Changing billing email address

Question

Changing billing email address

John Johnston 0

I am unable to change my email address it's just impossible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kayece Jan Mae Amizola 16,670 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-04T01:04:00.6+00:00

Hi,

Do you have access to your account? If so, may I ask what message or error when you try to billing add/change your email address?
Have you added the new email address first? Make sure that you have added and verified the email address first before changing your billing email address.
Is it a work/school email?

I look forward to your response.

Stay Safe!
John Johnston 0 Reputation points

2026-09-04T01:23:44.3233333+00:00

I have changed my log in email address months ago and this is the only address that I can find when I check 'my info' on my Microsoft Account. However I can only log in to Microsoft using an old email address and I can not find that old email address on Microsoft to delete it but that is the only one that I can use to log in. In afew weeks that old email address will not exist.
Kayece Jan Mae Amizola 16,670 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-04T01:35:08.9733333+00:00

I see. Please go to your info page, click Sign-in Preference > Change sign-in preference. Do you see your old email address?

Also, please go to the Security page > Manage how I sign in > Ways to prove who you are. Check if your Old email address is present there.

If your old email address is still listed, be sure to uncheck or remove it. Before removing a security verification method, please ensure that your new verification email or phone number has been added, especially if no other verification option is currently available.
John Johnston 0 Reputation points

2026-09-04T01:53:09.5666667+00:00

Hi and thanks for trying to help.

When I go to 'Sign-in Preference' I just get a Microsoft pop-up box asking 'Verify your email' - I can see the new email address just under the Microsoft Logo and under 'Verify your email' is part of the old email address which I have to fill in for a code to be sent to that old address to verify. There is no other option.

The same Microsoft pop-up box appears when I go to the Security page with the new email address at the top and part of the old email address for me to complete to verify.
Kayece Jan Mae Amizola 16,670 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-04T01:56:58.6866667+00:00

I see. Thank you for your response. Do you have an option in the verification pop-up box: “Show more verification methods”? It should be below your old email address.
John Johnston 0 Reputation points

2026-09-04T04:01:09.5933333+00:00

Sadly I think I have no option but to give up.

I added another email address, not one I really want, and then was able to delete the old email address in the security section.

The new email address that I added a few months ago remains and under 'my info' is marked as 'primary' this is the only email address that I want. However I can not use it to log in.

Now when I try to log in the only email I can use is the one just added, the one I don't really want. There does not seem to be a way to log in using my primary email address.

It would appear that when Microsoft try to contact me in the future to renew my subscription they will use the wrong email address, at that time an email address that won't exist. But, doing anything about that is far beyond my ability to fix even after spending hours trying to solve the problem.

If there is a way to simply use my primary email address as the one and only email address for all Microsoft log-in's and transactions I would really love to know how this can be achieved without spending more frustrating hours.

Kind regards,

John

2 answers

Your answer

Kayece Jan Mae Amizola 16,670 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-04T01:04:00.6+00:00

Hi,

Do you have access to your account? If so, may I ask what message or error when you try to billing add/change your email address?
Have you added the new email address first? Make sure that you have added and verified the email address first before changing your billing email address.
Is it a work/school email?

I look forward to your response.

Stay Safe!
John Johnston 0 Reputation points

2026-09-04T01:23:44.3233333+00:00

I have changed my log in email address months ago and this is the only address that I can find when I check 'my info' on my Microsoft Account. However I can only log in to Microsoft using an old email address and I can not find that old email address on Microsoft to delete it but that is the only one that I can use to log in. In afew weeks that old email address will not exist.
Kayece Jan Mae Amizola 16,670 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-04T01:35:08.9733333+00:00

I see. Please go to your info page, click Sign-in Preference > Change sign-in preference. Do you see your old email address?

Also, please go to the Security page > Manage how I sign in > Ways to prove who you are. Check if your Old email address is present there.

If your old email address is still listed, be sure to uncheck or remove it. Before removing a security verification method, please ensure that your new verification email or phone number has been added, especially if no other verification option is currently available.
John Johnston 0 Reputation points

2026-09-04T01:53:09.5666667+00:00

Hi and thanks for trying to help.

When I go to 'Sign-in Preference' I just get a Microsoft pop-up box asking 'Verify your email' - I can see the new email address just under the Microsoft Logo and under 'Verify your email' is part of the old email address which I have to fill in for a code to be sent to that old address to verify. There is no other option.

The same Microsoft pop-up box appears when I go to the Security page with the new email address at the top and part of the old email address for me to complete to verify.
Kayece Jan Mae Amizola 16,670 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-04T01:56:58.6866667+00:00

I see. Thank you for your response. Do you have an option in the verification pop-up box: “Show more verification methods”? It should be below your old email address.
John Johnston 0 Reputation points

2026-09-04T04:01:09.5933333+00:00

Sadly I think I have no option but to give up.

I added another email address, not one I really want, and then was able to delete the old email address in the security section.

The new email address that I added a few months ago remains and under 'my info' is marked as 'primary' this is the only email address that I want. However I can not use it to log in.

Now when I try to log in the only email I can use is the one just added, the one I don't really want. There does not seem to be a way to log in using my primary email address.

It would appear that when Microsoft try to contact me in the future to renew my subscription they will use the wrong email address, at that time an email address that won't exist. But, doing anything about that is far beyond my ability to fix even after spending hours trying to solve the problem.

If there is a way to simply use my primary email address as the one and only email address for all Microsoft log-in's and transactions I would really love to know how this can be achieved without spending more frustrating hours.

Kind regards,

John

Answer 1

I see. Have you added your new email address to your Security page? If not, please try to add your email address, then add your old email address on the Security page. Click it, and it will open a drop-down option for you to uncheck the alert. Please uncheck it. After unchecking it, remove the old email address. If it still requests verification for the old email address, try clicking Show more verification methods. It can show you the new email address.

If it is still the same, choose “I don’t have any of those.” This will begin the process of adding a new contact method.

Please note that updating your contact information requires a 30-day waiting period. I know this can be frustrating. This waiting time is a key part of Microsoft's security measures. It helps protect your account in case someone tries to change your contact details without your permission. While I understand it may be inconvenient, it’s designed to keep your personal information safe.

For more information on the policy, please refer to the link below.

https://support.microsoft.com/account-billing/what-does-security-info-change-is-still-pending-mean-cbd0f64f-02d9-45d2-90c3-2375e5a72e52#:~:text=While%20we%20understand%20this%2030,phone%20number%20or%20email%20address

My apologies for the late reply, and thank you in advance for your understanding if future responses are delayed

John Johnston 0 Reputation points

2026-09-06T23:05:46.0333333+00:00

Many thanks for your additional information.

However I have now given up trying to solve my issue, it's just not worth me wasting more time.

I use my computer every day and access many different sites without problems.

Microsoft seems to have the ability to make simple things impossible.

And, I'm very unhappy with Microsoft for deleting Publisher, a program, until now, that I used every day.

Thanks again for your attention.

Kind regards

John

Answer 2

Stefan Blom 351.1K MVP Volunteer Moderator

You can add an e-mail as an alias to your account. However, you can't get rid of the original e-mail address which is associated with the account, if that is what you are trying to do. In other words, you won't be allowed to move subscriptions between user names (e-mail addresses).

John Johnston 0 Reputation points

2026-09-06T23:10:37.8466667+00:00

Hi,

Thanks for your message.

I added a new 'alias' and then deleted the original email without a problem.

I still have problems but have decided to give up and not waste any more time.

Thanks again.

John