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For a child Microsoft account that has never been accessible because the password is unknown and password reset is failing, only the standard Microsoft account recovery and reset flows are available. If those do not work, the account cannot be accessed or manually deleted by support or from the family organizer account.
Use these options:
- Try standard password reset
- Go to the Microsoft account sign-in page and select Forgotten your password?.
- Enter the child’s Microsoft account email and select Next.
- Follow Step 2: Verify your identity to choose a verification method (phone/email) if any were added when the account was created.
- If verification works, complete Step 3 and Step 4 to get the verification code and set a new password:
- Confirm where to send the code.
- Select Get code, retrieve it from the recovery phone/email, enter it, then set a new password.
- If no verification options work
- If no usable verification method appears, or access to all shown methods is lost, use the sign-in helper tools referenced in the reset article:
- If there is no option for where to send a code, or none of the options are accessible, use the appropriate sign-in helper tool linked in the reset flow.
- If the username and password “have stopped working” or the account “does not exist,” follow the guidance in My username and password have stopped working to try recovery via security code and password reset.
- If no usable verification method appears, or access to all shown methods is lost, use the sign-in helper tools referenced in the reset article:
- Use the Microsoft account recovery form (if prompted)
- If the normal reset path fails, fill out the Account recovery form from a device and location normally used (for example, the home PC where the account was created). This increases the chance of automated verification.
- Provide as much accurate information as possible (previous passwords, usage details, etc.).
- For help filling it out, see Help with the Microsoft account recovery form.
- Important limitations
- If two-step verification was turned on for the child’s account and none of the second-factor methods (phone/email/app) are accessible, support agents cannot bypass this or reset the password. The recovery form cannot override 2FA.
- Microsoft account recovery is fully automated for security reasons; moderators or support agents cannot manually unlock, recover, or delete the account.
- The family organizer (parent) cannot delete or take over a child’s Microsoft account without successfully signing into that child account first.
- Practical next step
- If recovery continues to fail and the account has never been used, the practical option is to leave that account unused and create a new child account, ensuring that recovery phone/email and security info are correctly set and verified during setup.
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