How to create Outlook.com alias from your Microsoft account

You can have multiple email addresses in Outlook.com without creating multiple accounts, and here's how.

Microsoft account alias for Outlook
Microsoft account alias for Outlook
  • To create an email alias for Outlook, open the “Sync email” page in Outlook.com, click “Manage or choose a primary alias,” click “Add email,” and create a new alias with an “@Outlook.com” or another service.
  • You can also manage your aliases. You can make it primary, allow or deny sign-in, and delete it when you no longer need it.

On your Microsoft account, you can create a new Outlook.com alias to change your existing email address without having to set up a new account, and in this guide, I will outline the steps I usually use to create and manage aliases.

As part of the Outlook.com experience, an alias is an additional email address you can create and add to your account instead of maintaining multiple email accounts with the same service.

Technically, aliases are part of your Microsoft account, but since Outlook.com is one of the services from the account, you can use it to create multiple addresses for the email service. Also, there are two types of aliases, including email and phone number, but you would typically use the email option.

Furthermore, each additional email address will use the same contact settings, contact list, and inbox, and you can use any of the aliases with the same password to sign into your account, services, and devices.

You can also use the alias feature to change your “@Hotmail” or “@Live” address to an “@Outlook” address. Completing this configuration involves creating and setting a new “@Outlook” address alias and setting it as your primary. You can then leave the other old address to keep getting emails from people who have that email, or you can remove the old address.

In this guide, I will teach you the steps to create an email alias on your Microsoft account you can use in Outlook.com.

Create email alias for Outlook

To create a new email alias in Outlook.com from your Microsoft account, use these steps:

  1. Open Outlook.com.

  2. Sign in with your credentials (if applicable).

  3. Click the Settings (gear) button in the top-right.

  4. Click on Mail from the left pane.

  5. Click the Sync email tab.

  6. Under the “Email aliases” section, click the “Manage or choose a primary alias” option.

    Outlook choose primary alias option

    Quick note: You can also get to the page with this link, or from your Microsoft Account, click the “Your info” tab, and then click on the “Edit account info” option.
  7. Click the Add email option.

    Microsoft account add new alias option

  8. Check the “Create a new email address to add it as an alias” option.

  9. Create an email alias with an “@Outlook.com.”

    Create new Outlook alias

  10. (Optional) Check the “Add an existing email address as a Microsoft account alias” option.

  11. Create an email alias using an existing email (such as Gmail, Yahoo, GMX, and other services).

    Quick note: It’s not possible to use email addresses already associated with a work or school account or existing Hotmail, Live, MSN, or Outlook.com addresses associated with another Microsoft account.
  12. Click the Add alias button.

  13. Confirm the new alias for your account.

Once you complete the steps, the new Outlook.com alias will be added to your Microsoft account, and you can now use it to send and receive emails and sign in to your Microsoft services with the same password.

A Microsoft account can only have up to five aliases. If you want to add another one, you will have to remove an alias before you can create another one.

Set email alias as primary for Outlook

To make an alias primary on Outlook.com, use these steps:

  1. Open Outlook.com.

  2. Sign in with your credentials (if applicable).

  3. Click the Settings (gear) button in the top-right.

  4. Click on Mail from the left pane.

  5. Click the Sync email tab.

  6. Under the “Email aliases” section, click the “Manage or choose a primary alias” option.

    Outlook choose primary alias option

  7. Click the Make primary option for the email to make primary.

    Outlook alias make it primary

  8. Confirm the new primary alias for your account.

After you complete the steps, the new alias will become the primary and default address on your account. This will be the address that will appear on your profiles when logged in your devices and services.

When setting a new alias as a primary, you can still use the other secondary alias to sign in to services and work with emails in Outlook.com.

Remove email alias from Outlook

To remove an Outlook.com email alias from your Microsoft account, use these steps:

  1. Open Outlook.com.

  2. Sign in with your credentials (if applicable).

  3. Click the Settings (gear) button in the top-right.

  4. Click on Mail from the left pane.

  5. Click the Sync email tab.

  6. Under the “Email aliases” section, click the “Manage or choose a primary alias” option.

    Outlook choose primary alias option

  7. Click the Remove option for the alias to delete from the account.

    Microsoft account remove Outlook email alias

  8. Click the Remove button again.

    Confirm remove Outlook email alias

Once you complete the steps, the email alias will be removed from your account.

In my experience, when working with aliases, if you plan to remove your primary address, I find it easier to make another email the primary and then remove the aliases in question.

Choose alias sign-in preferences

To choose the aliases that are allowed to sign in to your account, use these steps:

  1. Open Outlook.com.

  2. Sign in with your credentials (if applicable).

  3. Click the Settings (gear) button in the top-right.

  4. Click on Mail from the left pane.

  5. Click the Sync email tab.

  6. Under the “Email aliases” section, click the “Manage or choose a primary alias” option.

    Outlook choose primary alias option

  7. Click on the “Change sign-in preferences” option.

    Microsoft account change sign-in preferences

  8. Check only the aliases allowed to sign in.

    Allow Outlook alias sign in

  9. Click the Save button.

After you complete the steps, only the aliases you selected will be able to sign in to your account. This is a convenient option if you want to keep an email but don’t want to delete it.

Why do you want to use an alias? Aliases in Outlook.com have multiple uses, including the ability to change your email address at any time, and it allows you to create alternate emails to use on third-party websites and services without giving them your personal address, which you can delete at any time.

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.