change microsoft account email address from @sympatico.ca

I really wish that a Microsoft Customer Service Rep would really look into this issue.  I'm sure there are a lot of people in this situation would would like to be able to change their primary alias away from sympatico.ca, but neither Microsoft or Bell Canada seems to be able to solve the problem.  I've seen numerous threads talking about this issue, but no resolution.  The last time I asked on this forum I was told to let my Outlook.com account expire for 3 months and then try to add it again and that would solve the problem.  I knew that was BS, but I did it just so I could say "I told you so".   I've emailed Bell Canada and have received no reply.

I'll try to explain again.

At some point in the past, Bell Canada's internet service, Sympatico was linked to Microsoft and MSN.  At the time, our Sympatico.ca addresses where used as our Microsoft UserID.  Bell was using the original Hotmail.com and then Outlook.com as our online email client.  This was great because we could use this account for everything Microsoft or Xbox related.  My email, Windows login, Xbox, Office 365 and Windows phone all use my Sympatico.ca address as my primary alias.

Now, Bell seems to have ended the partnership with Microsoft/MSN.  Bell has switched over to an inferior POP3 email client.  I have no interest in using this email client so I'm trying to switch everything over to my Oulook.com account.  But because I'm not allowed to switch my primary alias away from Sympatico to Oulook this is becoming quite problematic.

If I cancel my Sympatico account altogether, what happens to my Windows, Xbox, Groove music pass, Office 365 subscription?  All of these accounts are set up with my Sympatico primary alias which will no longer exist.

Why is it so hard to separate these accounts?  Why doesn't anyone seem to understand what we are talking about?  Please don't just point us to another thread that doesn't really apply to this situation.  Please find a true resolution. It feels like this should just be an easy setting in a Microsoft Active Directory somewhere on the Microsoft or Bell end but nobody seems to be able to figure it out.  Why?

I finally got it fixed but this was one heck of a hard one to find an answer for. Bell cannot help you in any way so no need to bug them, they tried and cannot do anything. You need to escalate this with MS(or xbox, they started me in the right direction) and hopefully reach their global escalation department. They are able to do something with the account and the next time you log in you can change the email. You do have to verify the account by providing lots of information. So it does not take you months like me you can maybe reference these support ticket numbers as the problem does seem quite rare. SRX1355508559ID, 1355508559 and SRX1352503074ID.  But if you don't feel like going thru the whole trouble I have read that even if you cancel with bell your account should stay active but the only thing is never ever forget the password because you will no longer have access to the sympatico email for recovery. Also I did hear a rumor that these account will eventually be migrated away from the bell branding they have so maybe that will unlock the option to change the primary...when this happens or if I don't know. Good luck and don't give up, there is a solution albeit hard to find.

I had opened a ticket. My ticket No. SRX1366802411ID, Service Request 1366802411 via "Answer Desk". When they couldn't resolve the issue, I asked them to escalate it, as Dawn suggested.  Yesterday (within 48 hours of my request), I rec'd an email from Global Escalation Services Team advising that my "primary alias (******@sympatico.ca) for this account has been evicted from our system". So I cannot add it back in but I was able to change the primary to my ...outlook.com ID.  As Dawn said, the key is escalating to the Global team.  Hope this helps !  Here is an excerpt from their email to me:

Service Request 1366802411

Hello,

We recently received an escalation regarding the Microsoft account*******@sympatico.ca**. The primary alias for this account has been evicted from our system. The email address******@outlook.com is already an alias on this account, so****myname@***sympatico.ca will not be able to be renamed to this domain. However, since it is an alias on the account, you may still sign in using this address once the account is renamed. In order to continue using this account, you will need to choose a new email address to use as the primary alias/account name.

First, log into the account at https://account.live.com.  Once you are signed in, you should see a prompt asking you to select a new account name. Enter a new email address to use as the primary alias/account name, and complete any remaining fields shown on the page. When the rename process is complete, you can use the new email address to sign into the account and access your online services.

*Please let me know if you have any questions or encounter any further issues.*If you would like to be contacted by phone to discuss your case, please provide a phone number where I can reach you and I'd be happy to give you a call.

Hi,

Thank you for getting in touch with Microsoft Community.

Form the issue description, I understand that you are using a custom domain Email account. I would like to inform you that, the Windows Live Admin Center was decommissioned in 2014.  I suggest you to refer the following Microsoft article and check.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/migrate-custom-domain

Hope this information is helpful. If you need further assistance, get back to us. We will be glad to assist you.

Thank you.