This might not be any concern for the young internet user, but many grown-ups on the internet would like to know how to recover an old Hotmail account, because why not? It was everybody’s favorite service for sending emails across the web about 25 years ago.
This means if you have been using the internet for an extended period, you probably have created a Hotmail account at some point.
Hotmail came into existence in 1996, offering freedom for anyone tired of using applications provided by third-party corporations to send out emails.
It came in as the first webmail and enjoyed a grand reception because people could directly send mails with their internet browser without paying operators for those services.
So wide was this reception that it had over a hundred million users using its services a few years after it was introduced.
So even though it doesn’t technically exist anymore as it has been replaced by Outlook and displaced by Gmail, it had a vast customer base, and any of these customers may want to learn how to recover an old Hotmail account.
How To Recover An Old Hotmail Account
If you have used your Hotmail account for serious business deals in the past and contain some essential documents you need to access, the following methods will show you how to recover an old Hotmail account.
Using the “Forgot Password” Method
This method is simple and a widespread way to gain access to literally any of your accounts on the internet. To use it, follow the steps below:
Step 1: Open Microsoft
The first step is to open Microsoft on your preferred browser and then click on “Sign In,” this will open up a page to enter your phone number/email/ Skype name and a password.
It is often easier to remember the email address for your Hotmail account so enter that into the column or type in your Skype name if you had earlier linked your Hotmail to your Skype account.
Then press enters to proceed to where you will fill in your password.
Step 2: Don’t enter a password
Once you fill in your email or Skype name, you will be directed to where you will enter a password, but because you might have forgotten that bit, click on “Forgot password” instead.
This will redirect you to verify your identity.
Step 3: Verify your identity
To proceed, enter the phone number you used in creating your Hotmail account or an alternative email if you had added any while using your Hotmail.
A verification code will be sent to that phone number or alternative email; once you receive it, get back to the browser, then enter the code in the field provided and click “Next.”
Step 4: Reset your password
Once you have entered the code and clicked “Next,” the page will refresh to allow you to enter a new password.
Please enter a password that would be easy to remember or write it down somewhere to prevent you from losing the Hotmail account again.
Then confirm the password and hit the “Next” button.
Your old Hotmail account has been recovered and is not ready to be accessed.
Using the “I forgot my Hotmail username” Method
This works similarly to the above, but with differences in what you will click and what Microsoft will display to you. You use this in the instance where you no longer remember your Hotmail username.
Step 1: Open the Microsoft page
Type in “Microsoft” on your browser and click head over to their website. Then click on “Sign In options.” This is usually a link that allows you to retrieve your account differently from what we described above.
Step 2: Open “Forgot my username”
Once you click on the link, you will see the different options available. Hit the “Forgot my username” option to proceed.
Next, type in the phone number tied to that Hotmail account and click “Next.”
Step 3: Enter the verification code
A 4-digit verification code will be sent to the number you have entered above. Once you receive it, type it in the field provided and click on “Next.”
Step 4: You will find your username
Once you have entered the verification code, Microsoft will display your correct username, which you may now use to access your account along with the valid password.
If you don’t remember your password after retrieving your username, you can use the method above to get it.
Recovering a Blocked Hotmail Account
This method is used in the event where you remember your password, username, and email address but hadn’t accessed your account in a while because you had it terminated at some point.
The reasons for Hotmail account termination are numerous, but outside the scope of this guide, so we will focus on how to recover an old Hotmail account that got blocked.
Step 1: Open Microsoft
Open the Microsoft website on your browser but instead of heading to “Sign In,” locate “Password reset form” and click on it.
Then enter the email address of your Hotmail account and hit “Next.”
Step 2: Enter the CAPTCHA
At this stage and for security reasons, you will be presented with a CAPTCHA test which you will need to type incorrectly to proceed.
Most of these tests are simple, and you should have no trouble dealing with them. Once you have typed it in, click on the “Next” button below.
Step 3: Enter the verification code
You will receive a verification code on the email address you provided in step 1 above; enter it in the column provided to move to the final step.
Step 4: Reset your password
Once the code has been successfully verified, you can go ahead and reset the password for your account and sign in after that.
In the event that you are still unable to access the account after all the above procedures, the next best thing would be to contact the support center.
Contacting Microsoft Customer Support
If all else fails, this is the final method and can work better than any of the methods described above. However, it may take more work and require more time to reach the support center and respond.
Step 1: Go to Microsoft Account Recovery
Using the same browser and device, visit Microsoft Account Recovery. But it is advisable to do this without a VPN as Microsoft will often want to identify your exact location to help with the process.
Then enter the email address of the Hotmail account you intend to recover before entering a second email address as “Contact email.”
Step 2: Enter the CAPTCHA
The following field will display a CAPTCHA test that you need to pass to continue. Type it in the text field provided and click on “Next.”
