Unable to update Account email address

Question

Email I used to open my Microsoft 365 Home account is no longer valid. When i try to edit to my current email, it says the address is in use and to choose another one. I don't know what to do.

Answer 1

Hello

You actually can continue to use an expired email address as alias/username to sign into your Microsoft account, because it is simply a username for your Microsoft account.

However, what matters is, you update your security info so that you can receive the 2FA verification code. To do that, go to https://account.live.com > Security > Manage how I sign in. Add another method here and choose Email a code option, this will allow you to add a different email address so that you can receive the 2FA code.

If you still want to update the alias/username itself, while it is not necessary, you can via Your info > Sign in preference. But it depends what type of email address you are adding. For example, you can NOT add an existing outlook.com/hotmail.com/live.com/msn.com address. You also cannot add a work/school account here. You can use "create new" to create a new outlook.com address, as long as the username is not already taken by others. But if you want to add a third party email, like gmail, yahoo, you need to make sure this email address is not already associated with another Microsoft account, if so, you need to remove it first. Let me know which scenario is yours so I can walk you through.

Answer 2

If the current email address is already in use, it is already associated with another Microsoft account. That address cannot be added as an alias to the Microsoft account that currently holds the Microsoft 365 Home subscription.

What can be done:

1. Sign in to Manage how you sign in and check the aliases on the subscription account: Edit account info
2. Select Add email only if the new address is not already tied to another Microsoft account.
3. If the address needed is already on a different Microsoft account, it cannot be moved over as an alias.
4. In that case, the practical option is to keep the subscription on the current account or cancel it on the old account and then sign up again with the other Microsoft account.

Useful details:

• Microsoft account email addresses are aliases that share the same account, password, subscriptions, and settings.
• An existing Outlook.com, Hotmail.com, or Live.com address that already belongs to another Microsoft account cannot be added to this account.
• If sign-in is also affected because the old email is no longer accessible, use the guided support or sign-in helper tools.

Support options:

• Guided support for changing sign-in email usage: guided support tool
• Sign-in troubleshooting: Sign-in helper
• Technical support: Contact Microsoft Support

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