by Hotmail (now Outlook) is one of the earliest free email services that could be accessed with a web browser and when you log into Hotmail email, you will automatically gain access as a user on this platform. It was first launched in 1996 and was subsequently acquired by Microsoft in 1997 and rebranded in 2012. Because of the rebranding, if you want to create a Hotmail account now, you will be redirected to Outlook – you can still own a Hotmail email address if you desire but you will have to sign in with Outlook to be able to access your account.
Hotmail email still possesses some of the features that made it one of the amazing email services in the early days and since rebranding, many other features have been added to make it even better. Some of these features include unlimited storage space, the ability to schedule meetings and manage your calendar, spam filtering and many more. Hotmail (Outlook) can be downloaded on mobile devices, or PC or can be accessed by visiting the webpage on outlook.live.com. If you already own a Hotmail account, you do not need to update your account to Outlook because it will update automatically. This article will guide you on the step by step procedures on how to create a Hotmail account and also log into Hotmail email.
Features of Hotmail (Outlook)
The features of Hotmail made the email service stand out in the early days when it was first introduced. Hotmail email possessed features like storage of up to 250MB, spam filtering and virus scanning. However, since its rebranding, these features have been upgraded and more features added to the email service platform. Some of the features of Outlook include:
- Apart from sending and receiving emails, you can also schedule meetings and manage your calendar using Outlook.
- With Outlook, you can write your email and schedule a time or date you will like it to be sent.
- You can decide to customize y emails using colours available on the Outlook platform. This highlighting feature can help you quickly identify an email address or a message easily.
- Outlook offers a high level of security features such as spam block, junk mail filtering, a built email scanner that sends alerts from untrustworthy email sources and multi-factor authentication.
- You can schedule meetings on your calendar with Outlook and share them with your friends and colleagues.
- The ‘To-do’ feature allows you to organize your day and your activities. You can also use this feature to mark any task you feel is important.
- Another good thing about Outlook is that it is free to use, you don’t have to pay to create an account or sign in. However, if you want to get access to extra features like custom domains, no ads, better security and higher storage capacity, you need to subscribe to the Outlook premium plan.
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How to Create a Hotmail Account
To log into Hotmail email, you must first create a Hotmail account. To do this, you will have to visit the Outlook webpage on outlook.live.com/owa/.
- Navigate to the “create free account” page and click on ‘create a free account’;
- Type in a suitable username you will like to use for your account. This username will be the email address that will come before outlook.com or hotmail.com;
- You can decide to choose which domain name you will like your username to have by clicking on the dropdown menu at the top right corner of the username page. You can decide if you want the outlook.com domain or the hotmail.com domain. If you don’t choose the particular domain you will like your email address to have, you will be given outlook.com by default.
- The next step is to choose a unique and suitable password for your account. It is advisable to choose a password that is strong and one you can remember with ease. Click ‘next’.
- Type in your first name and your last name and click ‘next’.
- Select your country of origin and choose your birth date then click on ‘Next’.
- Pass the reCAPTCHA test by entering the characters from the image presented to you then click ‘next’.
- After following all the processes above, you have successfully created an Outlook account; you will then be redirected to your account. The image below is what the Microsoft Outlook Email interface would look like after you log into Hotmail email:
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How to Log into your old Hotmail Email Account
You might have an old Hotmail account and you might be looking for ways to access your account. Unfortunately, Microsoft deactivated old accounts that haven’t logged in after a year but if you still want to give it a try to see if there is a little bit of chance that your old account hasn’t been deactivated or deleted by Microsoft, you can try this few steps:
- Visit the Microsoft account recovery tool and enter your old email address and a known good email address. Pass the reCAPTCHA test and click ‘next’.
- You will be sent a 4 digit verification code to your known good email address. Type in the code sent to you and click on ‘verify’.
- You will be asked some personal questions and a security question to verify who you are. Answer the questions presented to you and click ‘next’.
- You will need to provide passwords you may have used in the past and then specify other Microsoft products you may also have used. Then click on ‘next’.
- You also need to provide some of the emails and subjects of the emails you have sent recently. Click ‘next’.
- The next thing to do is to wait for 24 hours to get feedback from Microsoft.
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