If you’ve been signed up to Hotmail (Outlook) since the early 2000s, you may be ready to delete it in favor of newer, more modern options.
This article will guide you on how to cancel your Hotmail account, inactivate a Hotmail account or delete a Hotmail account.
Let’s get started.
How To Delete Hotmail (Outlook) Account Permanently
There are two ways you can remove your Hotmail account. You can delete just the email address (we’ll cover this later in this article), or the whole Microsoft account.
You may want to delete your Hotmail (Outlook) account if you don’t use it anymore or would like to close it down for any other reason.
You should however be aware that deleting an Outlook (Hotmail) account will also mean that you won’t have access to any of the other Microsoft products or services which are associated with it such as Xbox, Office 365, OneDrive, and Skype.
If you want to delete your Hotmail account permanently, follow these steps:
- Log into your outlook.live.com account. Click on the Help icon (?) and type in “close your outlook account permanently”. Then click on the link that reads “close your account”.
2. Follow the instructions on the page that loads and click next.
3. Check all the available boxes and click “mark account for closure”.
How To Close A Hotmail Account That Has Been Hacked?
If you suspect that your account has been hacked:
First, check Hotmail recent login activity on the account to confirm. You should see a list of all the devices that logged into your account over a 30-day period.
Your second option is to change your account password and enable more security options such as two factor authentication. You can do this in the security settings.
Once you successfully change your password, log in and close the Outlook account using the steps outlined above.
How To Delete Hotmail (Outlook) Email Address Only
If you would like to keep your Microsoft account but just want a new email address, then setting up an alias is probably best so that you can still use all of the above features.
To delete your old outlook email address but keep your old Microsoft account:
First, create a new outlook (Hotmail) email address alias
Second, change your sign-in settings
Third, change the primary email address on your account Lastly, delete the old email address.
Step 1: Create a new Hotmail (Outlook) email address alias
If the email address you want to delete is your primary alias, then you’ll need to create a new primary alias first before deleting it.
The new alias you create will exist under your current Microsoft account.
Note that while you can create a new email address as your new primary alias, if you have another email address, you can also add it as an alias instead of creating a new one.
With that said, here are the steps for changing your primary alias on your Microsoft account:
- Lot into your Microsoft account. Go to info>account info>edit account info.
2. Scroll to the account alias section and click “add email”.
3. Type in the new email address and finally click “add alias”.
Another way to add an alias is by navigating to settings>all outlook settings>email. Under sync email, select email aliases, then select choose a primary alias. Click “add email” in the browser window that opens.
Step 2: Change Your Sign-in Settings.
If the email address you want to delete is being used to sign in to any devices or apps (like an Xbox or Skype), change the sign in information saved on those devices.
To change sign in settings on your Microsoft account,
- Go to “your info” in your Microsoft account. Click on “sign in preferences”.
2. Select the alias you would like to use to sign into your Microsoft account. Click save when done.
Note: if you are trying to change the sign in settings on your primary account, you will notice that your primary alias is ghosted. This is because you cannot change the sign-in settings on a primary Hotmail (Outlook) account.
Step 3: Change The Primary Email Address On Your Account.
Once all sign-in credentials have been updated with your new primary alias, navigate back to your account info and change all the privileges of your old alias.
Assign the new email address you created as the primary alias, then confirm.
Step 4: Delete The Old Hotmail Email Address.
Now that the old email address is no longer being used as a primary alias (or as an alias at all), you can go ahead and remove it from your account entirely.
Click remove in your list of aliases.
How Do I Delete Hotmail Account On My iPhone/Android
How To Delete A Hotmail (Outlook) Account On Android
- Open Outlook on your phone and go to settings.
2. Click on the Microsoft account you want to delete.
3. Click remove account.
How To Delete A Hotmail (Outlook) Account On iPhone
- On your iPhone, select the settings icon. Scroll down in your settings until you see the “Mail” option.
2. Select the account you want to delete.
3. Click delete account.
How Can I Delete My Hotmail Account Without Password?
You cannot delete a Hotmail account without a password.
If you want to get rid of a Hotmail account but you have forgotten the password for it, you first need to reset the password. You can do this by going to account.live.com and typing in your email address.
Next, click on “forgot password” to prompt a password reset. If you remember your account recovery email, type it in and follow the instructions to reset your password.
If you don’t have another email address or phone number linked to your Hotmail account, select “I don’t have any of these”. This will redirect you to your account recovery page.
Provide all the details required on the recovery form and wait for Microsoft to contact you with account recovery instructions.
