Locked out of Microsoft 365? Here’s how to get back in.

Being locked out of your Microsoft 365 account usually means too many failed password tries: Microsoft temporarily blocks sign-in to protect the account, even if your next guess would have been right. The fix is rarely waiting — it’s a reset. Work through these in order.

01 · Quick checks first.

  1. Stop guessing. By default the account locks after 10 failed attempts — for one minute at first, then longer each time it happens again. Different wrong guesses keep making it worse; a reset (step 02) clears it instantly.
  2. Read the message. “Your account is temporarily locked to prevent unauthorized use” means a genuine lockout — this article. “Your account or password is incorrect” just means a wrong password, so slow down before you are locked out.
  3. Two accounts on one email? If your address is attached to both a work account and a personal Microsoft account, the “Work or school” vs “Personal” picker sends you to two different sign-ins. Choose Work or school account for anything your firm runs.
  4. Something else may be signing in as you. A phone’s mail app or a second PC quietly retrying an old saved password can trip the lockout again and again, even while you do everything right. If the lockout keeps coming back, this is almost always why (more in the FAQ).

02 · Reset it yourself — don’t wait it out.

Microsoft’s self-service reset clears the lockout on the spot:

  1. Go to aka.ms/sspr in any browser (a private or incognito window avoids cached sign-ins).
  2. Enter your work email and the characters shown, then choose I forgot my password. This matters: the “forgot” route resets the lockout timer to zero, while “I know my password” leaves it running.
  3. Verify it’s you (a code to your phone or authenticator app), set a new password, and sign in.

If the page says your organisation hasn’t enabled self-service reset, or you never registered a phone number for it, you can’t use this route — go to step 03.

03 · Ask your admin for a reset.

Whoever runs Microsoft 365 at your firm — a manager, the owner, or your IT provider — can reset your password in about a minute: in the Microsoft 365 admin center they open Users → Active users, select your name, and choose Reset password. That unlocks the account immediately; they’ll pass you a temporary password and you set your own at next sign-in.

One caveat: if you’re stuck at the verification-code step rather than the password step, that’s a multi-factor authentication problem, not a lockout — your admin needs to sort your sign-in methods before a password reset will help.

04 · Or let KoalaFix do it.

That’s the whole checklist a good IT person would run — and unlocking accounts and resetting passwords is exactly what KoalaFix does. Whoever runs your Microsoft 365 just tells KoalaFix that someone’s locked out, and it checks the account and resets it in about a minute. No digging through the admin center, no ticket.

Try KoalaFix free → See how it works

05 · FAQ.

How long does a Microsoft 365 account lockout last?

One minute the first time, by default. Repeat lockouts last longer, and Microsoft deliberately doesn’t publish how much longer. You don’t have to wait, though — the “I forgot my password” reset at aka.ms/sspr clears it immediately.

Why does my Microsoft 365 account keep locking itself?

Something is still trying an old password on your behalf — usually a phone’s mail app, a second computer, or an app that saved your credentials before a password change. Each silent retry counts as a failed sign-in and re-locks the account, which is why it feels random. Sign out of Microsoft apps on your other devices and update the saved password (or remove and re-add the account) on each one, and the lockouts stop.

Can my admin unlock the account?

Yes — a password reset from the Microsoft 365 admin center unlocks it straight away, no waiting. See step 03.