Locked Out After Microsoft’s Passkey Change? How We Help in Canberra
Since Microsoft started moving everyone off text-message codes, more people are stuck. What we can and can’t do, remotely or in person.
What we are seeing in Canberra
Since September, a steady rise in calls from people who cannot get into their email, OneDrive or work Microsoft 365, and who have found nobody at Microsoft able to unlock the account.
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.
No way past the passkey screen
Work accounts demanding 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.
Why Microsoft cannot just unlock it
Microsoft’s own help pages say its support agents “are not allowed to send password reset links, or access and change account details.” Personal account recovery goes through an automated form that no agent can override. Work accounts are reset by your own IT administrator.
We are not Microsoft and cannot override its security checks. We will never ask for your password, and we cannot promise Microsoft will approve a recovery request — we will tell you honestly where it stands.
What we do
- Work out whether it is 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.
- For businesses: move staff onto passkeys before 1 February 2027 and set up emergency admin accounts.
- Once you are in, add a second and third way in so it does not happen again.
Bring every device you own to the session, including old phones in the drawer. A device that is still signed in is often the key.
Remote or in person
| Service | Our rate | What that covers |
|---|---|---|
| On-site, any day | $205/hr | One flat rate, one-hour minimum, no call-out fee |
| Remote support | $125/hr | Secure remote session — no visit needed |
| Same-day service | No surcharge | Included as standard, subject to availability |
| Parts | Quoted upfront | Quoted separately for your approval before ordering |
Remote suits you if the computer still works and you need someone to guide and fix things. On site suits you if you would rather someone sat with you, anywhere across Canberra and the ACT.
Avoid these while you wait
- Do not call “Microsoft support” numbers from search ads. Fake support lines are a common scam.
- Do not delete your phone number or old recovery email from the account.
- Do not wipe or trade in an old phone.
- Do not submit the recovery form over and over from a new device — Microsoft allows two tries a day.
Want the background first? Read the passkey overview or the full guide to Microsoft lockouts.
Common questions
We are not Microsoft and cannot override its security. We work through every legitimate route with you, including devices that are still signed in and the account recovery form, then set up backup sign-ins.
Yes. On-site visits are $205 per hour with a one-hour minimum. If remote will do, it is $125 per hour.
No. You type your own passwords, and during a remote session you can see everything we do and end it at any time.
Yes. We help raise the request with Microsoft and gather what its Data Protection team needs, then set up emergency admin accounts so it cannot happen again. It can take several days on Microsoft’s side.
Yes, and it is a large part of what we are doing right now. We go at your pace and write down what was set up.
Book a Canberra technician
$205/hr on site, $125/hr remote, no call-out fee and no fix, no fee.
Book OnlineService scope: we diagnose hardware faults and handle batteries, software, data, networking and setup. Physical screen, keyboard, charging-port and hinge replacement we refer to a specialist. Pricing shown is our own published rate, current as at August 2026. Any parts are quoted separately for your approval.