Hotmail account existed recently but Microsoft now says it does not exist

Question

Hotmail account existed recently but Microsoft now says it does not exist

Janet Donaldson 20

Hello,

I am looking for help with what appears to be an account-level issue rather than a password problem.

My Microsoft account email address is a @hotmail.com one (created back in 1999!).

This account previously existed and was actively used. It was configured on my iPhone and I had access to it relatively recently, e.g., this month. However, the account has now disappeared from my device.

When I try to sign in at Microsoft, I receive this message:

"We couldn't find an account with that email address or phone number."

Microsoft is not asking for a password. Instead, it is saying that no account exists with that email address.

I have already:

Attempted to sign in through Microsoft's normal sign-in page.
Confirmed that I am entering the correct Hotmail address.
Checked that this is the same account I was previously using.
Tried account recovery options.
I am waiting to hear back from Microsoft support.

At this point I am trying to determine:

Whether the account has been deleted.
Whether the account's primary alias was changed.
Whether there is a Microsoft account directory issue.
something else…

Has anyone experienced a situation where a long-standing Hotmail account suddenly became unrecognised by Microsoft's sign-in system?

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

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Answer 1

Please note that our forum is a public platform, and we will modify your question to hide your personal information in the description. Kindly ensure that you hide any personal or organizational information the next time you post an error or other details to protect personal data.

Hi Janet Donaldson,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.

I understand how concerning this is, especially since the Hotmail account was accessible recently.

The message does not confirm whether the account was deleted, compromised, or had its sign-in alias changed. Please use Microsoft’s Sign-in Helper, which is the official tool for an account that is no longer recognized.

Also check any security notifications sent to your recovery email or phone, as an unauthorized user may have changed or removed the original alias. Do not post the affected address or other personal information publicly.

Unfortunately, forum moderators cannot inspect account records, access backend systems, or escalate an account directly. Microsoft Support may guide you through the available process, but support agents cannot manually change account details or bypass ownership verification.

Since you have already contacted Microsoft Support, the best next step is to continue working with them and provide as much proof of account ownership as possible, such as old passwords, contacts, exact email subject lines, screenshots showing that the account was previously configured on your iPhone, Skype/Xbox details, or billing information if available.

I understand that this situation is very frustrating, but for personal Microsoft/Hotmail accounts, only Microsoft’s official account recovery tools and Microsoft Support can review account-level matters.

Thank you for your understanding.

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