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How to reset your Outlook email password
Before you reset an Outlook password, identify the account you are using. Outlook is an email application as well as the name people use for Microsoft’s personal email service. A personal Outlook.com account and an employer’s Microsoft 365 account do not necessarily share the same recovery process.
Is it a personal account or a managed mailbox?
If you created the account yourself to use Outlook.com, start with Microsoft account recovery. If your employer or school issued the account, follow that organization’s sign-in instructions. Your administrator may manage password resets and verification methods.
If Outlook is displaying mail from another provider, such as AOL, the password belongs to that provider. Use our AOL password recovery guide for that situation rather than resetting an unrelated Microsoft account.
Reset a personal Microsoft account password
- Open Microsoft’s official sign-in page directly.
- Use the forgotten-password option and enter the account identifier requested.
- Choose an available verification method you recognize.
- Enter the verification code only in the official recovery screen you opened.
- Choose a unique new password and save it securely.
If you cannot complete the process, use Microsoft’s sign-in help. Follow the current options shown for your account; an independent provider cannot bypass Microsoft’s ownership checks.
For a work or school account
Use your organization’s approved password-reset portal if one is available. If it asks you to contact an administrator, do that through a contact route you already know. Avoid creating a new personal account to solve access to an existing work mailbox.
If Outlook keeps asking for a password afterward
First test the new password using the provider’s browser sign-in. If browser access works, check whether Outlook is still using old credentials or needs you to complete a fresh sign-in. Follow your provider’s setup instructions before deleting an account from the app. Removing an account can affect locally stored messages and settings.
Protect the recovered account
Review your recovery information while you have access, and use the security options your provider offers. Keep passwords and verification codes private. Read our support-scam guide if someone promises a guaranteed recovery or asks you to share a code over the phone.