My son's Microsoft account has disappeared from our Family Safety portal and he can no longer log in to any Microsoft services

Mike 40 Reputation points
2026-08-05T18:01:04.3866667+00:00

Hello,

We pay for a Microsoft 365 Family subscription. I am the "family organiser" for our account.

I created a Microsoft account and Outlook email address for my son in 2020. I have the confirmation email in my Outlook inbox.

His account is no longer showing in our Family Safety portal. We are also unable to log in to his Microsoft account or any other Microsoft service (e.g. Outlook).

When we try to log in, we get error messages like these:

"We couldn't find an account with that username. Try another, or get a new Microsoft account."

or:

"We couldn't find a Microsoft account. Try entering your details again, or create an account."

But, if I try to create a new account with the same username and email address, then I get an error saying that the username is already taken:

"That username is already taken. Try another one or use one of these available options."

I have used the "Hotmail, Outlook or Outlook.com sign-in troubleshooter" at https://support.microsoft.com/, but it said:

"Username not found. Sorry, we were unable to recognize the email you entered as a valid Microsoft account."

Please could you help resolve this problem?

Many thanks for your help!

Kind regards,

Mike

Microsoft 365 and Office | Microsoft Family Safety | For home | Other
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Answer accepted by question author
Darhyl Amizola 49,960 Reputation points Independent Advisor
2026-08-06T18:17:22.74+00:00

You're welcome, and I'm afraid that is correct.

Since the account has been deleted due to inactivity, it can no longer be recovered, and the same primary email address (Outlook) cannot be reused to create a new Microsoft account, as stated in the article I provided above.

Thank you for your kindness and understanding.

Best Regards,

Darhyl

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Answer accepted by question author
Darhyl Amizola 49,960 Reputation points Independent Advisor
2026-08-05T18:34:18.3466667+00:00

Hey there! Nice to meet you!

Kindly double-check if the account name was typed correctly. Also, if your son has not signed in for more than 2 years, his account may have already been deleted/closed due to inactivity.

As stated by Microsoft, accounts that have not been signed in or have been locked for more than 2 years will be deleted due to inactivity, and they can no longer be recovered: https://support.microsoft.com/topic/microsoft-account-activity-policy-7c0a9fa7-0982-b7c6-fd72-df852b63699f

If none of the scenarios above are applicable, the error you are experiencing is an indication that your son's account was compromised. The hacker was able to remove the account's primary email address/security info and replace it with their own email address, which is why his account is not recognized when signing in.

Since the security info has been replaced by the hacker, I'm afraid there is no other working method to recover the Microsoft account, and Microsoft Support cannot help either.

Lastly, since you mentioned that this is an Outlook account, please be advised that email addresses with Microsoft domains, such as Outlook, Hotmail, Live, or MSN, cannot be associated with any Microsoft account again once they have been removed or deleted. This is stated in the following article, particularly under the "Remove an email address" section:

https://support.microsoft.com/Outlook/add-or-remove-an-email-alias-in-outlook-com

Please feel free to let me know if you need anything else.

Best Regards,

Darhyl

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