Resetting the email Address

Hi Josette,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A!

I understand how frustrating it is to be completely blocked from your recently brought device. Your Surface is likely still linked to an existing Microsoft account, hence requesting verification under that email. Here’s what to do:

1 - Contact the previous owner or seller

• They must sign in to [account.microsoft.com] > Go to Devices
• Remove the Surface > You can now reset and set it up again.

2 - Perform a full clean reinstall

• You'll need another working device and a bootable media (e.g. USB)
• Plug the USB into PC > Open File Explorer > right-click the USB drive
• Choose Format > select FAT32 as the file system type
• Enter a Volume label (e.g. RECOVERY) > Start
• Visit the page to Download the recovery image for your Surface
• Sign in > Select your device: choose or enter its serial number)
• Confirm and download the recovery image > save it to your PC.
• Right click the downloaded package > Extract > Extract all.
• Select the USB drive you formatted earlier for the location.
• Shutdown the Surface > Plug the USB recovery drive in.
• Boot from the USB > Choose Remove everything during setup

Note: As the suggestion is for clean installation, your drive will be wiped clean with all your data.

3 - If the device is still locked after a clean reinstall

• The Surface may be registered to a work/school account or managed service
• This cannot be removed by reinstalling Windows
• Microsoft Support cannot unlock it without proof from the original owner
• In this situation, the only valid resolution is returning the device to the seller.

I hope that the information above can help with your issue. If you cannot get in contact with the previous owner, unfortunately Microsoft cannot remove or bypass another person’s account to give you access to the device. These restrictions are by design to protect users and prevent stolen-device reuse.

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To regain access to your Microsoft Surface after being prompted for an email address and verification code, you can try the following steps:

1. Use the Recovery Options: If you have access to any recovery options associated with the email account (like a phone number or an alternate email), use those to receive the verification code.
2. Account Recovery Form: If you cannot access the email account, you can fill out the Microsoft account recovery form at account.live.com/acsr. Provide as much information as possible about your account to help verify your identity.
3. Contact Microsoft Support: If the recovery form does not work, consider reaching out to Microsoft Support for assistance. They may be able to help you regain access to your account or provide alternative solutions.
4. Factory Reset: If you are unable to recover the account and you have no important data on the Surface, performing a factory reset might allow you to set it up as a new device. However, this will erase all data on the device.

Make sure to keep your recovery options updated in the future to avoid similar issues.

References:

• My personal hotmail account hacked by hacker with authentication app enabled. - Microsoft Q&A
• Can't sign in to my email - Microsoft Q&A