Windows 7 - Rename Windows Live ID

Asked By RichardG

24-Oct-09 06:08 AM

My Windows Live ID no longer represents a valid e-mail address.  Is there a
way to rename the ID?  I seem to remember doing this before once, but cannot
remember how.  I have tried searching help but the instructions provided there
no longer seem to be valid...

Thanks.

24-Oct-09 08:28 PM

You can continue to use the existing LiveID as is and simply change the
alternate email address to a valid address for purposes of password change, etc.

You can create a new LiveID and abandon the old one as desired. If you have any
paid accounts with the old LiveID, you will need to contact each provider to
change the Billing information to be associated with a new LiveID before you can
cancel the existing LiveID.

If you are using the LiveID for Windows Live Messenger, you will need to export
your contacts and import them again and your contacts will need to accept you
once again into their contact list.

For all of the above reasons, it makes much more sense to not create a LiveID
that is associated with a 3rd party email address provided by your ISP if you
might change ISPs. You are better off obtaining a free LiveID with an associated
Hotmail account - @live.com (or localized domain)

-steve



--
Stephen Boots
MVP Windows Live
Windows Live OneCare/Live Mesh/MSE Forums Moderator
sboots@mvps.org

25-Oct-09 12:47 PM

Thanks for the info and advice Steve.  The annoying thing is I had used an
hoped to use forever, as my live ID (which I have also had for 10 years, from
the beginning of Messenger).  Sadly Bigfoot has become increasingly
unreliable at forwarding e-mails to me, so it makes little point to continue
using it as my live ID.

- Richard.

25-Oct-09 07:50 PM

Sorry to hear that bigfoot is not reliable for you. You can still use that as
your LiveID, though, even if you plan to switch email providers. The fact that
it is not an actual email address is not a problem.
-steve



--
Stephen Boots
MVP Windows Live
Windows Live OneCare/Live Mesh/MSE Forums Moderator
sboots@mvps.org