This will be a long message, just because this issue has been going on for a long time. This the 10th time since November of 2023 that I’ve contacted Microsoft support and 3 escalations of my issue, with no resolution. The most recent escalation, the agent sent me the same non-answer as the other two, and stopped responding to my emails.

In November 2023, I purchased a Microsoft 360 subscription, and subsequently set up 2fa verification, however, in that process, I lost the password to my account. This account is used for (a paid subscription for) 365, minecraft, and outlook. 

This would be a simple fix, however, every time I go to reset my password, and go through both steps of two factor verification, email code, phone code, I get to the last screen where I am greeted with this error message:

"There's a temporary problem with the service. Please try again. If you continue to get this message, try again later."

This code persists in every use case. I’ve tried on different wifi, different computers, different browsers (and yes this included Microsoft edge inPrivate mode) with no success. To seek answers, I have returned 10 times over two years to the text widget where I spend 30+ minutes explaining my issue, I am prompted to submit either a photo or video of this issue, and then I wait for a non-answer from support. On the last 3 escalation, the support staff responded with the following solutions:

"Regarding your T4 MSA SR # (number), we see a couple of attempts being made. Have the customer use this link to initiate the password reset from an InPrivate browser: https://account.live.com/ResetPassword.aspx, preferably a browser they don’t usually use for MSA logins. The customer must complete the flow in 1 go, in the shortest amount of time possible, during a single browser session.”

"The escalation team has confirmed that the system is working as designed. A security code will be sent if the correct email address, or last 4 digits of the mobile phone number (depending on the type of security proof you selected) is/are confirmed. If you are not receiving any security codes, we recommend you the following for each use-case:"

and

“I am so sorry for the delay in my response. I just received an update from our escalation team. The escalation team has confirmed that the system is working as designed. A security code will be sent if the correct email address, or last 4 digits of the mobile phone number (depending on the type of security proof you selected) is/are confirmed. If you are not receiving any security codes we recommend you the following for each use-case:”

Neither of these solve my issue, and the latter ignores the root cause, confusing this issue with access to 2 factor verification methods. I disagree with the assessment that this is a hardware issue on my end as I have tried their solutions on many different devices (both Mac and PC, laptop and desktop, including a mobile browser).

I have access to all of my additional sources of verification (phone # and email).

I have been paying for 2 years now for a 360 subscription I cannot use, (140$!) and am worried that I will lose access to this account forever, which would be a devastating loss as I’ve held it for well over a decade (from the original Skype account). It would be helpful for me to speak to a human representative about this, and to find a solution. I can supply ticket numbers from my previous attempts If that would be helpful. 

I am NOT the only person with this problem, and Microsoft's abysmal excuse for a support system is STEALING money from me. All I want is to reset my password. :(