topic Re: Switch Hotmail Email Account in Discussions & Feedback

Switch Hotmail Email Account

gemz4the1 — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 11:28:32 GMT

Is it possible to amend the name of an email account (Hotmail) or create a new one and still have the emails from the old email address diverted to the new one without others having to add a new email address to their contacts?

Re: Switch Hotmail Email Account

adamtemp64 — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 11:33:20 GMT

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/hotmail/hotmail-help so you are now an outlook.com user

help for that can be found here http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/email-communication-help#email-communication-help=windows-7&v1h=win8tab1&v2h=win7tab1&v3h=winvistatab1&v4h=winxptab1 not an outlook.com user but the guides there should assist or you can ask a microsoft expert over there

Re: Switch Hotmail Email Account

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 11:34:11 GMT

Does this help http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows/outlook/add-alias-account

Re: Switch Hotmail Email Account

gemz4the1 — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 11:54:18 GMT

I tried your link damien1.

When I go to the settings, it isn't letting me add a new email address.

There are 2 options: one to create an alias and one to merge over from a previously created email address. I have tried adding the new email address but it won't work.

It's confusing - it said I can't add an alias until I create the email address and then when I created the email address it said that I can't use it as it has already been created.

Any ideas?

Re: Switch Hotmail Email Account

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 12:01:24 GMT

I have to admit I haven't tried it myself was just trying to help don't use hotmail myself

Re: Switch Hotmail Email Account

adamtemp64 — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 12:05:47 GMT

I would follow the help links to microsoft help forum where you can get an answer from someone that can help you. http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook_com/forum?auth=1

Re: Switch Hotmail Email Account

gemz4the1 — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 12:15:17 GMT

Ok thanks for your help adamtemp64 and damien1.

Re: Switch Hotmail Email Account

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 15:07:48 GMT

Let me see if I read this correctly. You made an email address but want its name to be slightly different. Outlook (hotmail) correctly informed you that you cannot make an alias without being logged into an account.

Regardless of if you used that alias on another of your mail accounts or someone else uses it, you won't be able to use that.

Anyway, when you register an alias, it creates a sub folder in your mail account and sets up a forwarding rule for all mail to that email alias to land in the designated sub folder. If for whatever reasons it does do this, you simply create a new folder then go into more mail options and set a up a basic forward rule to move all mail directed to the alias into the desired sub folder you just created.

As for mail coming to your old email name, you don't have to setup forwarding for that. Simply go into more mail options and choose the alias you created as the default name to send out email as. So when you go to respond to emails directed at the old address, the mail account will automatically mail out as your newly added alias.

edit: I forgot this bit. If you really REALLY want a certain email name but it is not available in the UK domain options when you go to create an alias then do this (Note this is a example):

1) Set your connection to use a proxy, for example, a proxy to Japan OR (more securer) / temporarily change the browser encoding language to Japanese (or whatever language your desire, in this case I use Japanese as an example.)

2) Go to create an alias and you should see new domain options available like @live.jp

You can choose any language, not just Japanese, as shown in that example above. You will also find that non-UK and non-US domains provided by MS have a much larger pool of usernames available.

I have registered myself two @live.jp aliases because I couldn't get those names available on either the UK and USA MS domains.

Technical facts (as I recall them):

A) You can log into your mail account with ANY alias you have on the mail account or with the original email name you created.

B) You can create 5 aliases per year with a maximum of 15 in an account's life time.

Re: Switch Hotmail Email Account

gemz4the1 — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 15:16:41 GMT

I have one hotmail email address. I want to have another one, but receive emails for both accounts in on one of the accounts.

When I first tried to add an alias, it said that I had to create a new hotmail address and then link it. The one I wanted was available so I created it, however when I went back on the page to link it, it says you cannot link an email address which is already in use.

I know i'm not the sharpest tool in the box but surely that contradicts itself?

Re: Switch Hotmail Email Account

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 15:31:35 GMT

Then going for the alias was the correct route. However, something seems to have gone amiss for you.

Simply logging into your email account, then clicking 'account settings' will take you to your account overview page where you will see 'Account aliases' and a bit down > add or change aliases'

From there you would simply click add alias, put in a name, click ok, job done (in no more than five seconds.)

Which route did you go down for creating an alias?

Re: Switch Hotmail Email Account

gemz4the1 — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 15:36:13 GMT

Hi Seacat.

I have done that and clicked add alias. I get 2 options -

1) create an alias and a new email address

2) create an alias with an existing email address.

I tried option 1) and it wouldn't work so I thought it'd work if I created the email address thay I wanted, set it up and then went back to that page to do option 2) but now it says that I can't do it as the email address has already been created.

Re: Switch Hotmail Email Account

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 15:41:27 GMT

Option #1 is what I use, aka 'Create a new email address and add it as an alias.'

