Rename/Merge a Hotmail and a Outlook Account

Hello Everyone,

Renaming your account causes your sign in name to change from your existing @hotmail.com address to your new email address. Your existing address becomes an alias of your new account so that mail delivery is uninterrupted.  After renaming your account you will sign in with your new account to all services you previously accessed with your old account.

Merging your @hotmail.com account and @outlook.com account is not possible in Hotmail. Instead, you can Auto-forward your Hotmail account to your new Outlook account. You’ll have all of your mail in one place, and can reply to it using your new address.

To auto-forward your email:

1.       Log in to your Hotmail account.

2.       Click Options, then click More options….

3.       Under Managing your account, click Email forwarding. You might have to sign in.

4.       Select the radio button for Forward your mail to another email account.

5.       Enter the email address for your new Outlook account.

6.       If you want, check the box for Keep a copy of forwarded messages in your Hotmail inbox.

7.       Click Save.

Note: Free Hotmail or Outlook.com account users need to log into the account they choose to auto-forward at least once every 270 days to avoid having the system remove the mailbox for inactivity.

If you want to use your **** @outlook.com as a primary account of your @hotmail.com account, refer to my previous steps.

In most cases, as long as you do so within 30 days of the rename, you can change the primary account name to an existing alias. You would need to delete the alias from your account, and it will become immediately available for your use. Then you can proceed to rename your account.

Remove the alias and rename your account back to the original address. Here's how to remove the alias:

1.     Sign in to your primary account.

2.     Click your user name in the upper right.

3.     Click Account settings.

4.     Click Notifications, then click Manage email preferences.

5.     Under Other email addresses, click Remove for the alias you want to remove.

Make sure you rename back to the original address within 30 days of deleting the alias, otherwise the address will become available to anyone.

Note:

• You will not be able to rename an account that has been blocked more than once because someone else was using your account.
• You can rename your account twice every 180 days. If you rename and then undo the rename, the undo doesn't count towards your limit.
• You can't use an alias to sign in to Hotmail—you’ll always need to sign in with your original email address and password.

Thank you!

My mistake on the number of days, is there not going to be a response from the Microsoft service team. Very unfortunate, considering I wanted my new outlook email with my legacy 25 GB skydrive storage for my upgrade to windows 8. I was also considering the new windows 8 phone...and also the surface either pro or rt. But this lack of problem solving...may sway that decision. Also I wonder if there will be a green touch cover for the surface tablet?

Will the above approch work, or did I error, and block myself from using it for 365 days?

30 days sure beats 365 days, I wish there was a way to just merge the two accounts since they are both mine. would save microsoft resources, and mine. But, I have already tried the above, so I have to wait.

Where did the 365 days come from? In previous (now locked) threads the timeout period is quoted by members of the MS Live team as being 270 days (30 for the Alias deletion)

I also have exactly the same problem, as do hundreds of other loyal MS customers.

I also would like the loyalty bonus SkyDrive storage moved or merged to new outlook account (like everyone else rushed to seize my preferred outlook address, as I did  not discover the upgrade option in Hotmail until it was too late).

But more importantly, all my related accounts (xbox etc) I would want merged as well, and, quite frankly suggesting closing or deleting it as an alias is somewhat silly. there is no guarantee at all that you will be able to re-obtain those credentials, and your 30/270 day wait may turn out to be a complete waste of time, putting you squarely back in the same position you are in now (using an account name that is not your primary choice, but the best of what was available to you at the time)

In the other thread it was mentioned by a member of the Live team that this matter had been broached in meetings, has there been any progress, and if so are there any timelines that may assist all the people having this issue?

So.... no reply about if this approach will work?