How To Create A Live Ca Account

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Closing your Microsoft account is simple if you know where to look. Here's how to delete your Hotmail, Outlook.com and Windows Live Microsoft accounts.

If you're reading this article, you're more than likely trying to delete your Hotmail, Outlook, Live, or some other Microsoft account. Good news, you've come to the right place! This how-to tutorial explains the simple steps for permanently deleting all branded Microsoft accounts.

Important information about deleting your Hotmail, Outlook, and Windows Live Microsoft accounts

Visit the Microsoft Billing service before closing or deleting your Microsoft Account (Hotmail, Windows Live, and Outlook.com accounts). If a live subscription is active, it will block you from permanently closing your account.
Hotmail, Windows Live, and Outlook.com accounts are not considered "Microsoft Accounts." You can't close just the Hotmail account without closing the entire Windows Live, aka Microsoft Account.
Remember to spend any Skype credits before you blow away your account. Any credits will be lost once you close your account.
Check your Microsoft and Xbox account balances using this link. You can also remove any credit cards from your account on this page as well.
It takes 60 days to close the email account after putting in the request. This is actually an upgrade now. It used to be over 200 days.
Once you close an account, it should stop accepting new email messages.
Interestingly, even after 365 days of inactivity, your Windows Live ID and password will persist on the server unless someone attempts to register a new account using your exact Live ID. (This worked for me with an account I haven't used in over 3 years. I was able to log right in, although all of the data was wiped.)

Step 1

Sign in to your Hotmail, Windows Live, or Outlook.com. This will redirect you to the new Outlook.com interface. Now that you're logged in go to https://account.microsoft.com/ to manage your account settings.

Step 2

From the Microsoft Account page, Click Security.

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At the bottom of the new page, Click More Security Options.

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Scroll down to the bottom of the account details page and click the Close my account link.

Step 3

At this final step, Microsoft will inform you about all the things you must first do before closing your account.

Step 4

Even after closing all subscriptions on my account, Microsoft still didn't let me close a few of my test accounts. So, if the above steps didn't work for you, which is likely, you'll need to use the super-hidden deletion link: Click here to go directly to the account closure confirmation page.

Microsoft will ask you to verify your identity and notify you of what we already know; it will take 60 days to close the account permanently. Geez, and I thought Facebook's 2-week policy was bad!

Having second thoughts?

All you have to do is login if you want your account back, and the whole deletion process is canceled.

About that: Before writing this, I let an account sit closed for two weeks. Now, I just reactivated it, and all of my email messages and contacts are sitting right where I left them. Perhaps by a "few days," Hotmail means a "few months." Maybe it doesn't even delete your messages until the 60 days are up? I don't know, and I sure don't want to cancel it halfway through to find out, but it is a possibility.