How to Unlock a Locked Office 365 Account: User & Admin Guide

Read time: 8 minutes

Summary: The fastest way to unlock Office 365 account for users is to reset account password or wait for lockout period to end. Admins can use Microsoft 365 Admin Center to unblock the affected user account or use PowerShell commands for an advanced fix. Preventative measures include taking a backup of your data with a reliable Office 365 backup software to avoid data loss in case of Office 365 account lockout.

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‘Your account is temporarily locked to prevent unauthorized use’

This message flashes on screen for users when trying to access their Outlook account. Trust me, it can be a nightmare to see this message on your screen when you need to access that important email or have to download an important attachment. Maybe you’ve attempted to login several times or maybe your Office 365 account got temporarily locked due to suspicious login activity. Whatever the reason may be, this error can hit the productivity negatively and in worst cases, even lead to data loss.

Learn about the causes and signs of this Office 365 temporarily locked error. Moreover, get to know the best ways for users and admins to unlock Office 365 account.

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Why is Your Office 365 Account Temporarily Locked?

Getting locked out of your Office 365 account is one of the most common ways data is lost in Office 365. Some of the most common reasons why this happens are:

Multiple failed login attempts – Entering the incorrect password several times locks the Office 365 account to protect from unauthorized access.
Suspicious login attempt – Sign in attempts from new devices or different IP addresses can get flagged as suspicious login attempts. This may trigger Microsoft’s security system to lock the account for a short time.
Azure AD security policies – Policies like Conditional access, sign in risk rules, Multi Factor Authentication, and Privileged Identity Management can block access if suspicious activity is detected.
MFA failure – Multiple failed MFA attempts can also trigger the security systems of Office 365 and lock the Office 365 account.
Compromised user account – Phishing attempts, virus/malware detection, or suspicious bot type behavior like sending spam emails can lock your Office 365 account.

Signs When Your Account is Temporarily Locked to Prevent Unauthorized Use

There are certain signs which indicate that your Office 365 account is locked. These signs can include:

Send/Receive error in Outlook.
User sign in and MFA is blocked even with the correct credentials.
Losing access to other Office 365 applications like OneDrive, Outlook, Exchange, Teams, etc.
Error message like ‘Your account is temporarily locked to prevent unauthorized use’ or ‘We’ve detected unusual activity’ display on the screen.
Admin center shows ‘Sign-in blocked’ message under the affected user’s details.

Not everybody has admin access of Office 365, so the methods are divided into two distinct sections, For users and For admins. This will help you choose the method that’s the most suitable for you.

How to Unlock Office 365 Account as a User?

If you don’t have the admin access, then it’s no issue. There are some easy ways by which you can unlock Office 365 without admin access.

Method 1. Wait for the Lockout Period to End

This is the easiest method available, and almost always works for me whenever I get locked out of my Office 365 account. After a period of time (mostly 15 to 30 minutes) the account unlocks on its own after bypassing a few security configurations.

Do not try to attempt to login again during the lockout and do not try to reset your password during this time either. Wait for a short while and then see if you can access your account or not. If the issue is still not resolved, try other solutions like Self Service Password Reset (SSPR) or submit a support request to Microsoft for account recovery.

Method 2. Use Microsoft Account Recovery Page

This method is useful when receiving immediate admin support is not possible. Follow the steps below to perform this method:

Visit the account recovery page and enter your email address.
Verify your identity using an alternate email or your phone number.
Follow the given prompts to reset your password and login again.

Method 3. Submit Support Request to Microsoft

Try to submit a recovery request to Microsoft if nothing works for you. The steps to do are:

Open the Microsoft Sign-in Page and enter your email ID.
Click on the Use your Password option instead and choose Forgot your Password?
Choose the I don’t have any of these option to move to the next page.
Enter the required details like Email address, an alternate email address to get the recovery code, and the correct Security captcha.
You’ll get a security code on the alternate email you provided. Enter the code and click on Verify.
Now enter all the required details like name, DOB, Country, and enter all the previous passwords that you remember.
Your support request will get submitted and once it gets approved, you’ll receive a link to reset account password.

Method 4. Use Self Service Password Recovery (SSPR)

Microsoft Entra ID (better known as Azure AD) has a feature called Self Service Password Recovery (SSPR) that allows users to recover their password without needing admin intervention. Users simply need to verify their identity via SMS, authenticator apps, or by email. This feature is beneficial for large organizations where instant admin support isn’t possible.

