How to Unlock Temporarily Blocked Office 365 Account?

Due to any suspicious you lock out of Office 365? If everything is alright but you are still facing this issue. Don’t worry, I am here to help you in this scenario. In this article, I am going to explain the reasons why your Office 365 temporarily locked out and ways to resolve them.

Many organizations use Microsoft 365 because of its cloud services with Microsoft products. The suite is a complete package for the businesses including the advanced security functions. But because of this tight security measures make it impossible to access Microsoft 365 accounts.

Having your Office 365 locked out, even temporarily disrupts the work flow. It stops the communication, delays the task, and halt the entire project. Companies whose works need real-time collaboration and email responsiveness will have a huge effect on their work which is not good for the business. So, whenever you are facing this problem, Office 365 is temporarily locked out. You need to quickly solve them.

Why Microsoft 365 Temporarily Locked Out?

The main reason why your account is locked for a while is due to protective measures against suspicious and potential harmful activity. But, there can be other reasons as well, which I explained below.

• When a user signs in to an Office 365 account and every time they enter incorrect credentials. This way the suite will assume an unauthorised user is trying to log in. This way your account is locked out.
• Activities like you are accessing your account from a new country, device or IP address. This will trigger the automated system of Microsoft to block the access of your account temporarily.
• If Microsoft detects that somehow your credentials have been leaked or stolen. It will make your account temporarily locked so that no unauthorized user will access your account.
• If there is violation of Office 365 user policies, this will also lead your account to be temporarily locked out.
• Sometimes, administrators set up their security policies. which automatically lock the user account if it is against the policies that have been set.

These are the other reasons why your account is locked out temporarily. But, how do you know your account is locked? Below I have mentioned some signs that indicate your Microsoft 365 account is temporarily blocked.

Signs When Office 365 Blocked Temporarily

In some cases, Microsoft blocked your account. But, it doesn’t provide you a clear message that your account is temporarily locked. To know if the account is locked or not, below are the signs.

• When you get an error message like “Your account has been temporarily locked due to suspicious activity”.
• Suddenly you lose the access of Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint, and other connected services.
• In your Outlook application, you may notice that your new emails stop syncing or fail to send.
• If the security notification is enabled, then the admin may receive emails or Microsoft Defender alerts telling you your account sign-in has been blocked.
• The office 365 admin portal also shows the blocked user account. By going through the Users option, then Active Users.

So, it is important to resolve this problem as soon as possible. In the upcoming sections of the article I am going to discuss the methods to fix this issue.

Fixed Office 365 Temporarily Locked for Users

To help you in this situation, I divided the methods into two categories: fixed the problem for users and resolved the issue for the admin. First, I am going to explain the solutions that a user can use.

1. Wait to End Lockout Period: Typically when Microsoft does not detect any further suspicious activity. It will unlock your account after some time. Meanwhile, don’t try to attempt login and do not reset your password. This could extend the lockout.
2. Microsoft Self-Recovery Tool: If your account does not automatically unlock, then you can use this utility. This process will be useful when you don’t find admin support immediately. Follow the steps to see how it works.
   • First, go to the Microsoft account recovery page.
   • Choose the option I think someone else is using your Microsoft account for why resetting your password?
   • Provide your blocked Office 365 email ID and verify it.
   • You can either verify your account by receiving security code via SMS or emails, answering security questions, providing recent account activity or you can choose I don’t have any of these options.
   • Reset your new password and follow the instructions to confirm it.
3. Sign in to a Trusted device or network: If you try to login to the account from a new location or device. This will trigger the lockout account. In that case, try to log in to your account to a new device and location. You can also use corporate VPN if you are working remotely.
4. Submit Microsoft Support Request: If you use personal account,
   • Visit the Official Microsoft Account Recovery Support Page.
   • Click on the Start button under the My account has been locked section.
   • Provide your locked account email address.
   • Fill out the Identity Verification Form and submit it. Wait for their response.

Unlock Temporary Microsoft 365 Account For Admins

The above methods used by users to unblock their account. In this, I discuss the solutions that only the admin can follow. Here, they are.

1. Unlock User Account using Office 365 Admin Center: By going through the admin portal, you can see the blocked account and unblocked it. Below are the steps to do this.
   • Log in to the admin portal using the Global admin credentials.
   • Then, go through the Users and Active Users option.
   • Search the user account that is locked out. Click on the User’s name.
   • Select the Account tab or Sign-in Status option.
   • If you see the Sign-in block. Then, hit the Edit option.
   • Change the status to Allowed and press the Save button.
   • If there is any suspicious activity, reset the password.
   • Lastly, inform the users about the account and password.
2. Use PowerShell: With the PowerShell command you can easily unblock the user account. Follow the steps below.
   • Connect to Microsoft 365 using this command: Connect-MsolService
   • Verify the User’s sign-in status: Get-MsolUser -UserPrincipalName [email protected] | Select DisplayName, BlockCredential
   • Now, to unblock the users account, type this: Set-MsolUser -UserPrincipalName [email protected] -BlockCredential $false

Here are the solutions to unlock temporary office 365 account. Follow them properly and unlock your account.

Protect Data When Your Microsoft 365 Account Blocked

As you know temporary lock out comes unexpected. Because of the multiple security reasons. You are not able to access your Office 365 account which is a not great for businesses. Especially when you urgently need your data. So, when you can access your account again. Immediately take backup of Office 365 data so that you can still have your data when your account is locked.

The easy and secure way to do that is to use SysTools Microsoft 365 Backup Software. A professional tool that can easily save your data without any issues.

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Concluding Words

Microsoft has such strong security measures that a minor activity can block your account. So, I have provided you solutions which you can use it to take out your Office 365 from temporarily locked. The problem is not only about your account is not accessible, but is also about your data security and business. That’s why, monitor any suspicious activity and backup your data.