How to convert my email from hotmail to outlook

Question

I'd like to update my email from @hotmail to @outlook, and I believe I can do this by adding an alias or similar. However, the only option that appears for me in my account is adding a new username, and when I type my email address here it says I cannot add it because the email already exists. When I send an email to this email address @outlook, I get a bounce back saying the email doesn't exist. Help! Thanks.

Answer 1

Hello,

There might be a misunderstanding here. If you have a hotmail.com address, it doesn't mean the same username but @outlook.com domain is reserved for you. They are technically two different email addresses.

The normal way to create this outlook.com alias is via

https://account.live.com

go to Your Info > Sign in preference, Add an alias.

Create new: this will allow you to use the native domain outlook.com to create a new alias.

However, if someone else arleady took that same username you desired, then there's not much you can do about it unfortunately. That's why it tells you it exists.

I will explain why you also got a bounce back email. The user who owned this outlook.com address at some point either deleted this email address, or didn't use it for 2 years so the email address got deleted by Mcirosoft. However, Microsoft doesn't allow recycle its own hotmail.com/outlook.com address, out of privacy and security concern, as they don't want you to end up getting emails meant for the previous owner. So, even if that address is deleted, it is reserved and cannot be created /used by others.

Answer 2

A hotmail.com address that already exists as a Microsoft account cannot be “converted” into an outlook.com address, and an existing outlook.com address cannot be moved onto a different Microsoft account.

Key points from the documented behavior and similar cases:

1. Outlook/Hotmail addresses are permanently tied to the Microsoft account where they were first created. They cannot be:
   • Re‑used as an alias on another Microsoft account, or
   • “Moved” or “merged” between accounts.
2. If an alias from a Microsoft domain (@hotmail.com, @outlook.com, @live.com, @msn.com) is removed from an account, that alias is permanently deleted and cannot be associated with any Microsoft account again.
   • This is explicitly stated under Remove an email address: removing a Microsoft-domain alias permanently deletes it and it cannot be re‑used.
3. Because Microsoft does not support account merging and does not recycle outlook.com aliases, an existing outlook.com address cannot be added to a different Microsoft account, even if the original account is closed.
4. To get an @outlook.com address on the same account as the existing @hotmail address, the supported path is:
   • Go to Manage how you sign in to Microsoft (the “how you sign in” page).
   • Use Add email to create a new Outlook.com email address and add it as an alias on the current Microsoft account.
   • After adding and verifying it, set the new @outlook.com alias as the primary alias if desired.
   • Do not delete the old @hotmail.com alias if continued mail access is needed; instead, leave it as a secondary alias so it can still receive mail.

If an @outlook.com address is showing as “already exists” when added as an alias, that means it is already tied to some Microsoft account (possibly one that was created implicitly in the past). Because Microsoft does not recycle or move such aliases, that specific address cannot be attached to the current account.

The practical options are therefore:

• Create a brand‑new @outlook.com alias on the existing account and make it primary, keeping the @hotmail.com alias for receiving mail; or
• Continue using the @hotmail.com address as the primary alias.

The bounced messages to the @outlook.com address indicate that mailbox is not usable for mail delivery, but the address string is still reserved in Microsoft’s systems and thus cannot be re‑added or moved.

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References:

• Add or remove an email alias in Outlook.com
• How to add an email address or phone number to your Microsoft account
• "Something went wrong" with error ADDriverStoreAccessNonLocalException
• Deleted hotmail email address from account - can I get it back? - Microsoft Q&A
• How to add an existing outlook.com account to my existing microsoft account? - Microsoft Q&A
• MSN email issues - Microsoft Q&A
• Lock or block login attempts - Microsoft Q&A