Rename Microsoft account - Here's how

If you no longer like the address of your Microsoft account, you can rename your account. We'll show you how it's done.

Step 1: add alias to Microsoft account

1. Open the following link to log into your Microsoft account. For this you need both your e-mail address and your password.
2. Click on "Account Aliases" in the menu on the left under "Overview". Then select "Add alias" if the future address is not yet linked as an alias.
3. Enter either an email address that you already own or create a new Microsoft address that you can use to rename your account. Finally click on the "Add alias" button.
4. You will be returned to the overview and can now log into your Microsoft account using both email addresses. To rename the name of the Microsoft account to that of the alias account, follow the instructions in the next paragraph.

Step 2: rename Microsoft account

1. In the alias overview, click on the "Set as primary" link next to the newly added alias and confirm the subsequent query with "Yes".
2. It can now take up to 48 hours for your Microsoft account to be renamed for all services. If you log out of the respective devices and log in again, the renaming usually works faster.
3. You can still log in to your account using both accounts. After 48 hours, you can theoretically delete the old account. For security reasons, you can also just keep it and, if necessary, log in with the old email address.