Microsoft released the new Outlook.com email address and some users setup an Outlook.com alias however, many users may want to switch their current Hotmail or Live accounts over. The process to do that is pretty simple and we will walk you through the steps on how to switch from Hotmail to Outlook.com.
If you are wondering what happens when you change your address here is how Microsoft explains it:
Rename your email address
Why rename your address? When you rename your email address, your new ID works just like your old one. Your new mail will go to your inbox, and you can choose to keep your old mail in a separate folder. All of your other Microsoft account info—like contacts, photos and Office docs on SkyDrive—will also switch to your new address within a few days.
After upgrading your account to the new Outlook.com Metro version, you may decide to switch your Hotmail address to Outlook here are the steps.
In the top right corner, tap the settings button.
When the drop down menu appears select “More Mail Settings”
Once the menu appears, on the left hand side select the option to “Rename your email address”
When the next screen comes up you can type in your new email address and select it to be an Outlook.com account. Of course if the address is not available, you will have to select another name.
After you hit save you will taken to a logon screen where you will login using your new Outlook.com email address. This is done as a security measure.
Now that you have logged in, you will have the option to send emails sent to your old Hotmail address into the Inbox or a separate folder. (if you skip this option we beleive it will just delete your old address but did not test this.)
Finally, when you hit done you will be taken to your Outlook.com Mailbox. If you choose the option, look at the folder tree on the left you should see the folder for the old Hotmail emails. In your inbox will be your first message telling you everything is done.
When you are done, you will be able to log into all the Microsoft services you used before with your new email address. These changes will also be pushed to other services like Zune and Windows Phone Marketplace. One thing to note is you will have to reset your Windows Phone and log in with your new address as you cannot change it on the device!
Note:
When you are done with the old Hotmail address you can delete it by going into your account settings and removing the old Hotmail address. Simply click the settings button again, on the left click account settings then click notifications. There is an option to Manage Email preferences and fro there you can delete the old Hotmail address.
