I've been a hotmail.com user since 1994 and now that things have moved to Outlook.com, there are many changes and some which I really need help on. The most important is of course the obligation of providing a phone number. Currently, I do not have a phone number as I'm working in a remote area in South America. I use outlook for all my correspondence with family and friends and have done so for over 7 years.

All of a sudden, outlook has required us to provide a phone number which is used to relay some password so you can activate an upper level of security. Worst of all, they only give you a 10 day notice. Since noticing this warning, I've been trying to read up on blogs and forums to determine if any other party has had this problem. Although similar topics have been posted, they don't seem to be resolved. I called the microsoft 1-800-642-7676 number and the individual stated that outlook.com does not have live/phone-based customer support and their community forum would be the ONLY way to get this resolved. Most of the other topics are answered by non-microsoft folk who either agree with the question or somehow relate it to other free web-based email programs. I want to keep my email account with microsoft as its been in use for over a decade. I need an official reply.

How do I get around the phone number requirement? I cannot afford to lose this account. Please, if there is anyone out there that actually is employed by Microsoft and has the means to provide me with a step-by-step walkthrough on how to bypass this requirement, I'd be very thankful. I only have 3 days left to get this resolved!

Thanks,

Joyce