Change the Email Address (Alias) on Your Microsoft Account

You want to sign in with a different email address, add a second address to your account, or get rid of an old one you no longer use.

Why: the email addresses on a Microsoft account are called aliases. They all share the same inbox, OneDrive files, subscriptions, and settings, and you can sign in or send mail from any of them. So you don’t create a new account — you add an alias and (optionally) make it the primary one. Your data stays put.

Fix 1: Add a new email alias

1. Go to account.live.com/names/manage (your account’s “Manage how you sign in to Microsoft” page) and sign in. You can also reach it from account.microsoft.com → Your info → Account info.
2. Select Add email.
   • To create a brand-new Outlook.com/Hotmail address, choose Create a new email address and add it as an alias.
   • To use an existing address you own (e.g. a Gmail), choose Add an existing email address — Microsoft sends a verification link to confirm you own it.
3. Follow the prompts. The new alias now works to sign in and send/receive mail.

You can’t add an address that’s tied to a work or school account as an alias.

Fix 2: Make an alias your primary address

The primary alias is the one shown on your Microsoft devices and used as the default sign-in name.

1. On the same Manage how you sign in page, find the alias you want as primary.
2. Select Make primary next to it.

Note: Microsoft limits how often you can change the primary alias (a couple of times per week), so don’t expect to flip it back and forth repeatedly.

Fix 3: Remove an old alias

1. On the Manage how you sign in page, select Remove next to the address you no longer want.
2. Confirm.

Two things to know before you remove one:

• You can’t remove the primary alias — make another alias primary first (Fix 2), then remove the old one.
• A removed Outlook.com/Hotmail address is held for a while and can’t simply be re-added immediately, so don’t remove an address you might still need.

FAQ

Will I lose my emails or OneDrive files if I change my alias? No. Aliases share the same account — same inbox, files, subscriptions, and settings. Changing which one is primary doesn’t move or delete anything.

Can I turn a Gmail or Yahoo address into a sign-in alias? Yes, you can add an existing third-party address as an alias (after verifying it), as long as it isn’t attached to a work or school account.

Why won’t it let me remove an address? It’s probably your primary alias. Set a different alias as primary first, then remove the old one.

Does this change my Microsoft 365 / Office subscription? No. The subscription is tied to the account, not a single alias, so it follows you across all your aliases.

Sources: Microsoft Support — Change the email address or phone number for your Microsoft account · Microsoft Support — How to add an email address to your Microsoft account