How to log in to my MS account when I'm locked out?

Dear @Richard Dealy,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A forum.

I’m truly sorry to hear about the trouble you're experiencing accessing your Microsoft 365 business account. It’s completely understandable how frustrating this situation can be, especially after several failed attempts to sign in. Since you need to update your debit card, regaining access is understandably a top priority. I’ll do my best to guide you toward the right steps.

As a forum moderator, I genuinely wish I could directly access your account or delve into the backend systems to diagnose and fix this for you. However, our role here is limited to providing general guidance and solutions that can be applied by users.  

The issue is that when an account is locked, you must go through Microsoft's official recovery processes, as a locked account cannot be simply logged into immediately.

Since you haven’t specified your account type, I may not be able to provide an exact solution. However, assuming you're using a Work/Business account managed by an organization, you may consider the following steps:

Contact your organization's IT Help Desk, IT Department, or Global Administrator (whoever manages user accounts and licensing). If you don't know who your IT administrator is, please refer to this article: How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin? - Microsoft Support 

They are the only people within your organization who can immediately unlock your account, reset your password, or clear the multi-factor authentication (MFA) requirements that may be causing the lockout.

Unfortunately, if you are the sole admin of your organization, you won’t be able to resolve the issue alone from the user side. Your next step is to contact Microsoft’s Data Protection Team, as they are the only team authorized to verify ownership and restore access to locked business accounts.

The best way to do this for a business account is by phone. You can follow this article to check global customer support phone number from your region. 

Customer service phone numbers - Microsoft Support 

Here are some tips and an example of a prompt to help you navigate the IVR more effectively: 

In some countries, it is an automated conversation like: First, when you call the hotline, it will be asked as follows: 

IVR: What kind of problem are you concerned about? 

You: Account recovery.

IVR: What kind of product do you use? 

You: Office 365 for business. 

IVR confirmation: education or company account? 

You: For companies 

IVR: Are you an administrator? 

You: Yes. 

IVR: Do you have the other administrator in your organization? 

You: No. 

IVR: Do you need a... Service request? 

You: Yes 

I truly hope you get your issue resolved swiftly. Please know that even though I can't directly intervene, directing you to the correct, specialized support is the most effective help I can provide from my position. Thank you for your patience and understanding. I'm looking forward to your reply.  

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