Hotmail not working? There are some common issues you might face when using Hotmail so there is no need to panic. You can easily fix all Hotmail errors on your own. Here are some fixes that will solve your problems instantly.
The word Hotmail is almost synonymous with the word email. That is how long Hotmail has been around. This is a free email service provided by Microsoft.
Over the years there have been several competitors in this space such as Yahoo and Gmail who also happen to provide their email service free of any charges. With the recent focus changing from Hotmail to outlook, many of you might be facing an issue or two while trying to access your Hotmail account.
If you are one of those people who have run into any such problems, then you have come to the right place. We are today going to explore a few resolutions to these common outlook email errors which might be hindering your access to your important emails on Hotmail. These issues can be easily fixed and would not take too much of your time either.
Why is Hotmail not working?
Since its early days, you may have noticed that the Hotmail service has been completely revamped and rebranded a couple of times.
Today it goes by the name of Outlook. During such processes of upgrading an email service, many things are bound to go wrong, many bugs are bound to be discovered later, and so on.
If you are experiencing issues and find your Hotmail not usable, you are not alone. Below could be one of the reasons why is your Hotmail is working
- There are way too many caches and cookies stored in your web browser
- Using incorrect Hotmail credentials to log in
- Poor internet connection
- The device you are using to access Hotmail is infected with a virus
- You may be using an outdated version of the web browser
- Error code – there could be many and needs further drilled down
- The Hotmail server is down
Once you have identified the problem that is obstructing you from accessing your Hotmail, we can move on to the next step of further narrowing down to the solution.
Let’s Fix Your Hotmail errors
In order to further debug this issue, we need to replicate the issue by first opening your Hotmail account on any browser on any device. Most of us are using Google Chrome as our daily browser.
The features offered by Chrome are unparalleled compared to any other browser. Chances are you may also using the Chrome browser and you may have run into the Hotmail not working error on Chrome.
If this is the case, then you simply need to follow the below-mentioned steps
- Go to Microsoft live page and reset your account password.
- If for some reason you are not able to sign in to your account, go to the recovery page section and enter your email address.
- You will be asked to enter the captcha. Enter it.
- Once this is done, you will receive a verification code on your mobile, your secondary email address, or your Microsoft authenticator app.
- Enter the provided code and then create a new password for your Hotmail account.
You will need to follow the on-screen instructions to further secure and recover your account.
Why I’m unable to sign in to my Hotmail account?
There are several reasons why you can’t log in to your Hotmail account on Google Chrome. We first need to find out the underlying reason. Below are some of the reasons why this could be happening.
- You are using an account that has been outdated on Hotmail.
- The browser version of your Chrome is not compatible with Hotmail.
- Your internet may be poor.
- Chrome may be blocking javascript from running.
- You have stored too many cookies and caches in your browser.
- Your security software such as a firewall or anti-virus may be blocking Hotmail.com
- Your account may have been compromised.
Please follow one of the below methods to fix this issue once you have identified the underlying cause of the issue.
1. Update chrome browser to the latest version
If you believe your browser may be outdated, you can update it to the latest version which is relatively easy to do and hardly takes any time.
- Open your Chrome browser and click on the three dots on the top right corner of the screen.
- From the drop-down menu, go to Settings > About Chrome > Update Chrome
- Once updated, you should be able to access your Hotmail account.
2. Clear cookies and caches of Chrome
This is one of the most common issues that can hinder your access to Hotmail. Following are the steps to clear out the cookies and caches from the Chrome browser
- Open Chrome and click on the three dots on the top right corner of the screen.
- From the drop-down menu, click on More Tools > Clear out browsing data.
- Select the time interval that you want to clear out and check all the boxes.
- You can now proceed to clear out the cookies and caches and proceed further with accessing your Hotmail account.
3. Check your anti-virus program
Sometimes, Your antivirus can cause the problem. It may block a URL. You will need to fix this by going into your anti-virus UI and navigating to the firewall section. You should be able to find the URL blocked section and check to see if Hotmail.com is one of the URLs that your anti-virus has blocked.
In order to avoid this issue, you can add Hotmail.com to your anti-virus’ whitelist. This way, your anti-virus will know not to block this particular URL.
4. Use HTTPS
This is a basic security protocol followed by most domain-name providers to authenticate and secure a web URL. In case you are trying to access www.hotmail.com, try using https://hotmail.com
Hotmail not working on Android or iPhone
If you are not using a MAC or desktop PC to access your Hotmail, you are probably using a mobile device as most of us. In that case, here are some steps for you to follow and recover your account.
- First and foremost, make sure you are using the correct credentials to log in.
- The next thing that most people get wrong, is not making sure their account is supported by the app or not. Most of Microsoft’s accounts have been integrated into one. Those include Hotmail, Live, MSN, Microsoft 365, and exchange server accounts.
- If your account is already added to the app but is not working, the following steps will help you out
- Open your mail app and then go to Settings
- Select Hotmail as your account
- You need to click Remove Account
- Now select From Device option and your account will be removed from the device.
Once your account is removed from the mail application, you will need to re-add it to the app. If you have forgotten the password, then follow the steps mentioned above to recover your account.
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Conclusion
We hope that by following this article, you are able to resolve any pending issues that you may have while trying to access your Hotmail account.
While most of the issues are resolved by one of the methods mentioned above, there may be more scenarios that may require a deeper dive. For such issues, we would highly recommend that you get in touch with the technical support staff of Hotmail.
You can either connect them via telephone or email. We hope this helps resolve your issue of “Hotmail not working”.
