Account Settings

How to Reset Your Lost or Forgotten Password

If you have lost or forgotten your password, believe it or not, you can reset it yourself.

1. On the login screen in your web-browser find the little link underneath the sign-in box which says, Can't access your account?. Follow this link.
2. Now, in the Get back into your account dialogue, enter your email address and win the CAPTCHA.
3. Next, choose the method you would like to use to verify your identity. Click the blue button. Don't leave this page yet! You will see it will update to display a new text box, asking you for a verification code.
4. You will be sent the verification code via that method (either text, call or email).
5. Enter the code you received in the empty text box. Click next.
6. Now, 365 knows who you are and will ask you to choose a new password. Fill in the two password boxes, then click Finish.
7. The page will change and tell you that your password is now reset. Click on click here to go and sign in all afresh-like.
8. That's all!

It is also possible to go directly to the password reset dialogue via this direct link (if you are already signed in):
https://account.live.com/resetpassword.aspx

Here are the screenshots

How to Change Your Password

You can reset your own password anytime you want right from your 365 Account

1. Log into your account normally.
2. Make sure your ad-blocker is disabled.
3. Click on your avatar in the upper right part of the page and then click on View Account.
4. You should be in the Overview section. There is a tile on that page that says Password. Click on Update Info. Or just click to the Password section.
5. This will take you to the Change Password page. Here you will need to enter your old (current) password, the new one you would like to have, and that box where you have to type it again to confirm. Note that you cannot set the password to be the same as your old one.

You may also go directly to the Change Password page via this link (if you are already signed in):
https://account.activedirectory.windowsazure.com/ChangePassword.aspx

How to Change Your Security Information

Your 365 Security Information is info by which Office365 may recognize you in case you need to reset your password.

To view this information you will need to be logged in.

You can browse to this page this way:

1. Log into your account normally.
2. Make sure your ad-blocker is disabled.
3. Click on your avatar in the upper right part of the page and then click on View Account.
4. You should be in the Overview section. There is a tile on that page that says Security Info. Click on Update Info. Or just click to the Security Info section.
5. To enter this section, you may be required to verify your identity (yes, again).
6. You should now see a page displaying your info. This is where you can change your cell-phone number and add an alternate email address for verification purposes. You can also add security questions here.

You can also get there via this direct link:
https://mysignins.microsoft.com/security-info.

It is on this page that you can change your cell-phone number and add Security Questions for your account that aid you with verifying your identity.

How to Pass the Verification Challenge

Periodically, Office365 will issue an identity challenge to make sure you are who you say you are. This is to help protect against hackers gaining access to your account. It forces whoever is using your account (most likely you, though) to use an alternate method of communication to enter a verification code.

This Verification Test will depend on information you supplied when the account was created. If you may recall, when you logged into your account the very first time, you were asked to supply a cell-phone number. It is this cell-phone number the system will use to make sure it is actually you who are logging into your account.

To pass the Verification Test, 365 will send a text or call you at your registered cell-phone number and ask you to enter the Verification Code into the page when you try to sign into your account. Unless you are just resetting your password, the only way to pass this test is with that cell phone number (and for some reason, you can't use the alternate email nor the security questions to do this, so if you no longer have access that cell-phone you will need to contact the administrator and provide him with a cell-phone number that he can use to update your system profile in administrative settings.