iforgot.apple.com in Safari. On a family member's iPhone, the Apple Support app's Help Someone Else does the same. The steps

Apple Account + Nothing

1. Request account recovery
2. An email within 72 hours
3. Turn off your other devices
4. The waiting period

Apple says account recovery could take several days or more. The email gives the date you can expect to get back in, and Apple Support can't shorten the wait. What to expect

Microsoft account + A trusted device

1. Sign in with your PIN
2. Settings
3. Accounts, Sign-in options
4. Password, Change

Microsoft says that if you forgot your Microsoft account password but know your PIN, you can use the Settings app to change your password. Windows sign-in

Microsoft account + Only your phone number or email

1. Forgotten your password?
2. Choose where the code goes
3. Get code
4. A new password

Microsoft sends a code to the email or phone on your account. Type it in, then choose a new password. The steps

Microsoft account + Nothing

1. The sign-in helper
2. A working email address
3. Answer what you can
4. The account recovery form

Microsoft says it reviews the form and replies to that email within 24 hours, and you can try up to twice a day. The form

The way back in, by account and by what you still have

Account	What you still have	Your next step
Apple Account	An iPhone, iPad or Mac still signed in	Change the password on that device
Apple Account	Only your phone number or email	Forgot password?, or iforgot.apple.com
Apple Account	Nothing	Account recovery, then Apple's waiting period
Microsoft account	A Windows computer you sign in to with a PIN	Change the password in Settings
Microsoft account	Only your phone number or email	Forgotten your password?, then a code
Microsoft account	Nothing	The sign-in helper, then the recovery form

Forgot your Apple ID password? Reset it on your own iPhone, iPad or Mac

If you’re still signed in on an Apple device, change the password there; it’s Apple’s quickest way. Apple ID is now called Apple Account, Apple says, and you still sign in with the same email address or phone number.

On an iPhone or iPad, these are Apple’s steps:

1. 1

   Open Settings

   Open the Settings app, then tap your name at the top.

2. 2

   Change Password

   Tap Sign-In & Security, then Change Password, and follow the steps on the screen. Apple says you may have to wait an hour before you can change it.

3. 3

   Your other devices

   Choose whether to sign your other devices out or keep them signed in.

On a Mac, choose the Apple menu, then System Settings, click your name, then Sign-In & Security and Change Password. Apple says you’ll type the password you use to unlock the Mac. The full steps are on Apple’s page for a forgotten Apple Account password (opens in a new tab).

On a new iPhone, or when it asks for the password

Look for Forgot password? on the screen. Apple says that whether you’re setting up a new device, signing in in Settings or buying in the App Store, you can tap Forgot password? or Forgot password or don’t have an Apple Account? and follow the steps. If your old device or phone number will be back soon, Apple’s advice is to wait, because that way back is quicker.

No Apple device to hand? Use iforgot.apple.com or a family member’s iPhone

Without a signed-in device, Apple checks it’s you with what it calls recovery factors: your trusted phone number, a code from a recovery contact, your Apple Account email address, the security code of the credit card on the account, or a recovery key or security key.

There are two official places to start. In Safari on an iPhone or iPad with iOS 17 or later, or an up-to-date Mac, go to iforgot.apple.com and follow the instructions. Or, on a family member’s iPhone or iPad, or a device at an Apple Store, open the Apple Support app, scroll to Support Tools, select Reset Password, then Help Someone Else. Apple says what you type isn’t stored on the borrowed device.

A recovery contact, if you set one up, can get a six-digit code for you, in person or by phone, to type on your own device. Apple says they won’t have any access to your account.

What is Apple account recovery, and how long does it take?

Account recovery is Apple’s way back in when nothing else works, and Apple says it could take a while, several days or more. Start it from the sign-in screen in Settings, from the Apple Support app, or at iforgot.apple.com. Then, from Apple’s account recovery page (opens in a new tab):

• An email within 72 hours gives the date and time you can expect to get back in.
• A text or automated call comes when the wait ends. If nothing arrives, go to iforgot.apple.com after that date.
• Turn off your other Apple devices that are signed in. Apple says using the account during the wait cancels the request.
• Check how long is left at iforgot.apple.com.
• Apple Support can’t shorten the wait. So anyone who offers to hurry it along isn’t Apple.

“This Apple Account has been locked for security reasons”

The account locked itself to protect you. Apple says it happens when the password or other details are entered wrongly too many times, by you or by someone else. “This Apple Account has been disabled for security reasons” means the same.

The way out is to reset the password with the steps above. If the message says locked or not active, Apple says you may be able to tap Request Access, or request access at iforgot.apple.com/unlock.

Forgot your Microsoft password? Get a code

Reset it yourself with a code sent to your email or phone. Microsoft’s steps work in any web browser:

1. 1

   Start the reset

   If the Enter password window is open, select Forgotten your password? If not, open Reset password from Microsoft's help page, linked below, type your Microsoft account email and select Next.

