I want to change my MS account primary email address

Question

I no longer want to use my Cox email address as my MS account primary email address. I want to instead use my Gmail email address. After signing into my MS account, I go to Sign In Preferences, which lists my primary Cox email address as well as "walt533", which I'm not familiar with and can't edit or delete. When I try to add my Gmail email address, I get the message " that email address is already taken", please try another.

How can I change my MS account primary email address from Cox to Gmail? Thanks.

Answer 1

Hello

If the Gmail address is already taken, it means it is currently associated with another Microsoft account.

Launch your web browser in incognito mode, go to https://account.live.com, sign in with the gmail address. If you don't know the password, you can try the forgot password to recover it.

If you manage to get in, go to Your info > sign in preference, add alias > create new. Give it an outlook alias, then delete the gmail from there, so that it is free to add it to the Microsoft account you want instead.

Once you have the gmaiol added to the actual Microsoft account you want to add, important, also go to Security > Manage how I sign in, you need to update here too, so you can receive the two-factor code.

Answer 2

The Gmail address is already its own Microsoft account, so it cannot also be used as an alias or primary email on the existing Cox-based Microsoft account. Microsoft does not support merging two Microsoft accounts or “moving” an existing Outlook.com/Gmail sign-in from one account to another.

To change the primary sign-in away from the Cox address, there are only two supported options:

1. Add a different, unused email address as an alias and make it primary
   • Go to Manage how you sign in to your account: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?linkid=842796
   • Add a new email address that is not already used as a Microsoft account or alias.
   • After it appears under Account aliases, select Make primary next to that new address.
   • Optionally, once another alias is primary, the Cox address can be removed if no longer needed (be aware that removing a Microsoft-domain alias permanently deletes it and it cannot be reused).
2. Free the Gmail address by closing or renaming its existing Microsoft account, then add it
   This is only possible if the Gmail address is currently the sign-in for a separate Microsoft account that has no data or purchases that need to be kept.
   • Sign in to https://account.live.com with the Gmail-based Microsoft account.
   • Under Your info → Sign-in preferences (or Manage how you sign in to Microsoft), add a different alias (for example, a new Outlook.com address), make that new alias primary, and then remove the Gmail alias.
   • Once the Gmail address is no longer associated with that account (and, if desired, after closing that Microsoft account), the Gmail address should become available to be added as an alias on the Cox-based account.
   • Then sign back into the Cox-based account, go to Manage how you sign in, add the Gmail address as an alias, and select Make primary.

The mysterious “walt533” entry is just another alias/username on the account and does not affect the limitation: the core issue is that the Gmail address is already taken by another Microsoft account, so it cannot be added directly.

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References:

• Add or remove an email alias in Outlook.com
• Change the email address or phone number for your Microsoft account
• How to add an existing outlook.com account to my existing microsoft account? - Microsoft Q&A
• I realize I have 2 different accounts. How do I combine the 2? - Microsoft Q&A