Step 3: Enter the verification code
An authentication or verification code will be sent to the secondary email address you provided above. You will need to fill that in and hit the “Verify” button.
Step 3: Enter other information
Microsoft may need you to enter other information, including your name and further details. You may also need to enter a few email subject lines you had recently sent out. Anyone you have contacted with that email should help you out with those.
You can also enter more relevant information in the “add more” option provided below.
Step 4: Hit “Submit” and wait
Once you are satisfied with all the entered information, hit the “Submit” and wait. As we said, this takes a much longer time and may require you to wait for up to 24 hours for a response.
Your account will be restored once the information provided matches, or you will be asked to provide more details if you haven’t provided enough to help them restore your account.
How Far Back Does Hotmail Keep Emails?
While people often seek ways on how to recover an old Hotmail account, it is prevalent to wonder how long Hotmail stores emails without deleting them.
Some people who recovered their old Hotmail accounts are often shocked that many of their emails have been deleted. So how long can Hotmail keep your emails before deleting them?
Hotmail can keep your emails forever as long as you sign in at least once every year. Hence to keep your emails alive, you will need to log in once every 365 days.
Once the emails have been deleted, they will remain in the Deleted Items and Junk Email folders for about ten days before they are entirely discarded.
You still stand the chance of recovering your emails within this timeframe, or you can contact their Customer Support Center if you can’t find any of your emails.
Why Is Hotmail Better Than Gmail?
Hotmail was the first webmail service provider and allowed people to send emails easily over web browsers at a time when such a feat was unheard of. Yet, at the time of this writing, not many people use it anymore.
So, Hotmail is not better than Gmail for several reasons, including cost, available storage, security, add-ons, customization, and practicality for businesses.
Most people don’t even think this should be an argument as Hotmail has been rebranded as Outlook and no longer exists to provide services under the name “Hotmail.”
And if you still wish to debate about this using Hotmail’s best feats from the past, Gmail still wins based on what we know.
For instance, Gmail provided up to 1GB (when it first launched) and upgraded that to 15GB storage capacity, which its users can use for free. This is against the limited 2MB storage offered by Hotmail.
Secondly, the absence of ads on Gmail makes it more appealing to use and less clunky than Hotmail, which needed those ads to make more revenue.
Gmail is also known to be more user-friendly with features and characteristics that make it easier to use. For instance, the “Search” icon makes it easy to search and find emails that would otherwise take too much work to locate.
Google also allows any add-on on the G-suite. Extensions and add-ons such as Grammarly and Zoom can be directly added to Gmail and allow for improved productivity across the board. Such a feature did not exist on Hotmail until its demise.
Perhaps, these are some of the reasons why Gmail surpassed Hotmail’s 360 million monthly active subscribers in 2012, just eight years after its launch hitting a whopping 425 million active users.
As of the time of this writing, Gmail is said to have over a 1.5billion subscribers instead of Hotmail’s 400 million subscribers.
Does Hotmail Still Exist?
No, Hotmail no longer exists, as you can no longer create or own a new Hotmail account. However, because it was upgraded to Outlook in 2012, you can still use your old Hotmail account on Outlook.
While this upgrade was geared towards keeping the legacy of the first webmail service alive and giving Gmail some competition, it is sad to say Hotmail no longer exists, and Outlook is still struggling to gain acceptance as a tool for personal use.
Yet, if you have an old Hotmail account, you can easily link the address to Outlook and access your emails using the Outlook platform.
The method for linking it is pretty simple and can be done as described below:
Step 1: Launch the Outlook
Open the Outlook file (preferably on a PC) and wait for it to load completely. Once it has opened, click on “Add Account” to enter your details.
Step 2: Select an option
The following menu will open based on what version of Outlook you are running. For instance, Outlook 2016 will open with a menu that contains “Connect,” and you will need to click on that to continue. On Outlook 2010 and 2013, you will need to find “Email Account” on the menu and click on it.
Step 3: Enter your details
Type in your old Hotmail address and your name, then enter the corresponding password to proceed. If you do not remember your password, you can use any of the methods we discussed above to restore your account.
Select ” Next ” to continue once you have entered all your details; select “Next” to continue. You may be prompted to enter your password a second time. Once you are done, hit “OK” to have your account loaded into Outlook.
You will receive a prompt telling you that your account has been successfully added. After that, click on “Done” to clear the page and return to “Home.”
Conclusion
This guide shows you how to recover an old Hotmail account because even though Hotmail is no longer in use and not many people know about it today, there are people who still have the account and would like access to it.
Recovering the account is as simple as we have discussed above, and you will need to sync it with your Outlook to access all your old emails.
Just make sure you sign in once every year to prevent your emails from getting deleted. Lastly, if you encounter any problems beyond the scope of this article, you can easily reach out to Microsoft and have their Customer Support offer you the necessary assistance.