Verified October 2026 against PlayStation, Xbox and Microsoft support pages.
A recovery kit is a short, private record of the details you would want at hand if you lost access to your PlayStation Network or Microsoft account: the original sign-in email, your online ID or gamertag, your backup or recovery codes, the details the Microsoft recovery form asks about and your console's hardware ID or serial number, plus a few notes of your own. You collect it while you can still sign in, store it somewhere an attacker who takes your email or phone cannot reach, and review it a couple of times a year.
Why preparation matters more than the recovery itself
In practice, getting back in depends on showing the account is yours. Microsoft says plainly that its support agents are not allowed to send password reset links or access and change account details, so a locked Microsoft account is recovered through self-service tools such as the Sign-in Helper and, for accounts without two-step verification, the account recovery form, not by a person who takes your word for it.
That proof is built from things you knew or did when the account was healthy. Some of it cannot be looked up once you are locked out: PlayStation notes that if you can't sign in, you can't check your backup codes online, and Microsoft's recovery code can't be retrieved later either. The moment you need the kit is exactly the moment you can no longer assemble it.
What goes into the kit
Identity details for both platforms
- The original sign-in email. The address the account was created with, plus any address you later switched to. On PlayStation the sign-in ID (email) is separate from the online ID (the name other players see), so record both.
- Your online ID or gamertag, including any earlier names if you changed them.
Our own suggestions for your records
Neither Sony nor Microsoft publishes a list of what support will ask, so the items below are our suggestion for your own reference, not something either platform says it uses:
- The date of birth and country or region entered on the account, exactly as entered.
- Two or three transaction or order IDs from your store receipts, with dates.
- The type of payment method on file and its last few digits only. Never write down or share a full card number.
Codes and security info
- PSN backup codes. If you use 2-step verification, you can view a set of single-use backup codes under Account Management > Security > Backup Codes. Sony currently lists 10, and each works once.
- Microsoft recovery code. A 25-digit recovery code created under your sign-in settings. Generating a new one invalidates the previous code, so keep only the latest. If two-step verification is on, Microsoft says changes made with a recovery code take 30 days to take effect.
- A list of your security info: which phone numbers, alternate emails and authenticator apps are attached to each account. Microsoft recommends having three pieces of security info on the account.
Xbox-specific extras
- What the Microsoft recovery form asks about. The form asks for passwords you have used before, contacts you have emailed and subject lines of recent emails, along with your gamertag. A note of recent passwords inside a password manager is enough.
- Your console's hardware details. The form can ask for the hardware ID of a console you use often. On Xbox, the Console ID is under Profile & system > Settings > System > Console info. For a PlayStation console, Sony suggests recording the serial number, which can later help prove ownership.
Where to store it safely
The kit only helps if it survives the same event that locks you out. PlayStation warns that someone who gets into your email may be able to reset passwords for other accounts, so do not keep the kit only in that inbox or only on that phone.
- A password manager with its own strong master password and 2-step verification is a good home for identity details, old passwords and order IDs.
- Paper, stored at home, works well for backup and recovery codes. Microsoft advises not keeping your recovery code on a device you sign in with.
- Keep few copies, and know where each one is.
- Never photograph codes into a cloud album that syncs to the same account you are protecting, and never paste them into chats, forums or messages.
A kit is for you and the official support teams only. PlayStation tells you never to share your account details with anyone, and in our view no genuine recovery requires sending your password or a 2-step code to a stranger.
How the kit maps to common lockouts
Different lockouts lean on different parts of the kit.
- If someone swaps the email on your PlayStation account, you are signed out of all devices and the account's email is now theirs. The original email, online ID and console serial number are what you bring to PlayStation Support. The steps are in our guide on what to do when your PSN sign-in ID was changed.
- If you lose the phone that receives your PlayStation 2-step codes, the backup codes are the fastest way back in. See regaining PSN access after losing your 2-step phone.
- If your Microsoft password reset fails, try the Sign-in Helper first. If two-step verification is off, the old passwords, console hardware ID and a working contact email feed the recovery form. If two-step verification is on and you have no way left to get a code, Microsoft says it cannot help, so the form will not get you back in. Our walkthrough of recovering an Xbox account with the recovery form covers how to fill it in.
Keep it current
A kit goes stale quietly. Update it whenever you change your sign-in email, phone number or online ID, turn 2-step verification off and on, or create a new Microsoft recovery code. On PlayStation, turning 2-step verification off and on again issues new backup codes, so replace the old set at the same time. A quick review every six months is enough for most people; for the settings themselves, the PSN and Xbox security checklist goes through them in order.
What to do next
- While you are signed in, write down the sign-in email and online ID or gamertag for each account, plus any of our suggested extras you want to keep.
- Print or copy your PSN backup codes and create a Microsoft recovery code, then store them away from your phone and inbox.
- Record your Xbox Console ID and your PlayStation console's serial number.
- Set a reminder to review the kit in six months. For official detail, see PlayStation's 2-step verification help and Microsoft's recovery code guide.