Microsoft email access abroad

funkey_monkey

I´m in foreign climes and am trying to access my hotmail/outlook account.

Microsft in their wisdom have made a security feature on accounts such that when logging on in different countires or from different IPs you need a security code which either goes to your phone or an alternative email address.

My alternative email address is also an outlook account, so I am in a never ending circle as I cannot get access to either account.

Any advice that would be useful at this stage?

I´m not giving them my mobile number as I don´t trust them with having it.

Thanks.

Overheal

you trust them with your emails but not your phone number? why? I mean, thats your solution right there.

Alun

You could just create another account to use as your alternative email, say a Gmail account.

Alternatively does Outlook support 2 factor authentication in some way using a smartphone app?

28064212

You're not going to be able to do anything until you get access to your account, and you'll only be able to do that from home. You've specifically set up your account in such a way that you can't authenticate yourself. When you get home, either disable two-step authentication (not recommended), use an alternate email that you can access, or (best solution) set up two-factor authentication so that the codes are provided through an app e.g. Google Authenticator (instructions)

_Kaiser_

I have both Outlook and Gmail accounts myself so use the other as the alternative address. They both have my mobile as well as a second option. I've had both Windows and Android phones so they have it anyway.

That app they have on Android though is even handier.. just click approve when it pops up and you're done.