So, when in the account overview, specifically under 'Account aliases', what do you see there (any email addresses listed)?

Re: Switch Hotmail Email Account

gemz4the1 — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 15:43:42 GMT

It just says the default account which is the one I always use.

I even tried to delete the new email address in a hope that I could add it as new again but it says that it has to be deactivated and then 'no activity for a while'

Re: Switch Hotmail Email Account

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 15:50:43 GMT

Curious. If you done option #1 it should have added an alias email under there as well as sent an email to you several seconds later informing you that your new email alias was ready to use.

Could you completely clear your browser cache, close the browser and open it again, relog into your email account, go into more mail settings then 'Manage your account aliases'

Is the alias you created there? or still missing, which if it is still missing, it sounds like for whatever reason, when you went via option #1, something bugged out.

Re: Switch Hotmail Email Account

gemz4the1 — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 15:51:25 GMT

I doubt it'll let me create an alias as I have already created the email address separately so I think i've buggered it up.......

I'll give it a try though

Re: Switch Hotmail Email Account

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 15:53:59 GMT

Oh that isn't for creating what already exists. It's just to see if your web browser is tripping out or not.

Re: Switch Hotmail Email Account

gemz4the1 — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 16:06:17 GMT

I did what you said and still the same. I have took a screenshot of the options that I have and what happens when I try to add it.

Re: Switch Hotmail Email Account

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 16:20:40 GMT

So in a nut shell, you went to account settings > add or change aliases > Left it at the default Option #1, put in a name and confirmed it was OK to proceed.

It created the email account, but it sounds like it failed to do the 'on the fly' stuff which consists of A) silently linking it to your account and then B) sending you out a confirmation email about the completion of the process. So in effect, the email address you want is floating in the nether, not attached to anything and now out of the available name pool.

I have two outlook (hotmail) accounts, between them they have about 14 aliases registered to them. I always use the default option #1 when creating an alias and never ran into this issue.

As a TEST, have you tried adding another alias (you can always remove it afterwards) to see if the process goes through ok the second time you add an alias? Does the test alias properly create or does it not?

And in a complete longshot, log out of your hotmail. Then try to login with the name+chosen domain you set for the problem alias, using the same password you log into main email account with. Does it work? Yes? good. No? Try doing a forgotten password on, does it give you a recovery option for it? Yes? then do it. No... then I'm at a blank.

However, if you can get into it via the route above, then log out, go back into main email account > account settings > add or change an alias. Choose option two, which is for turning a normal email into a email alias only, specificy it to use the desired username alias you tried to create and go through any security prompts it gives you until the process completes.

Re: Switch Hotmail Email Account

gemz4the1 — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 16:28:25 GMT

I have 2 email addresses and 1 for work. I wanted to add a new one to swap from an old one.

I didn't realise I had to do it this way (down the alias route) so I created the new email and then tried to link it (option 2). I have tried option 2 but it does not work. Now, if I go to option 1 is says the email address already exists (which it does). So then I go to option 2 and it says it is already taken - which is clearly is as it asks for an existing log in.

I have just tried option 1 (create a new alias) and it worked. However, it's not the one that I wanted nor the one that I set up.

Re: Switch Hotmail Email Account

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 16:52:02 GMT

Uh. That is a much more clear post. You didn't do the alias route the first time around and created a new full blown account with the desired name. Previously you were saying the opposite.

With the name you want being A full blown account, it means you can never use it as alias via Option #1 route until it is deleted after period of inactivity, thus dropping it back into the available name pool.

Having not used Option #2, aka, 'Add an existing email address as a Microsoft account alias'

I would assume that simply typing the new email address name in then going through the various security prompts (it should) bring up, it will make the second email into an alias.

I don't quite follow this line: "So then I go to option 2 and it says it is already taken - which is clearly is as it asks for an existing log in."

If you go for option #2 that should be obvious, it asks for a already existing email. So why it would whine about it then tell you to add an existing email after having complained about it, that's just bizarre. Maybe you need to log into the new account and see if it has received ANY emails regarding this alias switch process. If it has, deal with them to complete the process.

You have various options:

1) Do the above, if it has.

2) Set all mail to be forwarded from the old account to the new one and reply to the email from the new account. Or Set the new account to download mail in the old account to itself, and then reply to said email via the new account.

3) Change your browser font encoding temporarily, close the browser and re-open it, log into your hotmail > account settings > add or change an alias > add alias then use Option #1

So for example, say you wanted gemz4the1 but it wasn't available on the default list. Changing your browser font encoding temporarily for this process would give you new options like:

gemz4the1 @ hotmail.de

gemz4the1 @ live.de

gemz4the1 @ hotmail.jp

gemz4the1 @ live.jp

If you don't mind the domain name ending slightly different, then all good. Reset the browser encoding back to English after you're done.