Forgot Your Hotmail Password? Check These Places Before Resetting

Hotmail (now Outlook.com) is Microsoft's free email service. If you have forgotten your Hotmail password, several tools on your computer may have it saved — including your browser's password manager, Windows Credential Manager, or a password manager app.

This guide shows every place to look before resorting to a full password reset.

Part 1. Check Browser Saved Passwords

Modern browsers save passwords when you log in and offer to autofill them on subsequent visits. If you have logged into Hotmail in any browser on this device, the password is likely stored there.

Google Chrome:

1. Open Chrome → click the three-dot menu (top right) → Settings
2. Go to Autofill and passwords → Google Password Manager
3. Search for hotmail or outlook in the search bar
4. Click the entry → click the eye icon to reveal the password
5. You may need to enter your Windows or Google account PIN to view it

Microsoft Edge:

1. Open Edge → click the three-dot menu → Settings
2. Go to Passwords (under Autofill)
3. Search for hotmail.com or outlook.com
4. Click the eye icon → confirm your Windows Hello or PIN

Mozilla Firefox:

1. Open Firefox → click the menu (hamburger icon) → Passwords
2. Search for hotmail or outlook
3. Click the entry → click the eye icon to view the saved password
4. Firefox may ask for your Windows login to reveal it

💡 Tip: If you use Google Chrome and sync passwords with your Google account, you can also view saved passwords at passwords.google.com from any browser — no need to be on the specific device where the password was saved.

Part 2. Check Windows Credential Manager

Windows Credential Manager stores credentials for Windows apps including Outlook desktop, Edge, and other Microsoft apps that use your Hotmail/Microsoft account.

Steps:

1. Press Win + S → search for Credential Manager → open it
2. Click Web Credentials tab
3. Scroll through the list — look for entries containing hotmail.com, outlook.com, live.com, or microsoftonline.com
4. Click the entry → click Show next to the password field
5. Enter your Windows account password or PIN when prompted

🗣️ r/techsupport user: "Had no idea Windows Credential Manager existed until I forgot my Hotmail password. It was stored there from when I set up Outlook desktop. Saved me from a reset."

Note: Windows Credential Manager stores passwords for Windows apps (Outlook desktop, Mail app) — not necessarily for browser-based Hotmail logins. Browser passwords are stored in the browser's own password manager, not Credential Manager.

Part 3. Use Microsoft Sign-In Helper

Microsoft provides a Sign-In Helper that attempts to help you recover access to your Hotmail/Outlook account through alternative verification methods without requiring a full password reset.

Methods Microsoft's Sign-In Helper can use:

• Send a verification code to your backup phone number (SMS)
• Send a verification code to your backup email address
• Verify your identity using the Microsoft Authenticator app
• Use a security key if one is registered on the account

Steps:

1. Go to account.microsoft.com and click Sign in
2. Enter your Hotmail/Outlook email address
3. On the password page, click Forgot password?
4. Microsoft will offer the verification methods available for your account
5. Complete verification → you can set a new password or access your account directly

⚠️ Important: If none of the verification methods are accessible (old phone number, old backup email, no authenticator app), Microsoft's account recovery process requires submitting detailed account activity information. The review process can take 3–5 business days. The more account history you can provide (recent recipients, subject lines, contacts), the higher the approval rate.

Part 4. Use a Password Manager If You Have One

If you use a dedicated password manager, it is likely the most reliable place to find your Hotmail password.

🗣️ r/privacy user: "After forgetting passwords three times in six months, I switched to Bitwarden. Free, open source, and works on every device. Never had to use account recovery for Hotmail again."

Part 5. Reset Your Hotmail Password (If No Saved Copy Found)

If none of the above methods locate a saved password, a full password reset is the next step.

Steps to reset:

1. Go to account.live.com/password/reset
2. Enter your Hotmail email address → click Next
3. Choose a verification method:
   • Text message to backup phone
   • Email code to backup address
   • Security code from authenticator app
4. Enter the verification code
5. Create a new password (minimum 8 characters, mix of letters, numbers, symbols)
6. Click Save → sign in with the new password

After resetting:

• Update the password in any apps using your Hotmail account (Outlook desktop, Mail app, phone)
• Update the saved password in your browser
• Consider saving the new password in a password manager

💡 Tip: After resetting, store your new Hotmail password in a password manager like Bitwarden (free) or at minimum save it in your browser's password manager. A password manager generates and stores strong, unique passwords so you never need to remember them or go through recovery again.

Part 6. Data Recovery If Account Issues Caused File Loss

In rare cases, account access problems can result in locally stored email data (Outlook PST/OST files) becoming inaccessible. Ritridata can recover deleted or lost PST files from your Windows drive if they were accidentally removed during account troubleshooting.

Outlook PST files are typically stored at:

• C:\Users\[Username]\Documents\Outlook Files\
• C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\

If PST files were deleted, install Ritridata on an external drive and run a Deep Scan to recover them. The free scan confirms whether the files are still recoverable before any purchase.

FAQ

Q: Is my Hotmail email still working — did Microsoft shut it down? No — Microsoft merged Hotmail into Outlook.com in 2013. Your @hotmail.com email address still works, and you can access it at outlook.com or via the Outlook desktop app. The account service is managed by Microsoft the same as any Outlook.com account.

Q: Why can't I see my password in Chrome's password manager? Chrome requires you to verify your identity before showing a saved password. You may need to enter your Windows account PIN, Windows Hello fingerprint/face recognition, or your Google account password depending on your sync settings. If Chrome shows "No passwords" for Hotmail, the password was never saved to Chrome on this device.

Q: What if I've lost access to both my backup phone and backup email? Microsoft's account recovery form (at account.live.com) can be submitted with detailed account information (recovery questions, past passwords, recent email senders). Microsoft manually reviews these requests. Providing more specific account history increases approval chances. The process typically takes 3–5 business days.

Q: Can I find my Hotmail password in the Windows Registry? No — Windows does not store plaintext passwords in the registry. Credentials stored in Windows Credential Manager are encrypted. There is no legitimate way to extract plaintext passwords from the Windows registry.

Q: Does Microsoft support 2-factor authentication for Hotmail? Yes — Microsoft accounts support multiple MFA methods: the Microsoft Authenticator app, SMS code, backup email code, and hardware security keys. Enabling MFA at account.microsoft.com/security protects the account even if the password is compromised.

Q: Can a password manager be hacked? All software has security risks, but reputable password managers (Bitwarden, 1Password) use zero-knowledge encryption — meaning even the password manager company cannot see your passwords. Using a strong master password and enabling MFA on the password manager account provides strong protection.

References

• Microsoft Account Password Reset
• Microsoft Support — Recover a hacked or compromised Microsoft account
• Bitwarden — Free Password Manager
• Microsoft Sign-In Help
• Ritridata — Data Recovery Software