A "+" in an (alternative) e-mail adress for Outlook account is not accepted as valid?!

Question

A "+" in an (alternative) e-mail adress for Outlook account is not accepted as valid?!

Jay Paans 0

I'm trying to add a new e-mail address as back-up (or alternative) to my Outlook account, via https://account.live.com/proofs/Add. I want to use an address in the form of example+microsoft at gmail.com (that is: with a "+" in it) but the web page says that is not valid, so I can't continue. This form should definitely be considered as valid.

And don't tell me it's not valid, because it simply must be.

0 comments

1 answer

Your answer

Answer 1

Chloe-L 13,710 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello @Jay Paans,

Thanks for using Microsoft product and posting in the Microsoft Q&A. I understand you're having trouble adding a plus-addressed email as a backup for your account, and I appreciate you reaching out for assistance.

You are correct that a plus-addressed email is a valid format according to email standards. However, our system's validation for security and account management does not accept the "+" symbol. This is a deliberate design choice by Microsoft for our specific account services and isn't a limitation of the email protocol itself.

The reason you cannot use an address like ******@gmail.com as a backup is that our system flags the plus sign as an invalid character for this field.

An alias or email address can only contain letters, numbers, dot (.), underscore (_) or dash/hyphen (-). Spaces and other special characters aren't allowed.

Since you're unable to use the plus-addressed version, here are a few options to ensure you can still add a backup email successfully:

Use the original email address: The simplest solution is to use your main email address, like ******@gmail.com, without the plus sign. Emails sent to the plus-addressed version will still be delivered to your main inbox, so you will receive the verification code.
Use a different email address: If you have another email address that doesn't use the plus addressing feature, you can use that one instead.

For more information on the valid characters for email aliases, you can refer to our official support page: Add or remove an email alias in Outlook.com - Microsoft Support

Thank you for your understanding. Please let me know if you have any other questions or if there is anything else I can assist you with.

Best regards

Chloe L. | Microsoft Q&A Support Specialist

Jay Paans 0 Reputation points

2025-08-22T23:12:34.6+00:00

Hi Chloe. Thanks for your response. I am aware that this is the current situation. What I mean is to recommend that this character (or this format, if you will) is going to be accepted. It's pretty common practice and I know for a fact that many others have been asking for (or complaining about) this exact same thing for years. Please pass this on whatever team is burdoned with this subject.
Jay Paans 0 Reputation points

2025-08-23T12:02:36.9333333+00:00

Hi Chloe. Thanks for your response. I am aware that this is the current situation. What I mean is to recommend that this character (or this format, if you will) is going to be accepted. It's pretty common practice and I know for a fact that many others have been asking for (or complaining about) this exact same thing for years. Please pass this on whatever team is burdened with this subject.
Chloe-L 13,710 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-08-25T18:34:59.23+00:00

Dear @Jay Paans,

My apologies for the delay in getting back to you.

Thank you for that clarification. I understand completely—you're not asking for a current workaround but rather recommending a change to the platform's functionality for future use. I agree that this is a feature many users would find beneficial, and I appreciate you bringing it to my attention.

Your feedback is extremely valuable, and I will absolutely pass this on to the Microsoft Teams responsible for the design and functionality of the community forums. While I can't guarantee a specific outcome, I can assure you that your request, along with the feedback from other users, will be submitted for review. They are always looking for ways to improve the user experience, and hearing directly from the community is the best way to do that.

In the meantime, you can click the following link to go to the Microsoft Developer Community and submit feedback to the corresponding section, which covers almost all Microsoft applications:

Ideas · Community

Thank you for helping us make this a better platform. If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Warm regards

Chloe L. | Microsoft Q&A Support Specialist