Client forgot Office 365 Pass

[frase]

Have a client whom I have taken over from previous tech. The issue is I cant access 365 as account pass does not work. Have tried to reset pass but comes up with this

We're sorry

You can't reset your own password because you haven't registered for password reset.

If you can't sign in, you must contact your administrator to reset your password for you.
After you can sign in again, register for self-service password reset,to make sure that you’re able to reset your own password in the future. If there are no other administrators in your organization, please contact Support.

The old tech doesnt respond to calls so no go there, would contacting MS Support help? I have no other way to access the accounts.

 

[Sky-Knight]

You get to contact support, no other way in. Bring your patience, this process is going to take time... counted in days.

 

[britechguy]

And before you contact support check to see if the client has a Microsoft account and whether their Office 365 license is linked to it. That could prove helpful.

 

[Fred Claus]

Also check to make sure the client gave you the correct email address. I had a client once where I was on the phone with support only to find out that the client used their personal email address instead of the business one. Once we fixed that issue they were able to log right in.

 

[frase]

nevermind all good, some idiot changed the pass.

 

[britechguy]

Serious question: What idiot? [Not that I want the literal answer.]

If the owner didn't know the current password that meant that they had to have shared the original with "that idiot" who ended up changing it, and not passing along the fact that they did.

A teachable moment if ever there was one about why passwords are not and should not be shared. Should circumstances conspire such that the password must be shared to accomplish something one cannot do oneself for whatever reason, it should be changed ASAP afterward to something only the password owner knows.

Of course, in this day and age in business settings, particularly small businesses, any responsible keeper of the passwords will use a password manager and have a "chain of command" in place such that the password manager master password can be passed along in the event of their death or long term incapacity so that vital business functions can be attended to. In fact, most individuals should be doing this as well, since the vast majority these days have lots of online accounts and the executors of their estates are far better served when they can access same for the purposes of settling the estate. That will be something that I include in my will and leave for my executor, as I'd prefer to not have a perpetual Gmail account, for one thing. Were I someone who used Facebook I'd want that account terminated after my death as well (but I avoid social media assiduously).

 

[frase]

Someone there thought they knew what they where doing. So they changed the pass to make them admin. Is all sorted now and have changed pass to secure myself as admin.