Yesterday, I tried to log into our family Xbox account, which uses my mom's Microsoft email, but I couldn't get in. When I attempted to log in through the Xbox app on my phone, it said that a two-factor authentication email was sent to a random email I've never seen before. Now, both my mom and I are completely locked out. We tried using the Microsoft account recovery tool, but it says "Not enough evidence" every time, even though my mom has had this account for over 10 years, so there's a lot of data tied to it and all our cards are linked too.
2 Answers
If Microsoft says you don't have enough evidence that the account is yours, then unfortunately you've hit a wall. They are the only ones with the power to help, and if they refuse, you don't really have other options.
That’s rough! If it’s showing a random email for the 2FA code, it seems like someone’s messed with the security settings, not just the password. I'd suggest you do two things ASAP: contact the bank or card issuers to lock any cards linked to the account, and have your mom change the password for her primary email account just in case that was compromised first. For the recovery form, make sure you're doing it from a device or location she usually uses and include every specific detail you can think of — old passwords, Xbox gamertag, billing address, last 4 digits of cards, frequently contacted people, past Skype info, etc. If that fails, reach out to Microsoft support directly and mention it’s an unauthorized security change on a long-time account; they might handle it differently than just a ‘forgot password’ situation.
I've done all except contacting them directly, since their lines are all AI that don't connect me to real people. But I'll give it another shot, thanks for the tips!
That's so frustrating, especially since I have the original email and all the info from over a decade...