Note-to-self: You lost access to your initial Office 365 admin?

Although Microsoft has built in quite some methods to regain access to your 0365 tenant/account, you might have some bad luck one day… (experience talking here)

First of all you should try the default options, meaning : the password reset options.

The direct way to get there is the first link to bookmark: https://passwordreset.microsoftonline.com/

Another way to get there is in the 0365 logon page (also for Azure),

If you forgot your password or can’t access the account, hit the link at the bottom.
You get directed to :

If you know the logon, you can proceed to

You notice that the verification is pointing to your alternative mail address or your mobile number…

But what if you forgot your original logon ID (mail address), eg in case you have setup a test tenant in 0365 with an mail address you don’t use frequently? (yes, that happens)

If that is not working or you need more help, check these options:

• Microsoft Support: A user or an administrator forgot his or her password in Office 365, Azure, or Intune
• Reset my admin password for Office 365

And if you really ran out of luck: you might raise a ticket and ask for help. https://portal.office.com/support/newsignupservicerequest.aspx

Anyway, as shown there are some options when configuring 0365 that should keep you out of trouble in the first place

• make sure to add a mobile number to your user account
• make sure to add a secondary email address to your account (not belonging to your O365 domain)
• Configure and test MFA (multifactor Authentication), eg with the Authenticator app
• add a secondary admin account with sufficient rights (with the same security measures!)

(Last update: 2020-12-31)