A Microsoft account is a free account you use to access many Microsoft devices and services, such as the web-based email service Outlook.com (also known as hotmail.com, msn.com, live.com), Office Online apps, Skype, OneDrive, Xbox Live, Bing, Windows, or the Microsoft Store. If you already use any of these services chances are you already have a Microsoft account. Microsoft account used to be called "Windows Live ID". When you create a Microsoft account, you can use any email address as the user name, including addresses from Outlook.com, Yahoo! or Gmail.

                      

If you already use an email address and password to sign in to Microsoft devices and services like the ones mentioned above, then you already have a Microsoft account. One of the benefits of having a Microsoft account is having a single password to sign into all your Microsoft services.


A Microsoft account gives you access to Microsoft products and services* with just one login. Here's how to set one up:

        

  • Go to account.microsoft.com, select Sign in, and then choose Create one!

  • You can use an existing email address (even one from other free email providers like Yahoo! or Gmail)

OR

  • If you'd rather create a brand new @outlook.com or @hotmail.com address, choose Get a new email address, choose Next, and then follow the instructions


*You get the following with a free Microsoft account (no additional purchase necessary):

  • A 15GB @outlook.com or @hotmail.com mailbox
  • 5GB OneDrive cloud storage
  • Access to Outlook, Word, Excel and Powerpoint on the web
  • You can also use your Microsoft account with Skype, Bing, Xbox Live, and other Microsoft products