Gmail not adding as alias to my hotmail profile.

Chris Zimmerman 0 Reputation points
2026-04-28T19:34:28.17+00:00

I have an old hotmail address that I used for xbox when I was a kid. At the time it was my only Microsoft related login.

As I've grown older I now have a Microsoft login through work and a Github login (which was setup with my personal gmail for some reason).

I have finally grown sick of having to authenticate and manage logins for 3 different accounts. I would like to know the best way to try and "consolidate" my personal gmail login with my old hotmail login. When I try adding the gmail to my hotmail account, it is obviously recognizing the Gmail attached to my GitHub and won't let me add it to the hotmail one as an alias in order to reassign that as the primary email.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Subscription, account, billing | For home | Other
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  1. AI answer

    2026-04-28T19:34:45.43+00:00

    Gmail addresses (or any non-Microsoft email) can only be an alias on one Microsoft account at a time. Because the Gmail address is already the username for a separate Microsoft account (the one used with GitHub), it cannot be added as an alias to the old Hotmail-based account until it is released from the first account.

    Microsoft does not support merging Microsoft accounts, so data, purchases, and subscriptions cannot be combined. The closest possible “consolidation” is:

    1. Decide which Microsoft account to keep as the main one (for example, the Hotmail/Xbox account).
    2. On the other Microsoft account that currently uses the Gmail address as its sign-in (the GitHub-linked one):
      • Sign in to https://account.live.com with the Gmail-based account.
      • Go to Your info → Sign-in preferences (or the “how you sign in” / alias management page).
      • Add a different alias (for example, create a new Outlook.com address as described in the alias docs).
      • Make that new alias the primary alias.
      • Remove the Gmail address as an alias from this account. This frees the Gmail address.
    3. Now sign in to the Hotmail/Xbox Microsoft account:
      • Go to the “how you sign in” / alias management page.
      • Add the Gmail address as an alias (since it is no longer associated with the other Microsoft account).
      • Optionally set the Gmail alias as the primary alias.

    Important points from the documentation and Q&A:

    • An alias (email address) cannot be associated with more than one Microsoft account at the same time.
    • Existing non-Microsoft addresses like @gmail.com can be added as aliases only if they are not already in use on another Microsoft account.
    • Removing a non-Microsoft email alias (like Gmail) from one Microsoft account usually makes it immediately available to be added as an alias on another Microsoft account.
    • Accounts cannot be merged; any data or purchases under the Gmail-based Microsoft account will stay there and cannot be moved to the Hotmail account.

    If there is important data or purchases under the Gmail-based Microsoft account, consider whether to keep using that account for those services and only consolidate sign-in where it does not cause loss of access.

    References:

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