Can't sign in to Hotmail account with password.

Question

Can't sign in to Hotmail account with password.

frank huyssen 40

I have been using Hotmail for many years now but suddenly, starting this morning, I can't sign in to my account using my password. I can sign in by asking to send a code to my gmail account, but that is to cumbersome.

It happens with both Chrome and Brave browser.

What is wrong?

Grtz,

FH.

Locked Question. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

frank huyssen 40 Reputation points

2026-01-10T15:31:17.9666667+00:00
Check Password: Pasword checked.

Browser Issues: Browser's cache and cookies were cleared.

Account Status: Status check turned out to be OK.

Security Information: No alerts or notifications.

Multi-Factor Authentication: Not set.

Different Devices: I don't have another device available.

Still not working.

I tested also with Edge. Test OK.

All this didn't solve my problem.
Jeremy Lykins 0 Reputation points

2026-01-10T18:22:03.3866667+00:00

I'm having the same problem. I shouldn't need to login to my gmail account every time I want to check my hotmail and I DON'T want to go passwordless. My account settings say that passwordless and two factor are both disabled, so why won't microsoft just let me login with a password? If passwords are good enough for my bank account and credit cards then they're surely good enough for my email account.

Answer accepted by question author

John Jefferson Doyon 87,535 Independent Advisor

Hi, I'm John! I will help you with this.

You're not alone, many users are currently experiencing the same issue with Outlook. It appears to be a widespread connectivity problem.

You can check the official service status here: https://portal.office.com/servicestatus/ expand “Microsoft consumer products”and look for the Outlook.com section for details.

For now, please wait until Microsoft resolves the issue and try again later.

I really hope this information is helpful!

Kim 5 Reputation points

2026-01-17T02:38:50.6233333+00:00

This status say "operational" meaning it's working. I am still NOT able to sign in to Outlook/Hotmail, -with my password !! It only lets me login this way: MSFT sends a code to my GMAIL which makes me login to Gmail first. This is absurd! What happens when Gmail starts to do the same thing - sending a code to Outlook/Hotmail - which I CANT get into. I do NOT want to login to GMAIL for a code. I want to use my password.

6 additional answers

frank huyssen 40 Reputation points

2026-01-10T15:31:17.9666667+00:00

Check Password: Pasword checked.

Browser Issues: Browser's cache and cookies were cleared.

Account Status: Status check turned out to be OK.

Security Information: No alerts or notifications.

Multi-Factor Authentication: Not set.

Different Devices: I don't have another device available.

Still not working.

I tested also with Edge. Test OK.

All this didn't solve my problem.
Jeremy Lykins 0 Reputation points

2026-01-10T18:22:03.3866667+00:00

I'm having the same problem. I shouldn't need to login to my gmail account every time I want to check my hotmail and I DON'T want to go passwordless. My account settings say that passwordless and two factor are both disabled, so why won't microsoft just let me login with a password? If passwords are good enough for my bank account and credit cards then they're surely good enough for my email account.
Kim 5 Reputation points

2026-01-17T02:38:50.6233333+00:00

This status say "operational" meaning it's working. I am still NOT able to sign in to Outlook/Hotmail, -with my password !! It only lets me login this way: MSFT sends a code to my GMAIL which makes me login to Gmail first. This is absurd! What happens when Gmail starts to do the same thing - sending a code to Outlook/Hotmail - which I CANT get into. I do NOT want to login to GMAIL for a code. I want to use my password.

Answer 1

After I checked all issues mentioned by the Q&A Assist on Jan 10, 2026, 4:19 PM, except nr. 6, it still didn't work. See my post on Jan 10, 2026, 4:31 PM.

It worked on Firefox and Edge, but not in Brave and Chrome.

However, two days later, I tried again and to my surprise, it did work.

I don't know what went wrong, and I probably never will.

When I say "it did work", I don't mean "It worked fine", but that is the problem with Microsoft as mentioned by Jeremy Lykins and Kim. They always try to push people into using 2FA, denying users to log in with just a password. I know of someone who used 2FA with the Microsoft Authenticator, but then his phone broke down, so he couldn't get into his Hotmail account for a week.

On the other hand, I understand the concern by Microsoft to keep things safe. I've seen many users who consider a password as something annoying and as a result applying stupid passwords.

Answer 2

This is happening to me & others. 2 friends left to go to icloud. Now I have to login to Gmail to get a code to get into my hotmail. 1. Why doesn't MSFT let me use a code to my phone? - I set up my phone, then deleted Gmail, MSFT still sends the 'code' to gmail. 2 What happens if Gmail starts the same nonsense as MSFT, and wants to send a code to my hotmail before allowing me to login? then I can't get in to either. At some point your 'safety' protocols are ridiculous. NO I will not let MSFT violate my privacy collecting facial or fingerprint recognition.

Answer 3

James Mulcahy 0

Not only can I not sign in without great difficulty to hotmail: [Personal information removed] but I am finding great difficulty in obtaining help/support, communicating with you re this?! You often ask if 'are you a human'. Could I please have a response from a HUMAN at Microsoft as this is very frustrating, takes me over 20 mins to get into my e-mails and get on with my work etc? Thanks

James Mulcahy 0 Reputation points

2026-01-19T13:50:02.95+00:00

I need contact, telephone, e mail with hotmail/microsoft of some kind!?????

Answer 4

It seems like you are experiencing issues with signing into your Hotmail account using your password. Here are a few steps you can take to troubleshoot the problem:

Check Password: Ensure that you are entering the correct password. Remember that passwords are case-sensitive.
Browser Issues: Since you mentioned that the issue occurs in both Chrome and Brave, try clearing your browser's cache and cookies. This can sometimes resolve sign-in issues.
Account Status: Make sure your account is not locked or disabled. You can check the status of the Microsoft account service to see if there are any ongoing issues.
Security Information: If you have set up security information for your account, you might want to check if there are any alerts or notifications regarding your sign-in attempts.
Multi-Factor Authentication: If you have multi-factor authentication enabled, ensure that your authentication methods are up to date and functioning correctly.
Try Different Devices: If possible, try to sign in from a different device or network to rule out any device-specific issues.

If the problem persists, you may want to consider resetting your password through the recovery options provided by Microsoft.

References:

Troubleshoot sign-in issues and account access problems