You cannot get into your email, or the password you have used for a year has stopped being accepted. In most cases you can reset it yourself in about two minutes, as long as you have set up a way for Microsoft to check it is really you.

Try this first

1. Go to passwordreset.microsoftonline.com in a browser. You can also get there by clicking Forgot my password on any Microsoft sign-in screen.
2. Enter your work email address and the characters shown in the picture, then click Next.
3. Choose how you want Microsoft to check who you are. This will be a notification in the Microsoft Authenticator app, a code by text message, or a code to an alternate email address - whichever you set up previously.
4. Enter the code or approve the prompt.
5. Choose a new password. Length matters more than symbols, so a passphrase such as three or four unrelated words works well and is far easier to type on a phone. You cannot reuse a recent password.
6. Sign in with the new password.

Afterwards: sign in again everywhere

This is the part people are not expecting. Changing your password signs you out of the account on every device, so you will be asked to sign in again on each of them. Work through them in this order and it takes five minutes rather than a week of odd errors:

• Outlook on your computer.
• The mail app or Outlook app on your phone.
• Teams on both computer and phone.
• OneDrive - look for the cloud icon near the clock; if it has gone grey it is waiting for you.
• Any tablet, home computer or spare laptop you use occasionally.

Devices you forget about are the usual cause of a locked account a day later, because they keep trying the old password in the background.

If that didn’t fix it

If the reset page says you are not enabled for password reset, or you no longer have access to the phone or app it wants to use, we will reset it for you. Ring 03 9028 4358 or log a ticket.

We will verify who you are before we do it - usually a quick call back on a number we already hold for you, or a check with your manager or a director. It is the same check that stops somebody else ringing us, claiming to be you, and walking away with access to your mailbox. It takes a minute and we do it every time, for everyone.

How to make the next one painless

Set up two ways of proving who you are, not one: the Microsoft Authenticator app on your phone and a mobile number for text messages. With two methods registered you can always reset your own password, including at 7pm on a Saturday when the office is closed. You can check what you have registered at any time at aka.ms/mfasetup.

Two more habits worth having. Do not reuse your work password anywhere else, particularly not on shopping or social sites - if one of those is breached, your email is next. And store it in a password manager rather than a notebook, so you are not resetting it every few months because you cannot remember it.

Still stuck?

Log a ticket at portal.yougrowit.com.au or email support@yougrowit.com.au. If it is stopping you working right now, call 03 9028 4358.

Support hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:30pm Melbourne time, excluding Victorian public holidays.