I currently have two accounts under the same email address, how do I merge these, or delete one?

I think I have two 365 accounts. I was trying to update mine because it was not performing properly and ended up buying a new one. Because there is no support from Microsoft, I can't even figure out how to confirm this. Apple support tried to help me but I think Microsoft likes that I keep buying new accounts when attempting to update.

The update attempt came about because my Microsoft word document showed "virus detected" when I tried to email it. I have to figure this out because I am a book editor and have to be able to email documents.

Hello Chris,

I'm Ibhadighi and I'd happily help you with your question. In this forum, we are Microsoft consumers just like yourself.

It sounds like you have two different types of accounts associated with the same email address in Outlook: one personal and one business. This situation typically occurs with Microsoft accounts where one is a personal Microsoft account and the other is managed through Microsoft 365 (previously Office 365) as a work or school account.

Here’s a straightforward way to handle this:

1. Choose an Account Type When Prompted: When you see the pop-up asking you to choose between a personal or a business account, select the one you need to access at that moment. Your choice won’t delete or affect the other account; it only determines which account you are accessing.
2. Identify Account Types:
   • Personal Account: This is usually tied to services like Outlook.com, OneDrive, Xbox Live, or other personal services.
   • Business Account: This is associated with your workplace or school and is managed by an organization’s IT department, giving you access to Microsoft 365 services.
3. Merging Accounts: Microsoft does not support merging of personal and business accounts as they serve different purposes and have different sets of services and permissions. You will need to continue managing them separately.
4. Deleting an Account:
   • If you decide you no longer need one of the accounts, you can close it. However, be cautious with this decision as deleting an account is permanent and will result in the loss of all data associated with that account.
   • For a personal account, you can close it by visiting the Microsoft account closure page.
   • For a business account, you might need to contact your organization's IT department as they manage these accounts.
5. Checking Outlook Version: To check if you are using the classic version of Outlook or a newer one, you can generally tell by the appearance and features, or you can check under File > Office Account where you’ll find the product information and updates.

If you need specific features or data from both accounts, you should maintain both but manage them separately based on their intended use (personal or business).

I hope this helps.

Best Regards, Ibhadighi

Thanks again! checking all I can... re: item #1 & 2, i only have the one account.

re: 3- no aliases. re 4: i did a quick repair, i hope that helps, will try the longer version if not. re #5: i'm on MS exchange, hence no PST nor OST locally available.

thank you!

Hello Chris,

It sounds like there might be some confusion regarding your account setup in Outlook 2016. Here's what you can do to address the issue where you are asked to choose between a "personal" or "business" account:

1. Check Account Setup:
   • Open Outlook 2016.
   • Go to **File > Info > Account Settings > Account Settings**.
   • Look at the list of email accounts you have set up. Check if there are multiple entries for the same email address and what type each is categorized as.
2. Remove Duplicate Account:
   • If you see two accounts with the same email address, consider removing the one that you do not recognize or that you think may have been mistakenly added.
   • Select the account, and click **Remove**.
3. Verify Primary and Secondary Alias:
   • Visit the Microsoft account website ([https://account.microsoft.com/](https://account.microsoft.com/))](https://account.microsoft.com/%29%29) and log in.
   • Check under "Your info" and "Email & accounts" to see the list of aliases and account types associated with your email. Adjust these if necessary.
4. Update or Repair Outlook:
   • Since you are on a slightly older version of Outlook, consider updating to the latest patches or conducting a repair install.
   • Go to **Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features**, find Microsoft Office in the list, select it, and click **Change**. Then choose **Repair**.
5. Scan for Issues:
   • Use the Outlook inbox repair tool (ScanPST.exe) to check for any corruption in your Outlook data files.
   • You can find the ScanPST.exe tool inside your Office installation directory, usually under C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16.

By following these steps, you should be able to clarify the nature of the accounts set up with your email address and resolve any misconfigurations. If the issue persists, you might want to create a new Outlook profile entirely and re-add your email account to see if that clears up the confusion.

Thank you, Ibhadighi

thank you for your answer. I never had this email account associated with a business. that's why this is confusing. there is no "organization IT department". it was also never associated with any school.

regarding the version: it's microsoft outlook 2016 MSO, version 2403.