Can't add phone Number to Microsoft Account

Question

wont allow me to add my phone number to my microsoft account profile, says cant allow this alias?

Answer 1

Hi Monica Frazier

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A Forum. I understand that you are unable to add a phone number to your Microsoft account profile and receive a message saying the number cannot be used as an alias.

Please make sure you already tried the Q&A Assist steps. In addition, please try the following.

1, Sign in to your Microsoft account and temporarily remove any existing phone numbers listed under security information, then save the changes and sign out completely.

2, Open a new private or incognito browser window, sign back in, and try adding the phone number again to rule out cached data issues.

3, Make sure the country/region selected for the phone number exactly matches the SIM card’s registered country, including the correct country code.

4, If you recently removed this same number from another Microsoft account, wait at least 48 hours before attempting to add it again, as backend synchronization may still be in progress.

5, If you have two-step verification enabled, temporarily turn it off, add the phone number, then re-enable it after the number is successfully added.

Please feel free to let me know how it goes. Thank you so much for your time and understanding.

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Answer 2

The message that the phone number “can’t be used as an alias” usually means the number is already associated with a different Microsoft account, or it’s a type of number that Microsoft does not allow as a sign‑in alias.

Try these checks and fixes:

1. Confirm the number type

• VOIP numbers cannot be added as a way to sign in or get verification codes.
• If the number is VOIP (internet phone, app-based number, etc.), use a mobile phone number instead.

2. Check if the number is already used on another Microsoft account

• When a phone number is already an alias on another Microsoft account, it cannot be added as an alias on a second account.
• If the error appears like “phone number is already used” or similar:
  • If that other account is yours and you want the number on this account instead, use the Transfer number or Sign up/Sign in options shown in the message and follow the prompts to move it.
  • If you don’t see a transfer option, the number was recently used on another account. In that case, choose Change number and either:
    • Use a different phone number, or
    • Wait 30 days and then try again to see if the transfer option appears.

3. Add the phone number correctly as an alias

1. Go to the “how you sign in” page for the Microsoft account:
   • Use the Edit account info link from the documentation: https://account.live.com/names/manage
2. Select Add phone number.
3. Enter the mobile number and follow the verification steps.

4. If still blocked from adding the number

• Some Microsoft products and services require a phone number; if the one being used is blocked or already tied to another account, a different mobile number may be required.

If none of the above works and the number is definitely a mobile number that should be free, contact Microsoft support for account-specific investigation.

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References:

• How to add an email address or phone number to your Microsoft account
• Help with "phone number is already used" in a Microsoft account
• Change the email address or phone number for your Microsoft account
• Troubleshoot Microsoft verification code issues
• "Something went wrong" with error ADDriverStoreAccessNonLocalException