Having a problem logging into your Hotmail email account? Can’t log in to your Hotmail account? Are you looking for the Hotmail login problem help? Well, if that’s the case then you’ve come to the right place to seek advice regarding your Hotmail login issues. Today we’ll talk about how you can solve the Hotmail login problems in detail. After reading this article you’ll be able to fix any kinds of Hotmail login problems in no time at all.
The first thing you must know if you are still not known about the update of Hotmail. Microsoft has developed a new update to Hotmail and is called Outlook. So try to login from the Outlook official website ” https://outlook.live.com/owa/ “.
If you type “www.hotmail.com” in the web browser, it will automatically redirect you to the Outlook website.
There might be several login problems if you are unable to login to your Hotmail email account. The two usual problems amongst all those problems are:
- Your Login Details
- Your web browser and internet connection
1. Your Hotmail Login Details
The first problem for logging in the Hotmail email account might be due to your Hotmail login details. The Hotmail login details refer to your email address and password. You must enter your email and your password in order to log in. Also, your email and password must be the same as what you have used while you created your Hotmail email account.
If you can’t figure out what’s going wrong, check if the Caps Lock is on. Turn off the Caps Lock and try signing in again. The email address and the password are case sensitive.
In case, you can’t remember your Hotmail account password, you can reset your password.
Note: If you haven’t logged in to your account in over 270 days or within 10 days of creating the account, it will be deleted. Then you can’t recover your Hotmail email account. You will have to create a new account in such a case.
2. Your web browser and internet connection
If you are sure with your email and password, the problem may be in your web browser or the internet connection. Make sure that your internet connection is stable.
Try to hard refresh your browser. If the page is not loaded then try refreshing your web browser. You can refresh your web browser by pressing (Ctrl + R) keys on the keyboard or (Ctrl + F5) keys. If it doesn’t see to work, press (Ctrl + Shift + R) keys for a hard refresh. This will refresh your web browser and the page will be loaded.
Still, having a Hotmail login problem? If the Hotmail email login problem is not fixed, try with the following tips if you are still having any Hotmail login issues.
3. Scan your device
Accessing Hotmail and many other sites can be affected in many different ways. That is by both viruses and spyware. So it’s important to run an up to date virus scan and spyware scan.
4. Check the hosts
The “hosts” file is one of the common targets of malware. Normally found in C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc, open it in notepad. If there’s a line referencing “hotmail.com”, or “passport.com”, then the file has been altered by malware of some sort. The safest thing to do if that’s the case is to simply rename the file to something else. You can also read more about the ‘hosts’ file in an article ” Is there a way to block certain URLs in IE?.
5. Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer, itself is not a problem. Yet various readers have reported that helped in some cases. That is to repair or reinstall Internet Explorer. If you are using Windows XP, you can try running the System File Checker. On all versions of Windows, including Windows XP, the best way to repair is to reinstall. Visit Microsoft’s Internet Explorer site and you can download the latest version.
6. Switch the browser
It may happen that some browsers may be having an issue loading the Hotmail website. So, switching to another browser may simply solve your Hotmail login issue. You may switch to Google Chrome, or Firefox or Opera, etc.
7. Low Security
Sometimes, reducing the security on the internet zone in Internet Explorer helps. Set the security level to medium-low resolves some issues, also on the Hotmail login issue. But no doubt this may be increasing the risk of viruses and other malware.
To reduce the security level in Internet Explorer, follow the steps below:
- Open the ‘Internet Options’ in Tools on your device.
- Click on the ‘Security‘ option.
- Click on the ‘Custom Level‘ button.
- Find the ‘Reset to‘ option and set Medium-low.
- Click on ‘Ok‘ and ‘Apply‘.
8. HTTP Version
In some cases, changing the HTTP version helps in the log in issue in the Hotmail account. Altering the version of HTML that Internet Explorer uses helps resolve it.
- Open the ‘Internet Options’ in Tools on your device.
- Click on the ‘Advanced‘ option.
- Find the entry HTTP 1.1 settings and uncheck ‘Use HTTP 1.1‘ option.
- Click on ‘Apply‘ and ‘Ok‘.
9. Cookies
Cookies must be enabled in your web browser because the Hotmail requires cookies. In order to get past the ‘match the picture’ security check. To enable cookies, do the following things:
- Go to Tools, Internet Options, Privacy, and press Default.
- Clear the cookies if an existing cookie is causing problems. Go to Tools, Internet Options, General, and press Delete Cookies.
- Clear the cache if a cached page is not being properly refreshed. Go to Tools, Internet Options, General, and press Delete Files. Be sure to check the Delete All Offline Content option before you click on the OK button.
10. Open the Firewall
It is important that the firewall you are using doesn’t block cookies. You’ll have to refer to the documentation for your firewall. Resolving this allows the user to progress past the “match the picture” stage. A quick test would be to turn off the firewall and try accessing Hotmail, but do not leave your firewall turned off. Remind yourself to turn on the firewall after you are done using Hotmail.
