Have you ever stopped and thought about just how much Hotmail has changed over the past few years? This favored email account service has become a major part of the Microsoft Live family of accounts. As such, you typically only have one account password to remember, and that you only need to enter every so often. It never really hurts to learn how to recover your Hotmail password on the off chance that you happen to forget. Just follow these simple steps.
- Go to the correct website. If you are having trouble accessing your Hotmail account, try to first access it by going directly to the proper website. You can either go directly to the Hotmail account, or you can go first to Bing.com. If you go to the Bing website, do not forget to click on the Hotmail tab at the top of the screen.
- Try your old password. Try signing in like you normally would, and if you are lucky you will be able to get in without any problem. However, if you find that you still can’t access your account, then you will need to use a few extra steps.
- Click the link. Luck under the “Sign in” button, and you should see a blue link that says “Can’t access your account?” Click on that link, and you will be taken to the proper page. Sometimes you will be given the choice of also entering in what the exact problem, which means that you can click on another link that says “Can’t remember password.” Frequently though, you are instead, taken directly to the Reset Password page, which means that you will have to reset the password itself.
- Enter your account. You will be asked to enter the account name for your account. This will typically be something along the lines of johnsmith@youremail.com. Once you have finished entering your account name, you will also need to enter in an alphanumeric series of characters. Do not worry about getting the case correct for each of the characters; instead you should rather focus on getting the characters themselves correct.
- Choose method of delivery. Once you have finished entering the account name and the alphanumeric sequence, you will be asked to choose from one of three delivery methods. The first method is to have a resent link sent to you via an alternate email. Your second choice is to have a reset code texted to you via your cell phone. The third option is to fill out a quick survey, which can take up to 24 hours for you to be able to access your account. Whichever method you choose, make sure that you follow any subsequent directions carefully.
- Decide on a new password. Once you have been able to verify you are who you say you are, you will need to decide on a new password. Microsoft Live has fairly stringent rules as to what can, and can’t, be accepted as a password, so make sure that you know what they are. You will have to enter the password in at least twice to make sure that you haven’t made any mistakes. Make sure that you choose a password that is fairly easy for you to remember.
- Verify. After you have finished entering in your new password, you will be asked to verify your account information. Take the opportunity you are given to be able to make sure your account information is actually correct. Make any changes necessary to information that was not entered correctly.
Unfortunately when you are dealing with Hotmail, you really aren’t able to “recover” your password. Rather, what you are supposed to do is reset your password. This means that after you have finished resetting the password you will want to make sure you keep a copy of the password somewhere secure. Otherwise you can possibly expect to go through the whole exercise again in a few months.
