Why did my hotmail account turn into outlook? How do I change it back?

You can revert back to the Hotmail format until October 19th when the change of service take effect by doing the following

Coming on October 19th there will be  a change in service and if you log oin after that date you will automatically accept the changes.

Read about it here.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-live/microsoft-services-agreement

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windowslive/forum/hotmail-email/when-hotmail-ends/69cacac9-c0cd-4da9-bbcb-8db59a3d3c7e

You can simply right click the tool gear next to you user  name and click the "revert back to Hotmail" and wait a bit.

If that doesnt work try this.

Note: The following steps will currently only work if your previous account was @Hotmail.com or @Live.com.

In your browser, navigate to https://account.live.com/ManageAssocIds

    Sign in with your new @outlook.com account.  (if you are already signed in with your outlook.com account this step will not apply)

    Under “Other email addresses” click the Remove link below your previous address.

Click the Remove button to confirm the message.

    You should now see a message on the page stating, “You've removed an email address from your Microsoft account.”

    Navigate to https://account.live.com/ChangeId.aspx in your browser.

    Verify that “Create a new email address” is selected.

    In the New Microsoft account box, enter your previous address and select your previous domain (Hotmail.com or live.com).  

Note:  You must enter your previous address or the process will fail.

    Select the Save button.

Now you can use your original @hotmail.com or @live.com account to sign into your Microsoft services as you did before renaming to an Outlook.com account.

 The @outlook.com address will now be an alias on your account from which you can still send and receive messages within Outlook or Hotmail.

Note: This applies to other domains as well, such as .jp, .kr, .es, .au, .ca etc.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windowslive/forum/mail-profile/i-renamed-my-microsoft-account-to-an-outlook-or-a/c929c421-8cba-45c9-85b6-5f0e2ce08b60

http://answers.microsoft.com/thread/c929c421-8cba-45c9-85b6-5f0e2ce08b60

http://answers.microsoft.com/thread/c7a9e182-9a6e-4e5a-82e4-a557cd6c1015

http://answers.microsoft.com/thread/806676a2-ec0b-4fb9-bdfe-fc23c5596738

Hi

We appreciate your willingness to try Outlook.com, but we realize some may prefer to go back to Hotmail.  To switch back to Hotmail, perform the following steps with Outlook.com displayed in your browser:

1.       Click on the cog icon in the upper right corner of the page next to your name.

2.       Select the last item in the menu, Switch back to Hotmail.

Please note, not everyone who is currently using Outlook.com is able to switch back to Hotmail.  If you were automatically upgraded to Outlook.com, the option to switch back to Hotmail isn't available.  For more information, please read this article.

Thanks!

My live account also turned into Outlook (maddening (><) that it does that btw) and I accidentally selected the mobile option. How do I get my original Live account back. The mobile thing is awful.

Thank you!

Unfortunately, If you were auto updated there is no option to revert back.  Microsoft is upgrading everyone to Outlook.com in the coming weeks

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/outlook/auto-upgrade-outlook-FAQ

If you have specific questions or issues we would be happy to help.

If you want to go back to the desktop version of Outlook instead of the mobile site, please follow the steps below.

1. Login to your account
2. Follow this link http://profile.live.com/contacts?bfv=um.
3. Click the word "PC site" at the bottom part of the page

I absolutely detest the new Outlook format and am considering taking my accounts to Gmail since Hotmail is being discontinued by Microsolft.  It was so much easier to see all my folders, emails, etc on Hotmail (plus all the nice templates).  The print on the Outlook format is too large (and I see no way to adjust it) so I see a fraction of what I used to on the page, the templates are ugly (just colors) and it is cumbersome to use.