2. 2

   Choose where the code goes

   Pick the email address or phone number, then select Next.

3. 3

   Prove it's yours

   Type the first part of the email address or the last four digits of the phone number, then select Get code.

4. 4

   Enter the code and a new password

   Type the code, select Next, type a new password, and select Next.

The full steps are on Microsoft’s page to reset a forgotten Microsoft account password (opens in a new tab). Microsoft says its support agents are not allowed to send password reset links, so this is yours to do. If none of the addresses or numbers it offers are yours any more, Microsoft points you to its sign-in helper, which works out what is wrong and tells you what to do.

No code? Microsoft’s account recovery form

When no code can reach you, the account recovery form is Microsoft’s last way back in. Microsoft’s help with the account recovery form (opens in a new tab) says:

• Use a working email address other than the locked one. Microsoft says it can be a friend’s or a relative’s.
• Fill it in on a device you’ve signed in on before, if you can.
• List old passwords, and type any email subject lines exactly.

Microsoft says it replies to that email address within 24 hours, though its guidance notes allow up to five working days, so check the Junk folder. If it can’t confirm the account is yours, you can try again, up to twice a day.

One honest limit: Microsoft says that if two-step verification is on and you can’t use any of its other sign-in methods, it can’t help. That’s why the last section matters.

Microsoft account locked or blocked?

They’re different. Microsoft says an Outlook.com account might be temporarily blocked after unusual sign-in activity, and its sign-in helper gets you back in with a security code or a new password.

A lock is more serious: Microsoft says it happens when activity on the account might break its Terms of Use. Sign in at account.microsoft.com and follow the “Let’s prove you’re human” steps. If that option doesn’t appear, use the link starting with aka.ms/ in the window to ask for the account back, and a Microsoft support agent replies by email. Send it once; Microsoft says extra requests slow the answer.

Can’t get into Windows? Microsoft account or local account

It depends how you sign in to the computer: with a Microsoft account, or a local account that belongs to that one computer. If you’re not sure, try the Microsoft account steps first.

With a Microsoft account, select I forgot my password on the sign-in screen and follow Microsoft’s reset steps. If you still know your PIN, Microsoft says you can sign in and change the password in Settings, under Accounts, Sign-in options, then Password and Change.

With a local account, select the arrow next to the password box, select OK, then Reset password, and answer the security questions you set up. A password reset disk works too, and Microsoft says another administrator account on the computer can reset the password. Without either, Microsoft’s answer is to reset the computer. Stop and ask before that, because you’ll want to know what’s backed up first.

If the computer is asking for a long recovery key on a blue screen, that’s BitLocker: where to find your BitLocker recovery key.

How to stop it happening again

A lockout is far easier when the codes can still reach you. Once you’re back in, take a few minutes with the makers’ own settings:

• Apple: add a second trusted phone number. Settings, your name, Sign-In & Security, Two-Factor Authentication, then Add Trusted Phone Number. Apple suggests one that isn’t tied to your iPhone, if you have it.
• Apple: add a recovery contact. Settings, your name, Sign-In & Security, Recovery Contacts, then Add Recovery Contact. Apple suggests a family member or close friend.
• Microsoft: check your security info. At account.microsoft.com/security, select Manage how I sign in, and make sure the phone numbers and email addresses are up to date, as Microsoft advises.
• Microsoft: print a recovery code. On the same page, find Recovery code and select Generate a new code. Microsoft says to print it and keep it safe, not on a device you sign in with.

Two built-in things make the next sign-in easier too: a passkey, which signs you in with your face or fingerprint, and the password manager already on your phone, which remembers each password for you.

Apple also offers a 28-character recovery key. Be careful: Apple says it turns off standard account recovery, and if you lose the key, Apple can’t give it to you. Unless you’re sure you’ll keep it safe, a recovery contact is the simpler choice.

When to call us, and when you don’t need to

You don’t need us if a signed-in device, or a code to your phone or email, gets you back in. Account recovery and Microsoft’s form are yours too: slow, but nobody can shorten Apple’s wait, us included.

Call us when the code goes to a phone number from two phones ago, when you’re not sure which email address the account uses, or when you’d rather someone sat beside you. That’s a fair call.

A home tech support visit is made for this. We come to you and work through Apple’s or Microsoft’s own recovery steps with you. You type your own passwords, the account stays yours, and we bring your recovery details up to date before we go. Have the passwords and devices ready before the visit.

We can’t get into an account for you, or skip Apple’s wait or Microsoft’s form, and nobody genuine can. We don’t offer remote support, and we never ring first. A visit is setup and help, not hardware repair or data recovery. If the internet itself is down and no code comes through, that’s a job for an internet technician who finds why the connection is down. Worried someone got into the home network? A home network case where the owner feared exactly that shows what we check.

Not sure it’s worth a visit? Send us a message saying which account and what the screen says, or ring 02 9188 1577.