Forum Discussion
DonaldDDAY1833
Jul 13, 2023Copper Contributor
Combine Accounts
First time post, please be kind.
I have a hotmail account from the 90's that I have used for years, but want to make this account my primary account.
Is it possible to have the old hotmail account linked to this new account. My old account is tied to much of my modern life, and want an updated email address.
I know I would need to go through everything linked with my hotmail account and put in my new email address, but I want this account to be linked to xbox account as well. I dont want to lose everything tied to the hotmail account.
I think it might be impossible, but never hurts to ask.
You can't combine accounts like that. Is there any specific reason why you want to start over with a new account?
In case you want to switch from a Hotmail address to an Outlook.com address, you can do so by adding a new alias (email address) to your existing account and set that as the default.
You can do that here; Manage how you sign in to Microsoft
For more details, also see; Still using an @hotmail, @live, @msn or @passport email address? Switch to an @outlook address! - MSOutlook.info
- DeathstarCopper Contributor
Thanks for taking the time to write the article you mentioned above.
I have tried to add an old hotmail.com email address to my account as an alias and i get the error " This email is part of a reserved domain. Please enter a different email address." I also tried logging into my old hotmail address and adding my new outlook email as an alias and got the error, "This email address is already taken" which is true as I created it 3 weeks ago.
any help is appreciated here.
- H2OIron Contributor
I have read the your post, and it is correct that you cannot combine accounts. However, you can merge them. Merging Outlook accounts means that you will combine the data from two or more accounts into one account. This includes your emails, contacts, and calendars.
To merge Outlook accounts, you will need to use the Merge Accounts feature in Outlook. This feature is only available in Outlook for Windows.
Here are the steps on how to merge Outlook accounts:
- Open Outlook.
- Click on the File tab.
- Click on Account Settings.
- Click on the Email tab.
- Click on the Merge Accounts button.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to merge your accounts.
Once you have merged your accounts, you will be able to access all of your data from one account. You will also be able to send and receive emails from both accounts using the same address.
Here are some things to keep in mind when merging Outlook accounts:
- You can only merge accounts that are of the same type. For example, you cannot merge an Exchange account with a POP3 account.
- You cannot merge accounts that are already using the same email address.
- If you have any folders that are shared between the accounts that you are merging, these folders will be merged as well.
I hope this helps
- GauravS1815Copper Contributor
H2O I cannot see merge accounts option. What do you suggest?
H2O wrote:
To merge Outlook accounts, you will need to use the Merge Accounts feature in Outlook. This feature is only available in Outlook for Windows.
Here are the steps on how to merge Outlook accounts:
- Open Outlook.
- Click on the File tab.
- Click on Account Settings.
- Click on the Email tab.
- Click on the Merge Accounts button.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to merge your accounts.
That feature doesn't exist and was probably made up by ChatGPT to generate your answer ๐
- NadineK2235Copper Contributor
Hi Robert , I don't have the merge accounts on my screen , we did change our emails from POP to IMAP and I have problems merging 3 accounts into one.
Thank you,
Nadine
- DonaldDDAY1833Copper ContributorThank you!
Would this cause any issues with my Xbox account? I am not a big email user, but I am an avid gamer, and my main concern is not losing my Xbox account that is tied to my hotmail account.
Thank you again!
- DonaldDDAY1833Copper ContributorI found my answer on a FAQ....
Combining Microsoft accounts
For security reasons, itโs not possible to merge or combine Microsoft accounts, nor can you transfer such things as your game progress or gamertag, account purchases and balance from one account to another.
Microsoft personal accounts and Microsoft 365 work or school accounts can be used side by side.
sad face....