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How do I change my email address?

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Summary: Depending on the email service you're using and how much effort you want to put into it, changing your email address can either be fairly easy or fairly hard.

How do I change my email address?

Most commonly with the free email services, people often aren't happy with the email addresses that are available. After a while they want a new email address that's "cooler" or more descriptive.

Depending on the email service you're using and how much effort you want to put into things, changing your email address can be either easy or hard. More likely it'll be somewhere in between.

HotMail, Yahoo and other free services: There's really no way to change an email address. The best you can do is create a new account with a new name, and start using it, and at the same time simply stop using the old account with the old name. Remember, these are free, and you get what you pay for.

AOL, MSN, Earthlink and other large ISPs: Since these are services you do pay for, they often have some more flexibility. Unfortunately, it's often your email address that identifies your account with these services, so if you want a new email address, you need to create a new account. Much like the free services above, you would then start using the new account and email address and stop using the old account and email address. The good news here is that unlike the free services, most major ISPs have email forwarding services available, so that email sent to your old account can be automatically forwarded to your new one. It's also worth checking with the ISP directly - some may support a more complete solution to changing your email address - but exactly if, how, and how much will vary widely.

"... free services: There's really no way to change an email address."

Small ISPs: there are thousands of small internet service providers out there who are providing connectivity to large numbers of people. The only advice I have here is to ask them. They may be of no help at all (in which case you'd simply create a new account with a new name and phase out your old account), or they may bend over backwards to help you make the transition transparently. There's no standard solution, so what they provide will vary greatly. Ask them.

But all the cool names are taken!

Yes, they are.

When you go to a major ISP or free email service, thousands, perhaps millions, of people were there ahead of you. All the simple, easy to remember or "cool" names are already in use by someone else. That's why when you ask for your first name as an email name, the service may respond by recommending instead that name followed by a string of random numbers. "Leo" is probably taken, but "Leo83545" may not be. There's simply no way around this, other than perhaps trying different variations or different free services until you find something you like. Pay services are probably even less flexible, and may well simply assign you a name without any flexibility.

The most bullet-proof solution is to register your own domain name. If you're even a little internet-savvy, it's not difficult to do so yourself, and many ISPs will also do it for you. For an annual fee you get your own internet domain, like "example.com". Most registrars and ISPs will then provide email forwarding, so that "you@example.com" can automatically be forwarded to whatever your "real" email account is. Even if you change your real email from a free Hotmail account to a Yahoo account to an MSN or AOL account - changing where "you@example.com" goes to means your email will always reach you.

And when you have your own domain name, all email addresses on that domain are yours to do with as you wish.

Even the cool ones.

Update: - I've added a new article that explores this topic in more depth for MSN Hotmail users: How do I change my Hotmail name or address?

Related:

Article C2178 - September 3, 2004

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Recent Comments
51 Comments

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I don't believe so, but you'd have to check with Verizon. Basically they have
to keep your old account active to keep your old email address active.
Obviously you can do that by continuing to pay for it, but I don't think that's
what you have in mind.

Leo


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Posted by: Leo A. Notenboom at September 17, 2007 9:02 AM

As mentioned above regarding changing of email address with ISP's,it is not manadentory to create a new account in order to change the email address,instead you can call your ISP and put a request for change of email address,all it's gonna cost you is a phone call.

Posted by: Joe at October 14, 2007 8:22 PM

How do i chage my email address to myspace to a different one like TYRONE_SEXYDADDY@yahoo.com

Posted by: Tyrone at December 7, 2007 12:03 PM

I realized that I'm not happy with my e-mail address with Comcast. I would like to change it ASAP! Please reply how I can change that with Comcast.net? Thank you for your assitance.

Posted by: Maria Velez-Kenney at January 5, 2008 1:20 AM

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Robert: You'll have to contact Comcast customer support.

Leo


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Posted by: Leo A. Notenboom at January 7, 2008 11:20 AM

i am getting emails from people and companys i dont now

Posted by: julie boa at June 22, 2008 3:45 AM

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Yep. You and everyone else on the internet.

It's called spam.

Leo


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Posted by: Leo at June 23, 2008 8:35 PM

I need a new yahoo e-mail and have no idea how to go about it. I have too many unwanted messages every day. I think it's my fault. Can you help?

1) Sign Out from your Yahoo account.

Click the "Sign In" link, but don't actually sign in

Click the "Sign Up" link to create a new account.
- Leo
19-Mar-2009

Posted by: john watts at March 18, 2009 8:15 PM

Changing ISP. What is the easy way to notifiy all contacts of my new email address...DG

Posted by: Don at June 20, 2009 9:54 AM

I hvve switched from comcast to verizon. how i forward all my email from my old comcast email aggress to my new verizon email address

Posted by: gail at June 21, 2009 4:35 AM

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