Note: Your organization must have SSPR enabled in the Microsoft Entra ID to use this feature.

How to Unlock Microsoft 365 Account for Admins?

Admins can more effectively help to unlock Office 365 account. Here we discuss the methods involving Microsoft Entra Admin Center, using PowerShell, and Microsoft Admin Center.

Method 1. Unlock Office 365 account using PowerShell Commands

There are certain commands in PowerShell with the help of which you can unlock your Office 365 account. Before running any commands though, make sure that you have Admin access for your Office 365 account and have PowerShell installed on your system. Now go through the steps given below:

Press Win + Q and search for Windows PowerShell on your system. Right-click on it and choose Run as administrator option to launch it.
Run the given command in Windows PowerShell to unlock temporarily locked Office 365 account. Connect your Office 365 account to PowerShell- ‘Connect-MsolService’

Verify account status – ‘Get-MsolUser -UserPrincipalName user@example.com | Select DisplayName, BlockCredential’

Unblock Office 365 account – ‘Set-MsolUser -UserPrincipalName user@domain.com -BlockCredential $false’

Enter the Username and User ID carefully to get accurate results.
Now, run the command given below to reset Office 365 password using PowerShell.

Set-MsolUserPassword -UserPrincipalName user@domain.com -NewPassword “NewStrongPassword@123” -ForceChangePassword $true

Try to login again with the new password and see if it works or not.

Method 2. Unlock Office 365 account using Microsoft Entra Admin Center (Azure AD)

There’s a way to unblock Office 365 account with the help of Microsoft Entra Admin Center (Azure AD). This method is perfect if your Office 365 account is temporarily locked due to suspicious sign in attempts. Follow each step carefully to unlock your account.

Login to Microsoft Entra Admin Center with correct Admin credentials.
Go to Identity> Users and select All users.
Choose the user ID you need to unlock and go to their profile.
Find the Account Status section and click on Edit.
Search for the Account enabled option and tick the checkbox beside it.
Click on Save to apply the changes and unblock Office 365 account.

Note: If the Office 365 account was temporarily locked due to suspicious sign in attempts, it is recommended to set up security measures like MFA and reset the account password.

Method 3. Unlock Office 365 account using Microsoft 365 Admin Center

The most common way to unlock an Office 365 account is by using Microsoft 365 Admin Center. With the correct admin credentials, the users can unlock their Office 365 account easily. Follow the steps below:

Sign into Microsoft 365 Admin Center with the Global admin credentials.
Select Users > Active Users
Find the user account that you want to unlock and click on it.
Click on the Unblock sign-in option given on the user detail pane.
Uncheck the Block this user from signing in checkbox and click on Save changes.
Wait for a short while for the changes to reflect and then try signing in again.

How to Prevent Office 365 Account Lockouts?

Take certain steps to prevent Office 365 account lockouts in the future.

Enable Multi Factor Authentication for your account for easy recovery in future.
Use Conditional Access Policies provided by Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) to protect from cyberattacks.
Block old protocols from sending sign-in requests, these are commonly used in brute force phishing attacks.
Set up strong backup and recovery policies in your Microsoft 365 account.
Enable Self Service Password Recovery, if not done already.
Give training to users, if necessary to prevent Office 365 account lockouts in the future.

How to Access Data of a Locked Office 365 Account?

There’s usually no way to access your Office 365 data when your account is locked, unless you’ve created a backup of it at a separate location. It’s recommended to backup data regularly by following the 3-2-1 backup rule to protect data in situations similar to this one.

A tool like Kernel Office 365 Backup and Restore gives users the liberty to backup data in bulk without losing the data integrity and folder hierarchy. Save data like emails, contacts, documents, etc. to PST, PDF, HTML, and other different formats. Pause and resume the backup process as required or use the incremental migration feature to simplify the process.

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What’s the final verdict?

When an Office 365 account is temporarily locked, the only thing that matters is how fast can it be recovered. While this issue usually gets resolved by waiting for a short period of time, but if it doesn’t then try resetting the password with SSPR or submit a recovery request to Microsoft. If the issue still doesn’t get resolved, check the Account Status in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. Make sure to take a backup of your entire data with a trusted Office 365 Backup tool to protect your data.