"Already In-Use" Microsoft Account E-Mail Change For Dummies!

Hey all, this is a fairly common question, so I figured I would throw this out there for people searching for a resolution.



So, you want to change the e-mail on your primary Microsoft Account, but you've used your preferred e-mail on a different Microsoft Account or have associated it with another gamertag? Here is a quick guide to switching out those
e-mails:



CAUTION: This will not work if your preferred e-mail address is a Microsoft e-mail address (ex. live.com, hotmail.com, msn.com, outlook.com, etc.) Removing a Microsoft e-mail as the primary alias will DELETE this e-mail and you
will not be able to use it OR access the e-mail.



1) Go to
http://account.live.com

2) Login with the email that you would prefer to use and the password you have associated with this account.

3) Locate the (Primary Alias) on the Account Summary & Click "Add or Change Aliases"

4) Click to "Add" Alias

5) Select "Create New"

6) Create a dummy e-mail you can choose from @live, outlook, or hotmail. It does not matter what you create as you will not need to access this email again once you are finished.

7) After you add the email you need to Verify it by clicking "Verify". An email will be sent to the dummy email address at Outlook.com - Microsoft free personal email .

9) After you verify the email you may then set it as primary.

10) After setting the dummy email as primary you may then remove the preferred email from your account. Once you have finished, log out of this account by clicking the top right corner of the site where your name or email
is located on the blue portion at the top of the page, select sign-out.

11) Sign in again, this time using the primary Microsoft Account E-Mail that you are wanting to change and password.

12) Locate the (Primary Alias) on the Account Summary & Click "Add or Change Aliases"

13) Click to "Add" Alias

14) Select "Add Existing" and input the preferred email address. Select "Add"

15) After you add the email you need to Verify it by clicking "Verify". An email will be sent to the preferred email address.

16) After you verify the email you may then set it as primary.

17) After setting the preferred email as primary you may then remove the old email from your account. Once you have finished, log out of this account by clicking the top right corner of the site where your name or email
is located on the blue portion at the top of the page, select signout.



DONE!

:)

 

"Already In-Use" Microsoft Account E-Mail Change For Dummies!

WPAK, thanks for the, post. I am familiar with that link, and basically my post summarizes this post in easier to understand phrases. The reason I wrote the "caution" above is because I have had other people that I've helped, as well as MS Support reps
tell me that they were never able to use the original Microsoft e-mail again after removing it from the account it was on. However, for those willing to try it with an original MS account just beware that you may not be able to get it back in 30 days or at
all in some cases. Typically, though, when switching one or two original Microsoft accounts, you must wait 30 days. After 30 days, switch preferred e-mail to the primary to the account you would like to use it with.

 

"Already In-Use" Microsoft Account E-Mail Change For Dummies!

Hi there,

-

if you get a message that the account is already in use, then the easiest way would be to use another (new) Microsoft Account.

Or if you want to use that specific email address you will first need to move the current existing Xbox live account on the Microsoft Account to another Microsoft Account via the steps here:

support.xbox.com/.../switch-gamertag-to-different-microsoft-account

The Notes section on that link explains what to do when a Xbox live account is already present on the Microsoft Account.

If a new Microsoft Account is needed then you can create one via this link:
signup.live.com/signup.aspx

I would advise to use these steps since they will work for any Microsoft Account it does not matter which email address is used as the primary one