How to change the email on your Microsoft account and Xbox

There is no "change email" button on a Microsoft account. Microsoft treats every address on the account as an alias, so changing your email means adding the new address, making it the primary alias, and then removing the old one if you want it gone. Your files, subscriptions and Xbox games stay put.

How do you change the email on a Microsoft account?

Sign in at account.live.com/names/manage, choose Add email, and add the new address (a new Outlook.com one or an address you already have). Verify it, select Make primary next to it, then select Remove next to the old address. All aliases share one password and the same account.

Microsoft's page on changing your Microsoft account email says aliases "use the same contacts, online storage, subscriptions, and account settings." That is why the alias route is the right one. A new account would start empty.

Aliases, the primary alias and recovery emails

Three different things on a Microsoft account involve an email address, and mixing them up is the most common reason a change goes wrong.

The rule that ties them together comes from Microsoft's own pages: verification codes sent by email can only go to your primary alias or to an email you added as a way to verify sign in. If you make a new address primary but leave an old recovery address you no longer read, codes can still end up in the wrong place.

Before you change it

• Make sure you can receive mail at the new address. Microsoft confirms it with a code.
• Add before you remove. Microsoft's advice for security info is to add the new method first, then remove the old one. The same order works for aliases.
• Check the new address is not already a Microsoft account. Microsoft says you cannot add another Microsoft account, current or closed, as an alias. You can check at account.microsoft.com: if typing the address leads to a password prompt, it is already an account.
• Know your password. Every alias shares the same one.
• Note where else the old address is used. Changing your Microsoft alias does not update any other site. Our checklist for changing your email everywhere covers the rest.

Step 1: add the new address as an alias

From Microsoft's page on adding an email address to your Microsoft account:

1. Sign in to the "how you sign in" page at account.live.com/names/manage.
2. Select Add email.
3. Choose whether to create a new Outlook.com address or add an existing address from another provider, such as gmail.com or yahoo.com.
4. Follow the instructions, including the verification code Microsoft sends to that address.

Microsoft notes your organization may block you from adding its addresses, so a work email may be refused. If you want to use a Gmail address, Microsoft says you cannot sign in with your Google credentials, but you can add the Gmail address as a way to sign in.

Step 2: make it the primary alias

On the same "Manage how you sign in" page, select Make primary next to the new address. Microsoft describes this step on its page about the "Which account do you want to use?" prompt, and adds that your primary alias is what appears on devices such as your Windows PC or your Xbox.

Microsoft also lists cases where you may not want to rename the account: if you are part of the Xbox Developer community, or if Visual Studio or MSDN subscriptions are linked to your Microsoft account. If either applies, check those services first.

Step 3: remove the old address (optional)

Back on account.live.com/names/manage, select Remove next to the old address. You do not have to do this. Keeping it means you can still sign in with it and still send and receive from it, which is useful during a move. Remove it once you are confident nothing important still goes there.

If you can't sign in, or the page will not let you change how an address is used to sign in, Microsoft points you to its guided support tool. Microsoft also states its support agents cannot change account details for you, so the self-service pages are the only route.

Update your recovery email too

The alias change does not touch the security info Microsoft uses to send codes. From Microsoft's page on security info and verification codes:

1. Go to account.microsoft.com/security and sign in.
2. Select Manage how I sign in.
3. Select Add a new way to sign in or verify and pick an email address, an authenticator app or a passkey.
4. Enter the code Microsoft sends to confirm.

You can have up to 10 verification methods. The recovery email does not have to be yours, so a partner's address works, but you cannot add one of your own account's aliases as a verification email. Microsoft also says the option to add a phone number may not be available on every account.

The 30-day trap. Microsoft's page on removing a sign-in method warns that if you remove all of your security info at once, the account goes into a restricted state for 30 days. During that time Microsoft cannot accept further changes to security settings or billing information. Add the new recovery email first, then remove the old one, and you never hit this.

Changing your Xbox email

Your Xbox login is your Microsoft account, so the steps above are the Xbox steps. Microsoft says you can use any alias to sign in to your Windows and Xbox devices, and that the primary alias is the one that shows on your Xbox. Make the new address primary and the console shows it.

Three things Xbox players usually want to know:

• Your gamertag is not your email. Microsoft says gamers are identified by their gamertag within Xbox, and changing your account display name does not change the gamertag either.
• Do not make a new account to get a new email. Microsoft says personal accounts cannot be merged, and you cannot transfer game progress, your gamertag, purchases or balance from one account to another. An alias on your existing account keeps all of it.
• Use the new address to sign in on the console. Because every alias works, signing in with the new address is a quick way to test the change. If the console rejects it, check you typed the alias exactly as it appears on account.live.com/names/manage.

The Xbox help site did not load readable content for this guide, so everything here comes from Microsoft's account support pages.

What about Windows and Outlook?

On a Windows PC signed in with a Microsoft account, Microsoft says the user account name shows the name of that account, and the primary alias is what appears on the device. If the new alias is an Outlook.com address, it also becomes an address you can send from. Microsoft says you can choose any of your aliases for sending and receiving email.

Work and school accounts are different. If your sign-in is an address your employer or school gave you, the IT department controls it, and the steps above do not apply. If you see a "Which account do you want to use?" prompt, Microsoft says you have a personal account and a work or school account on the same address, and its fix is to rename the personal one with a new or different primary alias.

If you are moving to a new address anyway

If the new address is a fresh start, it can be one that skips the phone number step. Secria Mail sign-up asks for a name, the address you want and a password, with no phone number and no card. The free plan includes 1 GB and 2 email aliases, so you could give your Microsoft account its own alias. If that alias ever leaks, you can trace where from and switch it off by deleting it. Old mail can come with you: Secria imports from Outlook, Gmail and others under Settings, Import & export, Bring mail in. Create the account first so it is ready to receive Microsoft's code.

Frequently asked questions

Will changing my Microsoft account email delete my files or subscriptions? No. Aliases share the same contacts, OneDrive storage, subscriptions and settings. You are relabeling the account, not replacing it.

How do I change my Xbox email without losing my gamertag? Add the new address as an alias on your Microsoft account and make it primary. Your gamertag, games and balance stay because the account does not change.

Why didn't my security code go to my new email? Microsoft sends email codes only to the primary alias or to an email added as a way to verify sign in. Make the new address primary, or add it under Manage how I sign in.

Can I add an address that is already a Microsoft account? No. Microsoft says you cannot add another Microsoft account, current or closed, as an alias, and personal accounts cannot be merged.

Can I still sign in with my old address? Yes, until you remove it. Any alias on the account works for sign-in with the same password.

When the new address is primary and your recovery info points to it, tell your contacts with one of our email change templates. If you are leaving Microsoft entirely, read how to close a Microsoft account before you do.