@live.com Email recovery/ where to locate live chat support?

For an old @live.com / Outlook.com Microsoft account, there are only two supported paths:

1. Try standard sign-in recovery first
   1. Go to Recover your account: https://account.live.com/password/reset (this is the same flow linked as Recover your account in the documentation).
   2. Enter the @live.com email address and follow the prompts.
   3. If the phone number listed is the old one and cannot be used, choose the option like I don’t have any of these (or similar) when asked for a verification method. This will route to the account recovery form.
2. Use the Microsoft account recovery form The recovery form is the only way to regain access if existing security info (old phone, old email) is no longer available. Preparation (improves success rate):
   • Ensure access to a working email (any account, even a friend’s) where Microsoft can send updates about the recovery request. This is not the locked @live.com account.
   • Collect as much information as possible about how the @live.com account was used. The more questions answered, the better the chance of recovery. Examples from the guidance:
     • Old passwords used for that account.
     • Any contacts or email subject lines (even a few, if remembered) for Outlook.com/Hotmail usage.
     • Details of services tied to the account (e.g., Xbox console hardware ID if that account was used on an Xbox).
   Key points from the recovery-form guidance:
   • Answer as many questions as possible and be as detailed as possible.
   • Wrong answers do not count against the request; leaving questions blank is worse than guessing.
   • Use a device and location that were commonly used to sign in to that account (for example, a home PC previously used with that @live.com account) when filling out the form.
   • Submit the form and wait for the email response (typically within 24 hours) to the working contact email provided.
3. When recovery is not possible
   • If two-step verification had been enabled and none of the verification methods (phone, email, authenticator) are accessible, support agents are not allowed to override security or send password reset links.
   • If the account has been inactive for more than two years, it may have been deleted and cannot be reopened.
4. About live chat / speaking to a person
   • For consumer Microsoft accounts (Outlook.com / @live.com), support agents cannot bypass the automated recovery system or manually reset passwords.
   • The official guidance is to:
     • Use the Sign-in Helper tool first: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2214157
     • If that fails, use the Account recovery form: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2288285
   • Chat or phone support, where available, can only guide through these same steps and cannot grant access without successful automated verification.

Given the scenario (old phone number no longer available, limited memory of past emails), the practical options are:

1. Use Recover your account → choose I don’t have any of these → fill the recovery form with:
   • Old passwords.
   • Any remembered contacts or subjects (even a few from Xbox-related or Craigslist correspondence).
   • Details of Xbox usage (e.g., console hardware ID) if prompted.
2. If the form is repeatedly unsuccessful and the account has been inactive for years, assume the account may no longer be recoverable and create a new Microsoft account for future use.

References:

• My username and password have stopped working
• I can't sign in to my Microsoft account
• Help with the Microsoft account recovery form
• Can't sign in to my email - Microsoft Q&A
• I need to speak with a real person and it seems impossible. - Microsoft Q&A
• My account got hacked. - Microsoft Q&A
• How do I get a live person at Microsoft.? - Microsoft Q&A