Unable to recover child hotmail account

For a child Outlook/Hotmail Microsoft account, the same recovery rules apply as for any other personal Microsoft account. If the password is forgotten and the account recovery form cannot verify ownership (for example, because there has been no activity yet), there is no alternative manual override or back-end support path to recover that specific account.

Available options based on the documented flows are:

1. Try standard password reset and recovery
   • Go to the Microsoft account sign-in page and select Forgotten your password? or use the Reset password link: Reset password.
   • Enter the child’s Microsoft account email and follow the prompts.
   • If verification options (email/phone) appear, use them to reset the password.
   • If no usable verification options appear, or they are not recognized, use the sign-in helper tool referenced in the password reset article.
   See: Reset a forgotten Microsoft account password.
2. Use the Sign-in Helper and account recovery form
   • If the username and password “have stopped working” or the account is not recognized, follow the guidance in My username and password have stopped working and I can’t sign in to my Microsoft account.
   • If prompted, use the Sign-in Helper tool to see available recovery options.
   • If none of the verification methods work and the system offers the recovery form, fill out the Microsoft account recovery form with as much detail as possible. The guidance explicitly notes that this is the only official way to recover a personal Microsoft account when normal verification is unavailable.
   Key points from the recovery-form guidance:
   • A working contact email (parent’s account is fine) is required so Microsoft can send updates.
   • Use a device and location previously used to sign in to that account, if any.
   • Provide as much information as possible; wrong answers do not count against the request.
3. When recovery is not possible
   • The documentation and Q&A guidance state that for personal Microsoft accounts, including Outlook/Hotmail, if ownership cannot be verified via the automated recovery form and available security info, support agents cannot bypass or override this for security reasons.
   • In such cases, the account cannot be recovered and a new account must be created.
4. Creating a new child account
   • If the child account cannot be recovered, create a new Outlook.com/Microsoft account for the child and re-add it to the Microsoft Family Safety group from the parent’s account.
5. Contacting support
   • For personal Microsoft accounts, general support (chat/callback) can be contacted, but the provided guidance makes clear that support agents cannot reset passwords or recover accounts beyond what the automated recovery and Sign-in Helper tools allow. They can only guide through the same documented steps.

In summary, if the standard reset flow, Sign-in Helper, and the Microsoft account recovery form all fail due to lack of activity or verifiable data, that child account cannot be recovered and a new child account must be created and linked to the family.

References:

• Reset a forgotten Microsoft account password
• My username and password have stopped working
• I can't sign in to my Microsoft account
• Help with the Microsoft account recovery form
• Troubleshoot Microsoft verification code issues
• Hello , welcome to Account help & learning
• How to recovery Hotmail Account from my dead mother? - Microsoft Q&A
• 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
• How do I send an email to Microsoft about my account being hacked and taken over by <removed> ? - Microsoft Q&A
• Locked out of my Outlook account and recovery options not working - Microsoft Q&A