If you’ve ever forgotten the jumble of letters, numbers, and the maiden name of your best friend’s neighbour’s mother at nursery school, you’re not alone. Getting locked out of an important application is a daily headache for millions. Here’s a pain-free guide to getting back into your Office 365 account.
1) Tell 365 That You Need A New Password
- Go to www.outlook.com
- Click on ‘sign in’ (top right)
- Try to sign in. If you fail, this will take you to the next screen.
- Click on ‘forgot my password’.
- Verify that you are not a bot by typing in the letters that you see. If you are struggling to see the letters, you can click on the speaker sign to hear them in audio. If you are still struggling, simply press the ‘refresh’ icon to see a fresh captcha graphic.
- Click ‘next’. This will take you to the authentication stage.
2) Prove Your Identity
The next stage is authentication. Authentication is how Office 365 confirms that you are not a hacker, and involves linking to a verifiable source such as a mobile phone, office phone, or alternative email address. These must be details that you have already provided when setting up your Office 365 account – you can’t verify from an address that Office 365 does not know about.
You need to go through the authentication stage twice, using a different method each time. A common combination is mobile phone and email.
- Click on the authenticator that you wish to use.
- Follow the prompts.
The prompts will be slightly different for each option. For instance, if you want to authenticate via your mobile phone, you will be asked to enter the mobile phone number that is already registered with your account. Office 365 will then send a text containing the verification code to this number. Alternatively, if you select email to authenticate, Office 365 will send your reset code to that email address.
The choice of authenticator does not make a difference. Select the one that is most convenient for you.
3) Choose A New Password
Once authentication is complete, you will be asked to enter a new password. Try to pick something memorable. Using the first letters of a string of words that you can easily recall – such as a song, phrase, or list of names - is a good tactic. Never write your password down in an office space.
That’s our TMB Tip for today. Feel free to send in other IT queries for our team to answer, and give us a call to find out more about our flexible managed IT services.
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