Hotmail Login information

We are continuing our login problems series with an article on Hotmail login problems. You can read previous login related articles by visiting the posts Facebook Login or Yahoo Mail Login.

Update: Hotmail.com redirects to the new Outlook Mail now. Microsoft replaced Hotmail with it. Most of the instructions below apply to Outlook Mail as well, but here is a short overview of the differences.

The sign in page looks different obviously. Microsoft displays only the sign in form on the page. You are asked to enter your email address, phone number or Skype ID in the form, and click on next.

You are asked on the next page to enter the password of the account to sign in to Outlook Mail. You find the forgot my password link on the page which you may open if you forgot your password, known it but cannot sign in, or think that someone else managed to gain access to the Microsoft Account.

Before you sign in to Outlook Mail, make sure you are on the right site. You should be on a website that begins the address with https://login.live.com/. The actual Outlook address begins with https://outlook.live.com/ though, but you see that only after you complete the sign in.

Tip: You can improve the security of your Microsoft Account by using the company's Authenticator application, or by enabling two-factor authentication on the Microsoft website directly.

Old Hotmail information

Hotmail is an online email service by Microsoft, which - like other email services - can be accessed from a website but also from a desktop email client. The standard Hotmail login page is located at Hotmail.com which will redirect the web browser to a Windows Live Login page.

The Hotmail user can then log into Hotmail using the Windows Live ID or the Hotmail username and password that were selected during setup of the email service. The Hotmail username is usually the Hotmail email address.

The website contains an option to restore the Hotmail password if it cannot be entered correctly. There are two options to reset the password. The first is to use location information and the secret answer to the question to reset the password, the second to send password reset instructions to email. The second option obviously makes only sense if the email account can still be accessed.

Microsoft has created a help file that tries to help Hotmail users who cannot sign in to the service:

If you can't sign in to a website or service with your Windows Live ID (The e-mail address and password that you use to sign in to Windows Live programs and services such as Windows Live Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger; Microsoft services such as Xbox LIVE, MSN, and Office Live; and anywhere else that you see the Windows Live ID logo.) , try the following:

* Make sure that you typed your password correctly. Passwords are case sensitive (Capable of distinguishing between uppercase [capital] and lowercase [small] letters. For example, A is different from a. If information is case sensitive, it must be typed with the required capitalization.) . If you've forgotten your password, try to reset it. For more information, see Reset your password.
* Make sure that your Caps Lock isn't on.
* Make sure that the correct domain (A group of computers and devices on a network that are administered with common rules and procedures. The domain name is the part of your e-mail address after the @ sign, such as hotmail.com.) name is typed in the Windows Live ID box.
* Check that the Windows Live network isn't temporarily out of service.
* Check that the website or service that you want to sign in to has the Windows Live symbol.

There are two options for users who want to avoid login difficulties in the future. The first option is to configure Hotmail in a desktop email software. Those usually work even if the Hotmail website is temporarily not accessible. The other option is to use a password manager like Last Pass which can remember the username and password and log in the user automatically whenever the Hotmail page is opened.

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