Can I Access My Old Hotmail Account?

can i access my old hotmail account

Microsoft upgraded from Hotmail to Outlook.com a couple of years back. The Hotmail customers were allowed to freely upgrade to the preview version of Outlook.com and downgrade back. Initially, the Hotmail users kept using their existing accounts and received the option to get a “@outlook.com email address”.

However, later when Outlook.com was made completely effective as an official Microsoft email service, Hotmail users had to upgrade to Outlook. To upgrade, a Hotmail user doesn’t have to create a new separate Outlook account, they were allowed to use their existing Hotmail account in the new Outlook platform. If you are also a Hotmail user looking to access your old Hotmail account, you can do so easily by following the information provided below.

When You Upgrade from Hotmail to Outlook.Com

When you upgrade from your Hotmail account to Outlook.com, you not only get to have access to your information and data but can manage them easily with the latest features and functionalities of Outlook.

  • Your Hotmail email address will keep on working as usual. You will not have to change it
  • You will be able to sign-in using your @hotmail.com with the same password.
  • All your devices will keep on working as usual, including your phone and Outlook client with the Outlook Connector.
  • You will have all your contacts saved. You will not have to take any extra measures to load contacts.
  • You will be able to keep all your folders, flagged messages, categories, rules, etc.
  • The signature and vacation reply configured in your Hotmail account will also be able in Outlook.
  • The settings for features such as Arrange By Conversation and Reading Pane will also be available like they were in Hotmail.

Steps to Upgrade from Hotmail to Outlook

You can access your old Hotmail account by upgrading to Outlook.com. To easiest way to upgrade is to simply sign-in to Outlook.com. Here are the steps:

  • Open a web browser on your computer and go to the Outlook home page (https://outlook.live.com/owa/).
  • Once you are on the home page, you will need to click on the Sign-in button located at the top-right corner of the screen.
  • On the next screen, you will need to enter your old Hotmail account email address and password in the prompted fields. Then, sign in to the Outlook account.

NOTE:

  • You don’t need to sign-up for a new account. You can simply sign-in using your current Hotmail account.
  • You don’t have to change your address to use Outlook.
  • If you register for a new email address, there is no option provided by Microsoft to combine or merge the new Outlook account with your old Hotmail account.

Now, once you are done following the above-mentioned steps to upgrade your Hotmail account to Outlook, you can sign in at http://outlook.com as well as t http://hotmail.com or http://mail.live.com.

Want to Get a New @outlook.com Email Address?

After you are done upgrading to Outlook, you would want to get a new @outlook.com email address. This is completely optional as your existing Hotmail address will be supported.

NOTE: One thing that you need to know is that the preview does not support adding email addresses in country-specific domains like @outlook.com.br; @outlook.co.uk, etc.

Adding an @outlook.com Alias to Your Account

Aliases are an excellent way to use different email addresses for the same account. An alias is an additional email address that is added to your account. Outlook allows you to add up to five aliases per year to your account and up to a maximum of 15 in total. You can send and receive emails from all these aliases. Moreover, Outlook also comes with the feature to automatically file emails sent to each alias in separate folders.

However, there are certain limitations that you should be aware of. These include:

  • You can only create five aliases per account, per year. And, a total of 15 aliases are allowed to be created for a single account.
  • Outlook allows you to send email from an alias in the Outlook.com web interface. However, if you are looking to send an email from an alias using your phone or other clients, you won’t be able to.
  • Even if you try to send an email from your phone or other clients, it will still be sent from the primary address of your account. This is one of the limitations Outlook is working to remove.
  • Though you can send and receive emails from your alias, you cannot sign in to your account using the alias. You will need to use your primary account name to sign in to your account.

Steps to Add an Alias to Your Account

If you are looking to add an alias to your Outlook account, you can do so easily by following the information provided below.

  • To begin with, you will first need to sign in to the Outlook account at http://outlook.com using your Hotmail account.
  • Once you are logged into your account, you will need to click on the “cog” option located in the top-right corner of the window,
  • Then, click on the “More mail settings” option.
  • In the More Settings section, click on “Create an Outlook alias” option (next to last) in the first column, under the “Managing your account” heading.
  • After that, follow the on-screen prompts to easily create an alias for your Outlook account and use it to send and receive emails without revealing your actual email address.

NOTE: You can only create five aliases per year for a single Outlook account.

So, now as you know that you can access your old Hotmail account through Outlook.com, you can easily upgrade to Outlook email services for better email experience.

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