How can I correct a typo on email address used when setting up microsoft on my computer?

Question

When setting up my computer, I inadvertently had a typo in the email address entered. I have created an online account with the correct address, and have a subscription to Microsoft 365. When trying to access Word, Excel, etc...on my computer, it fails because it is trying to verify through the incorrect email address. How do I correct the email?

Answer 1

Hi, I'm John! I will help you with this.

When you set up the PC, Windows may have created the user profile using that incorrect email. In that case, you usually just need to remove the wrong account and sign in with the correct one.

Please try this first:

• Go to Settings > Click Accounts > Select Email & accounts
• Under Accounts used by other apps, look for the incorrect email
• Click it and choose Remove
• Restart your PC.

After the restart, please do the following:

• Open Word or Excel > Click File > Select Account
• If you see the wrong email still signed in, click Sign out
• Then click Sign in and enter your correct Microsoft account (the one with your Microsoft 365 subscription)

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If issue still persists:

Before installing, it’s a good idea to uninstall all existing versions of Office to avoid conflicts.

Here’s how:

• Open the Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features.
• Look for any version of Microsoft Office or Office apps, right-click, then choose Uninstall. Please uninstall all Office apps.
• Once that’s done, restart your computer just to be safe.

Then, to reinstall Microsoft Office:

• Go to https://account.microsoft.com/services
• Sign in using the same Microsoft account linked to your license.
• Find your Microsoft 365 subscription and click the "Install".
• That will download the installer for the Office apps, just run it and follow the steps.

If anything’s unclear or the "Install" option still doesn’t show, feel free to let me know. I’ll be happy to walk you through it!

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I really hope this information is helpful! Let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Regards,

John J.D.

Answer 2

To correct the typo, the Windows user profile and the Microsoft account/alias being used on the device must be aligned with the correct email address.

Follow these steps:

1. Confirm the correct Microsoft account and aliases
   • Go to the Your info page of the Microsoft account that has the correct email and the Microsoft 365 subscription: https://account.microsoft.com/profile
   • Select Manage how you sign in to Microsoft.
   • Under Account aliases, make sure the correct email address is listed.
   • If needed, add the correct email as an alias and select Make primary so verification codes and sign-in use this address.
   • If the incorrect (typo) address was added as an alias, select Remove next to it to stop it being used.
2. Make sure verification can use the correct email
   • Still in the account, ensure the correct email is set up as a verification method or primary alias so sign-in and activation prompts can reach it. Verification codes can only be sent to the primary alias or another email added as a way to verify sign-in.
3. Sign out of Office apps and sign back in with the correct account
   • Open Word or Excel on the computer.
   • Go to Account (or File > Account).
   • Sign out of any existing account shown (this will be the one with the typo).
   • Close the app, reopen it, and sign in using the correct Microsoft account email (the one that holds the Microsoft 365 subscription and is now the primary alias).
4. If Windows sign-in is tied to the wrong email
   • If the Windows user account itself was created with the mistyped email, sign in to Windows with that account, then:
     • Go to Settings > Accounts and switch the device to use the correct Microsoft account (this may require adding the correct account and signing in with it).
   • After switching, open Office apps again and confirm they are signed in with the correct account.

If the wrong email is a work/school-style address or conflicts with another account, renaming the personal Microsoft account and setting the correct email as the primary alias (as above) is the supported way to stop prompts going to the wrong address.

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References:

• Change the email address or phone number for your Microsoft account
• Which account do you want to use?
• How to verify an email address in your Microsoft account