Why can't I change primary email to another alias?

Question

Today I have my primary email set as my original email, but I would like to change the primary to a new alias, and still keep the original email without deleting it. How can I achieve this? On the alias page I only have the option to change the primary email, but it states that it will remove the email and that I can't add it back. Please advise.

Answer 1

Hi,
The "Make Primary " button beside the new address is missing; I can verify this. With the remove button, there should be make primary too.

Could you please click Send feedback on the bottom right to report this? Since the problem is widespread I assume they will fix this pretty quickly.

A friendly reminder that this is a community support forum where users help other users. Advisors participating here cannot make changes to Microsoft services or access internal systems and can only provide technical guidance, independent of Microsoft's Policy decisions.

I hope this information helps. If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to reach out.

Answer 2

@curiousguy said

On the alias page I only have the option to change the primary email

Known Bug. Microsoft has removed the "Make Primary" choice.

See the Answers by "Hornblower409 Aug 9, 2026" in
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5969746/option-to-make-primary-alias-not-visible-in-the-ed

Those Answers includes a possible workaround, but ONLY if your current Primary Alias ends with outlook.com. Read the intro to the workaround very carefully before trying it.

How do I verify a new alias? I haven't received any email asking for verification.

Assuming you left Sign-In enables for the new alias, open a Private/Incognito browser session to https://account.microsoft.com and use your new alias as the email.

If you disabled Sign-In on the new alias, the only test would be to send an email to that alias and verify that it arrives.

Answer 3

How do I verify a new alias? I haven't received any email asking for verification.

Answer 4

To keep the original address and change the sign-in address, do not remove the old alias. Instead:

1. Go to Manage how you sign in to Microsoft.
2. Select Add email or Add phone number if the new alias is not already on the account.
3. Verify the new alias.
4. On the alias list, select Make primary next to the new alias.
5. Leave the old alias on the account if it should still be usable.

Important details:

• A primary alias can be changed without deleting the old alias, as long as the old alias remains listed as another alias on the same Microsoft account.
• A primary alias must be changed to another alias before the current primary alias can be removed.
• If a Microsoft-domain alias such as @hotmail.com, @live.com, @outlook.com, or @msn.com is removed, it is permanently deleted and cannot be added back to any Microsoft account.
• Existing @hotmail.com, @live.com, @outlook.com, and @msn.com addresses cannot be added as aliases if they are not already on the account.

If the page is warning about removal, that warning applies to removing the alias, not simply making another alias primary. The safe path is: add/verify new alias → make it primary → keep the old alias listed.

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