Note: This probably does not apply if you’re using a router for your firewall. Or if you are using the Windows XP embedded firewall.
11. Network Issue
Sometimes networks and networking gets confused and blocks or misroutes, access to sites.
12. Reboot
Rebooting your PC may simply solve the issue you are facing in Hotmail logging. Rebooting PC works often when you are having any issue within your PC. You should also try rebooting your modem/ router by turning the power off and back on again. It is because the router may have entered a state where its behavior is erratic. And a reboot resolves several issues.
13. Flush DNS
A reboot will do this as well. But this is a quicker way to make sure that your computer is using the most current DNS information. Open a command prompt in your computer, and enter the following command: ipconfig/flushdns.
This command might not be available on all Windows versions. In such a case, you may want to do the reboot.
14. Network Setting
Sometimes your network settings may cause a problem signing in to Hotmail account. Altering the network setting may work as a solution for the Hotmail account sign in. It involves altering an obscure network setting called ‘ MTU ‘ or ‘MaxMTU’ which is deep in the registry. But there are tools out there to make this setting easier to change. Download TCP Optimizer from SpeedGuide.net. Using this utility, make the following changes:
- Click on the appropriate connection type: Dialup, DSL, DSL (PPPoE), or Cable Modem.
- Click on ‘Custom Settings’.
- Change ‘MaxMTU’ to ‘1220’.
- Change ‘MTU Discovery’ from ‘Yes’ to ‘Default’.
- Click on ‘Apply Changes’, and then ‘Exit’.
This type of change requires a reboot to take effect. Hotmail made some type of change. Involving this setting to prevent or avoid Denial of Service attacks. It seems many users were denied service as a result.
15. Try Again Later
Sometimes, Hotmail itself is the problem. There are seen some periods of time where Hotmail was not working well. Hotmail’s notification of such events may be quite lacking because of its high usage. Any widespread outages are evident to them quite quickly. And you can be certain that they are working on the issues, though you might not hear about it. You should typically give it a day and wait.
16. Play with the numbers
Exactly how Hotmail’s load is distributed across the thousands of servers is a mystery. If you’re able to log in you’ll see an address like this in your address bar: http://by28fd.bay28.hotmail.msn.com
The numbers, 28 in this case, vary. As Hotmail distributes the load by assigning your session to specific servers.
Perhaps one of the most obscure ideas is that changing the number. Example: a 2, in a case, to a 23 resolved an issue after sign in. We don’t have any way of knowing exactly what this does or why it might work, so it’s difficult to recommend. But you might give it a try if you are able to sign in. Edit the URL in the address bar, change both numbers, and press enter. This may work.
17. Outlook Express
In case you are using your free Hotmail account in Outlook Express, that might be the entire problem. Because Hotmail support in Outlook Express is being phased out. This Microsoft Knowledgebase Article explains. To continue using your Hotmail account in Outlook Express, you will need to upgrade and purchase an MSN Hotmail Plus account. Hotmail’s web interface still remains free.
18. Check the clock
Check the clock on your device and make sure the time and date are correct. Several aspects of the connection to secure sites rely on your clock being accurate. It is similar in the case of Hotmail. The best approach is to use the clock synchronization facility.
To adjust the time and date:
- Right-click on the displayed clock in your taskbar.
- Select Adjust Date/Time.
- Click on the Time Zone tab and ensure that the time zone is set correctly.
- Check the Set time zone automatically. Turn it On to set the time zone automatically.
19. Phishing
You have received an email from Hotmail asking you to visit a website to re-verify your account. If so, you may have fallen a victim to a phishing scam. It may also ask to re-enter all your personal data. The email was certainly not legitimate. And the website was certainly not Hotmail’s official site. It was probably a hacker attempting to get your personal information. Though it may completely look-alike the Hotmail.
In order to prevent your account from the phishing sites, check the address bar of your web browser. Check if the heading of the website or address is https:// or not. If you can see https:// then it is most certainly a phishing site. Change it to https:// to go to the official site. The official website of Hotmail to sign in is “https://outlook.live.com/owa/“.
20. Theft
Is your Hotmail password easy to guess? Did you let any friend use your account? Or have you accessed your Hotmail in an internet cafe or other public venues? If so, then it’s possible that your Hotmail account has been hacked or stolen. Someone may have seen, got or guessed your Hotmail account password. And then went off and may have changed it.
In such a case that you can’t log in to Hotmail account with your password. It’s better to reset your password and then try logging in. For the purpose to prevent theft, you must set the password that is difficult to guess but easy for you to memorize.
In the cases of phishing and theft of your Hotmail account, you can recover your account. And try to reset your password.
These ideas and tips may have helped you solve the login problem in Hotmail. Hopefully, you can access your Hotmail email account once again. And enjoy the services of Hotmail or Outlook, provided by Microsoft.