Microsoft is saying my Hotmail account doesn't exist. But when trying to create another with the same new it says it's already taken.

I have an old Hotmail account that I used as a login for several other accounts. Naturally I only needed the email name to have accounts on other sites and so I never actually signed into Hotmail to check emails.

I got a "reset password" on another site because it hadn't been logged into in a while and was mandatory. But when I try to log in to my old Hotmail account, in order to reset my password on the other site, Microsoft says that account doesn't exist.

Furthermore, when I try to make a "new" account with the same name (just to be able to continue using the email on other sites and reset my password) Microsoft says the account name is already taken. Well which is it, doesn't exists or taken?

Really need a solution here, I know Microsoft is notoriously bad with support but I don't know what else to do. Any time I use Account Recovery or Password Reset with my old Hotmail account it immediately says it doesn't exist and has no solutions.

Hi Brandon! This is Raech. I'm an Outlook.com user like you and I'm sorry to hear about the issue you are having.

I wish I have better news. However, based on the error message you provided, it looks like the account is effectively closed. This is most likely due to account inactivity. If you do not sign in at least once in a two-year period, the account will be closed automatically. Please see the article below for reference regarding Microsoft's Inactivity policy.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/451105...

Unfortunately, once an account is closed, there is no way to recover the account. Microsoft keeps a list of all addresses created, even the ones who have been deleted, thus returning the error 'email already exists'.

Disclaimer: This is a public user-to-user community forum. None of us here work for Microsoft and it is beyond our capability to assist directly with account or login-related issues.

Sincerely,
Raech C.

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Last updated April 14, 2025 Views 2,016 Applies to: