In This Guide
Since September, we've had a steady rise in calls from people across Melbourne who can't get into their email, OneDrive or work Microsoft 365. Most have already tried Microsoft and found there's no one able to unlock the account for them.
We're an independent local IT business — not Microsoft. Here's how we help.
1. What We're Seeing in Melbourne
New phone, no Authenticator
The old phone was traded in, and the Authenticator passkey or approval went with it.
Codes that never arrive
The number on the account is old, or the account can no longer add a phone number.
A passkey screen with no way past
Work accounts prompting for a passkey, or a Windows 11 loop that ends back at the lock screen.
Recovery form rejected
Filled in on a new device, from a different place, with too little detail.
2. What We Do (and What We Can't)
- Work out whether it's a personal or work account — the fix is completely different.
- Find any phone, tablet or computer still signed in, and use it to add a new passkey or recovery email.
- Fix passkey and Windows Hello problems on the device itself.
- Guide you through Microsoft's recovery form from your usual device and location, with the details that help it succeed.
- For businesses: get staff onto passkeys before 1 February 2027 and set up emergency admin accounts.
- Once you're in, add a second and third way in so it doesn't happen again.
We are not Microsoft and can't override Microsoft's security checks. What we can do is sit with you — remotely or at your place — and work every legitimate route properly. We'll never ask for your password, and we can't promise Microsoft will approve a recovery request — we'll tell you honestly where it stands.
3. Remote or In-Person: How It Works
| Remote session | Onsite visit | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | You can still use your computer and just need someone to guide and fix things | You'd rather someone sat with you, or the computer itself won't sign in |
| How | We connect securely to your computer with your permission and talk you through it on the phone | A local tech comes to your home or office across Melbourne, including Box Hill, Footscray, Frankston, Dandenong and Preston |
| Cost | $125/hr, one-hour minimum | $205/hr, one-hour minimum |
You'll know the cost before we start. Bring every device you own to the session — phones, tablets, old phones in the drawer. A device that's still signed in is often the key.
Book a Session
Tell us what the screen is saying and we'll tell you whether remote or onsite makes more sense.
Book Help4. Avoid These While You Wait
- Don't call "Microsoft support" numbers from search ads — fake support lines are a common scam.
- Don't delete your phone number or old recovery email from the account.
- Don't wipe or trade in an old phone.
- Don't submit the recovery form over and over from a new device — you get two tries a day.
Want to understand the change first? Read our passkey overview or the full guide to Microsoft lockouts.
Sources
Microsoft — Help with the account recovery form · Microsoft to stop sending SMS codes · Microsoft Entra SMS retirement. Checked 11 October 2026.