I have an outlook account but my hotmail is not syncing to that account. I have no means of accessing my hotmail folder. When I add the account in outlook I have an error message .

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I have an outlook account but my hotmail is not syncing to that account. I have no means of accessing my hotmail folder. When I add the account in outlook I have an error message .

Mara Modlin 0

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Hornblower409 7,570 Reputation points

2026-03-18T22:48:11.41+00:00

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2 answers

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Hornblower409 7,570 Reputation points

2026-03-18T22:48:11.41+00:00

If the Q&A Assist Answer did not solve your problem:

Click the [No] button on the "Was this answer helpful?" bar under the answer. If there is a [Reject] button visible, click that too. This should signal the forum moderators that you want a human to pick up this question.

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Answer 1

Please note that our forum is a public platform, and we will modify your question to hide your personal information in the description. Kindly ensure that you hide any personal or organizational information the next time you post an error or other details to protect personal data.

Hi Mara Modlin

Have you tried the AI given steps? Could you confirm:

When you sign in at Outlook.com in a browser using the Hotmail address, is it the same inbox as your Outlook.com address (alias) or a different mailbox?
When you remove the account in new Outlook, do you see Remove from all devices or only this device?

Please also confirm whether Hotmail is an alias or a separate account. An alias uses the same inbox and account settings, and you can sign in with any alias using the same password. If it’s an alias, you won’t see a separate “Hotmail mailbox” in Outlook.

Let me know how it goes. I would love to hear from you soon!

Alice-N 8,725 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-17T04:23:15.8766667+00:00

Hi Mara Modlin

I hope you are doing well ! I just want to check if you have had a chance to check my reply earlier? Please let me know.

Have a lovely day!

Answer 2

For a Hotmail address, the mailbox must be added as an Outlook.com/Microsoft account type and not as Exchange, Microsoft 365, or a generic IMAP/POP account. If the wrong account type is used, messages and folders will not sync and errors can appear when connecting.

Verify the account type in classic Outlook:

Open Outlook.
Go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings.
On the Email tab, check the Type column for the Hotmail address.
If it is not listed as an Outlook.com-type account, remove it from the profile.
Select New, then add the Hotmail address and let Outlook automatically configure it as an Outlook.com account.

If using Outlook 2016 with Microsoft To Do and the Hotmail address is part of a personal Microsoft account, tasks and related mailbox data sync only when the primary alias is an Outlook.com-family domain such as @outlook.com, @hotmail.com, @live.com, or @msn.com. If the primary alias is a different domain (for example, Gmail or Yahoo), create an Outlook.com alias, make it primary, then re-add the account in Outlook so it connects correctly and syncs.

Steps to ensure the Microsoft account is using a supported alias for syncing with Outlook 2016 and To Do:

Sign in to the Microsoft account at the account management site.
Under Account alias(es), select Add email.
Choose Create a new email address and add it as an alias, create a new @outlook.com address, and select Add alias.
Mark this new alias as Make primary.
In Outlook 2016, remove the old Microsoft account entry.
Go to File > Add Account, add the new @outlook.com address as a Microsoft 365/Outlook.com account, and complete setup.

Once the Hotmail/Outlook.com account is added with the correct account type and a supported primary alias, email and folders should sync normally in Outlook.

References:

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I have an outlook account but my hotmail is not syncing to that account. I have no means of accessing my hotmail folder. When I add the account in outlook I have an error message .

2 answers

Your answer