Technology in terms you understand. Sign up for the Confident Computing newsletter for weekly solutions to make your life easier. Click here and get The Ask Leo! Guide to Staying Safe on the Internet — FREE Edition as my thank you for subscribing!

How do I change my Hotmail alternate email address if I can't access it any more?

Question:

I want to remove my alternate email address to which I no longer have
access. When I want to delete it from the Hotmail account, the confirmation link
from Hotmail will be sent to that alternate email. I tried adding
the new alternate email
, but then Hotmail still sends the confirmation to
the old alternate email. How can I remove the old alternate email if I
no longer have access to it?

I’ll be honest and tell you that I know of no simple answer to this
problem.

I’ll also tell you that it’s frighteningly common. Either through neglect or
having been hacked, many Hotmail account holders are left with invalid or
inaccessible alternate email addresses.

Alternate email addresses that they can’t remove or change.

While I’ll discuss the only possible solution that I’m aware of, I want to
use this as an opportunity to emphasize the importance of keeping your
alternate email address keeping current and accessible.

]]>

Hotmail

One straw to grasp at

I would try heading out to Windows Live’s own Windows Live ID Account Recovery Help Page. (A Hotmail account is a Windows Live ID.) There you’ll be taken through a form where you can “prove” that you are the rightful account owner and may be able to have Windows Live customer support help you with the alternate email address issue.

I know of no other direct solution to this problem.

I’d encourage you to review What are my Lost Hotmail Account and Password Recovery Options? for perhaps some more ideas that might fit your specific situation, including access to the Windows Live help forums, where I have seen Microsoft representatives participate.

But that’s it.

Beyond that, I got nothing.

The importance of your alternate

By now, I hope you realize just how critically important your alternate email address is.

It’s something that’s overlooked by many and either not set at all or set to something which is then either forgotten or allowed to become inactive.

Once that happens, it’s extremely difficult to correct. In fact, I’m tempted to say that it’s practically impossible when it comes to Hotmail.

Fortunately, many email services are starting to display periodic reminders – a message that says, “If you lose access to your account this email address is where you can send recovery information – is it still valid?”

Do not ignore that message!

Make sure that email address is valid and that you can access it.

If not, do what you can – if you can – to recover, change, or remove that as your alternate email address.

Note: *I* cannot help you recover your Hotmail account or alternate email address and requests to do so posted in comments will simply be deleted. What are my Lost Hotmail Account and Password Recovery Options? has everything I know to help you get your account back.

Do this

Subscribe to Confident Computing! Less frustration and more confidence, solutions, answers, and tips in your inbox every week.

I'll see you there!

2 comments on “How do I change my Hotmail alternate email address if I can't access it any more?”

  1. If you are using a hotmail or live mail or @msn.co address for professional use, start a plan to move away from that address. As a support professional my advice is to find a reputable local mail hosting firm, pay them to establish your own domain and start using that. The only way to have complete control over your email is to own your own domain.

    Reply
  2. I wonder how many decades Leo has had this question asked(I dumped Hotmail a long time ago.

    I’ve been doing this since 2003, and Hotmail password related questions were a topic from day 1. Smile

    Leo
    19-May-2012
    Reply

Leave a reply:

Before commenting please:

  • Read the article.
  • Comment on the article.
  • No personal information.
  • No spam.

Comments violating those rules will be removed. Comments that don't add value will be removed, including off-topic or content-free comments, or comments that look even a little bit like spam. All comments containing links and certain keywords will be moderated before publication.

I want comments to be valuable for everyone, including those who come later and take the time to read.