Create an Outlook Account Without a Phone Number

Yes, you can create an Outlook account without a phone number. When Microsoft asks for security info, it accepts an alternate email address, and it’s phasing out text-message codes for personal Microsoft accounts anyway. What you need is a second inbox you can open, not a phone.

Here’s how Outlook verification works, when Microsoft asks for a code, and what to do if it insists on a number.

Does Outlook need a phone number?

Not necessarily. An Outlook.com address is a Microsoft account, and Microsoft’s help says: “If you don’t have your own email, or want to get a new Outlook.com email address, go to outlook.com and select Create free account.”

When Microsoft wants to confirm it’s you, it may show “Let’s protect your account” or “Help us secure your account”. That screen asks for “an email address or phone number that we can send a verification code to,” and Microsoft adds: “It doesn’t have to be your email or phone number”. You only need to be able to open it.

Microsoft is phasing out SMS codes

Microsoft says it “will start phasing out SMS as a method of authentication and account recovery for personal Microsoft accounts.” Its reason is blunt: “SMS-based authentication is now a leading source of fraud”. It wants a verified email address and a passkey instead, and its security info page warns that “The option to add a new phone number may not be available for your Microsoft account.”

So for Outlook, a phone number matters less over time, not more. If Microsoft does offer to text you, note that “VOIP numbers cannot be added as a way to sign in or get verification codes.”

How to create an Outlook account without a phone number

1. Go to outlook.com and select Create free account.
2. Choose your new Outlook.com address and follow the steps on the screen.
3. When Microsoft asks for security info, enter an alternate email address, such as another inbox you already use.
4. Enter the code Microsoft emails you and select Verify. Real codes come from an @accountprotection.microsoft.com address.
5. Add a passkey or Microsoft Authenticator. Go to account.microsoft.com/security, select Manage how I sign in, then Add a new way to sign in or verify.

Microsoft’s rules apply here: “Don’t use programs, scripts, or bots to create Microsoft accounts,” and don’t “create or use multiple accounts to violate Microsoft policies.” Accounts that break its Services Agreement can be locked.

If Microsoft asks for a phone number anyway

If the only option on screen is a text message and you’d rather not use your own number, a real non-VoIP number can receive it. In the PVADeals app, choose Microsoft from the list of websites, and if it isn’t listed for your country, rent an All services number instead, which works on any website.

1. Create a free PVADeals account and add credits: crypto from $3, or a card through Stripe from $5.
2. Choose Microsoft, or an All services number, in the United States or the United Kingdom.
3. Enter the number and choose a text message. PVADeals numbers receive SMS only.
4. Copy the code from your PVADeals dashboard, where it appears as soon as it arrives.

PVADeals numbers are real mobile numbers from carriers, so Microsoft sees an ordinary mobile number. A short-term number (20 minutes) is enough to receive the code. Don’t leave it as your only security info: add an alternate email and a passkey straight away, or rent long-term (3 to 30 days, renewable) to keep the number. If an eligible number receives no SMS during the rental, its cost comes back to your balance automatically as store credit. See the prices below.

If the code doesn’t arrive

• Check your junk folder for an email from @accountprotection.microsoft.com.
• Don’t keep asking for codes. Microsoft says repeated requests “can cause us to block you and not send verification codes.”
• Wait. “Sometimes waiting a day can be enough to remove a block.”
• Don’t replace everything at once: “Make sure you don’t change all your security info at the same time, otherwise your account may be restricted for 30 days.”

Other email accounts

Signing up for another inbox? See our guides to Yahoo Mail, AOL Mail and Gmail without a phone number, or read how to get a temporary phone number for verification. To compare 10 free providers, see email without a phone number.