Display name in Outlook.com shows email address instead of name

Question

Hello,

I access outlook.com or live.com through web and android app.

The display name on my Outlook account profile is Firstname Lastname and primary email address is ****@outlook.com. While sending/ receiving emails, emails appear to be sent as/ received from @outlook.com <@outlook.com>. In other words, only email address appears in both fields while the display name doesn't show while sending/ receiving emails through this account.

I don't use this account to check emails through POP/ SMTP/ IMAP service on any other device except using the android app on handheld devices, hence outlook.com picking up this field from another standalone/ Microsoft365 Office product gets ruled out. I use two accounts on outlook.com, but have been observing this behaviour only on this account from last two months, after I changed the display name.

I do have multiple aliases for the above primary email address, and have tried logging from these aliases. Changed the primary email address to one of these aliases, but any of these changes haven't made any difference. Also tried to reset the account on android app also.

Is there a possibility that the security of this account has been compromised, and somebody has tried to configure this account without my knowledge through IMAP/ SMTP etc. over last two months? I have recently changed the password of this account, which has MFA enabled and the password is quite complex. Don't find any unusual activity in Password

Please help.

Thank you!

Answer 1

I understand your concern. It seems like you've already tried a number of troubleshooting steps, including changing your primary alias and updating your First and Last Name in your account profile. However, the issue persists.

Based on the information you provided and the search results I found, here are a few more suggestions:

1. Clear the Auto-Complete list: In some cases, the display name might be cached in your Outlook client. You can try to clear this cache.
2. Check "Mail Flow" settings: There's a setting in the "Mail Flow" section of the Outlook admin center that allows you to "Turn on sending from aliases". You might want to check if this setting is enabled.
3. Delete and re-add your account: This is a known issue and one suggested workaround is to delete and re-add your account.
4. Wait for changes to take effect: Sometimes, changes to your account settings might take some time to propagate. If you've recently made changes, you might want to wait for 24 hours and then check again.

As for your concern about the security of your account, if you have Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) enabled and have recently changed your password, it's less likely that your account has been compromised. However, it's always a good idea to review your account activity regularly.

Regards Adeyemi

Answer 2

Hello Adeyemi,

The question was related to a personal account hosted on Outlook.com (or live.com) formerly known as Hotmail.com, which is used via the web, and Android app from GooglePlay. No contact card exists with the concerned email address in my account. Also I do not have this account configured via POP/ IMAP ports on Microsoft Outlook, so the solution offered for resetting the Outlook profile, does not apply here.

All,

To troubleshoot this issue further, I swapped the primary alias from @outlook.com to **@hotmail.com and also changed the First and Last Name in my account profile to FirstName LastName. These changes get saved on my account, and after logging out I log in to this email account on outlook.com with @hotmail.com. After logging in, and clicking the account details on the top right-hand corner, I noticed that the @outlook.com <@outlook.com> exists as the first account, while FirstName LastName <@hotmail.com> exists as the second entry. On trying to sign-out from the first account, I get signed out completely. The same thing happens when I try to sign out from the second account entry FirstName LastName <@hotmail.com>.

I am not sure why my account is behaving cryptic, unlike other accounts. This account was created in the year 2000.

Thanks!

Answer 3

Hello

I’m Adeyemi and I’d be happy to help you with your question.

If the display name is showing as an email address, it might be because that's how the contact information is saved in your account. You can check this by going to your contacts and seeing how the information is saved. If none of this works, you might need to reset your account settings Resetting your Outlook account settings can be done by creating a new Outlook profile. Here's how you can do it:

1. With Outlook closed, open the Control Panel
2. Select the Mail app
3. Select Show Profiles > Add
4. Give the new profile a name (no need to remove the existing Outlook profile)
5. Configure your email account(s)
6. Set the newly created Outlook profile as the default for the next time Outlook is opened

Please note that these steps will start your Outlook settings from scratch, so make sure to note down any specific settings you had before.

I hope this helps

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Regards Adeyemi