Why is it not letting me sign into my Microsoft account?

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Sign in to your Microsoft account dashboard
Need more help?
Password or verification issue
Username issue
Account locked
Verify email or password
Phone or email is already associated with an account
Linked account doesn't exist
Need more help?
Need more help?
Need more help?

If you use any Microsoft services (Word, Outlook, etc.), you have a Microsoft account. You manage your Microsoft account from the Microsoft account dashboard.

Go to Microsoft account and select Sign in.
Type the email, phone number, or Skype sign-in that you use for other services (Outlook, Excel, etc.), then select Next. If you don't have a Microsoft account, you can select No account? Create one!. Note that we recommend using an email you already have and use regularly.
Type your password and select the Keep me signed in box if you want to go straight into your account next time (not recommended for shared computers).
Select Sign in.

Need more help?

Find the issue that best describes your experience and follow the troubleshooting steps included.

Password or verification issue

You forgot your password, the password you entered isn't working, or you can't receive a verification code.

Follow the steps included here - Reset a forgotten Microsoft account password
If the issue continues, contact Microsoft support.

Username issue

You forgot your username or your username isn't working.

Follow the steps included here - You forgot your Microsoft account username
If the issue continues, contact Microsoft support.

Account locked

When you signed in, you received a message that says your account is locked.

Follow the steps included here - Account has been locked
If the issue continues, contact Microsoft support.

Verify email or password

You received an error stating the password or email is incorrect, despite entering the correct information.

Try signing in using this information at https://account.microsoft.com/
If you are unable to sign in to your Microsoft account, contact Microsoft support.
If you were able to sign in to your Microsoft account but still unable to access Microsoft To Do, please send an email to Microsoft To Do support at . In your email, please include as much information as you can, including a description of the issue and the device(s), operating system, or browser you are using.

Phone or email is already associated with an account

You received an error stating that your phone or email is already associated with an account, despite entering the verification code.

Try signing in using this information at https://account.microsoft.com/
If you are unable to sign in to your Microsoft account, contact Microsoft support.
If you were able to sign in to your Microsoft account but still unable to access Microsoft To Do, please send an email to Microsoft To Do support at . In your email, please include as much information as you can, including a description of the issue and the device(s), operating system, or browser you are using.

Linked account doesn't exist

When you signed in, you received an error stating that the account does not exist, and while creating a new account, you received an error stating that the account already exists. This can happen if you try signing in with an account that is linked to an existing Microsoft account.

Try recovering your Microsoft account using the steps included here - Help with the Microsoft account recovery
If the issue continues, contact Microsoft support.

Need more help?

If you're experiencing an issue not listed above or this troubleshooting didn't help, please contact Microsoft To Do support by sending us an email at . In your email, please include as much information as you can, including a description of the issue and the device(s), operating system, or browser you are using.

Need more help?

If you try to sign in to Windows 11 and receive the error message, "We can't sign in to your account" or you see an action center notification saying “You’ve been signed in with a temporary profile,” Windows will create a temporary profile and sign you in to that one. (Note: Any settings or new files created within that temporary profile will be removed after you sign out, so it is important to try to resolve this issue, either by restarting your PC or with the following steps.) Here are some things to try to get signed back in to your Windows profile:

Important: Before doing anything, use an external storage device to save any work you’ve done since your last successful sign in. Any files you have created or changed while in the temporary profile will be lost when you sign out.
Restart your device in safe mode and sign in with your original profile. Check to see if your settings and files are restored.
Restart your device in normal mode and sign in again with your original profile. Check to see if your settings and files are restored. (You might need to restart your device more than once.)
If multiple restarts don't help, try temporarily disabling your antivirus software or any other app that might scan your device during sign-in. (Note: Some antivirus products may have additional components which affect the system and may only be disabled after complete removal and a system reboot.)
If you continue to experience issues signing in with your original profile, disable Windows Defender services: Open the Services app by typing services in the search box on the task bar and selecting it from the list of results. Then, find the Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection and Microsoft Defender Antivirus services, right-click each of them, select Properties, and change Startup Type to Disabled, selecting OK after each change. Restart your device in normal mode and try to sign in with your original profile. (Note: After troubleshooting and resolving the issue, remember to set the Windows Defender services back to Automatic.)
If you still can't sign in, try creating a new local administrator account, sign in to that new account, then follow the steps in Fix a corrupted user profile to copy your personal data from the old profile into the newly created one.
If you still can't sign in to your profile after these steps, we'd like to know. Please provide feedback using the Feedback Hub app on Windows 11 so that we can investigate the issue. (Feedback Hub is a public forum. Don't include personal information in your comments.)

Open the Feedback Hub

If you try to sign in to Windows 10 and receive the error message, "We can't sign in to your account" or you see an action center notification saying “You’ve been signed in with a temporary profile,” Windows will create a temporary profile and sign you in to that one. (Note: Any settings or new files created within that temporary profile will be removed after you sign out, so it is important to try to resolve this issue, either by restarting your PC or with the following steps.) Here are some things to try to get signed back in to your Windows profile:

Important: Before doing anything, use an external storage device to save any work you’ve done since your last successful sign in. Any files you have created or changed while in the temporary profile will be lost when you sign out.
Restart your device in safe mode and sign in with your original profile. Check to see if your settings and files are restored.
Restart your device in normal mode and sign in again with your original profile. Check to see if your settings and files are restored. (You might need to restart your device more than once.)
If multiple restarts don't help, try temporarily disabling your antivirus software or any other app that might scan your device during sign-in. (Note: Some antivirus products may have additional components which affect the system and may only be disabled after complete removal and a system reboot.)
If you continue to experience issues signing in with your original profile, disable Windows Defender services: Open the Services app by typing services in the search box on the task bar and selecting it from the list of results. Then, find the Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection and Microsoft Defender Antivirus services, right-click each of them, select Properties, and change Startup Type to Disabled, selecting OK after each change. Restart your device in normal mode and try to sign in with your original profile. (Note: After troubleshooting and resolving the issue, remember to set the Windows Defender services back to Automatic.)
If you still can't sign in, try creating a new local administrator account, sign in to that new account, then follow the steps in Fix a corrupted user profile to copy your personal data from the old profile into the newly created one.
If you still can't sign in to your profile after these steps, we'd like to know. Please provide feedback using the Feedback Hub app on Windows 10 so that we can investigate the issue. (Feedback Hub is a public forum. Don't include personal information in your comments.)