The ol’ switcheroo

I enjoy answering great questions in my favorite Windows Live Groups. This one came to my attention yesterday on Live Soapbox, and I thought it would make a good “how-to” post for the Clubhouse. I hope you’ll agree.

Q: I’m about to close down my e-mail account and move to another. What happens to the space attached to that e-mail account?

A: Well, that depends on the type of e-mail account. If it’s a Microsoft (Hotmail, Live, MSN) account, then everything associated with it is taken down. On the other hand, if it’s a Live ID that has been tied to a non-Microsoft address, then nothing happens to the space, because you’re not canceling the Live ID. In fact, all of your Windows Live stuff just continues to exist as it did before you closed the e-mail account.

Even if you’ve already closed the old e-mail address, you can still continue to use its associated Live ID to maintain the space and other WL assets, as long as you remember the Live ID password. Of course you’ll be out of luck if you needed to send a password reminder to the email address (unless of course, you’d specified an alternate address or mobile number as a backup).

However (and this is the interesting part), a Live ID associated with a non-Microsoft account can also be reassigned to a different e-mail address easily. Here’s how:

Go to http://account.live.com, and sign in with your Live ID (if you’ve linked your Live IDs, then you should also be able to switch to it by clicking your user tile). Underneath your name on the main Account page, you should see the e-mail address that’s associated with the account.
Click the Change link and verify your current information (i.e., enter your current Windows Live password).
Select the option to use your own email address (there’s also an option to get a shiny new Microsoft email address while you’re at it), input the address, and click Save.

Voila! Your existing Live ID is now associated with your new e-mail address. There’s no need to close your space or lose anything associated with that account!

If you’d rather invest five minutes of your life and watch a vlog (video blog) post instead of reading, then be my guest. You can even hear my dulcet tones providing the narration.

Changing Your Windows Live E-mail Address