Sign up for a free Hotmail or Outlook email account

Microsoft decided in 2013 to integrate all Hotmail accounts into a new service called Outlook. Despite the changes, the service remains completely free and the only thing we should note is that we will be able to log in with our Hotmail or Outlook account from the same page without distinction. If we prefer the Hotmail domain to Outlook, we will be able to continue to create new Hotmail accounts.

Hotmail and Outlook, are they the same?

Of all the services Microsoft offers its users, there are two that users often confuse: Hotmail and Outlook.Hotmail was founded in 1996, considered one of the best webmail services in the world. Later, in 1997, Microsoft acquired it and launched it as MSN Hotmail.com untilFinally replaced by Outlook.com in 2013On the other hand, we have Outlook, which is Microsoft email client.

Hotmail is the second most used email service after Google Gmail, which has more than 500 million users worldwide, has been around since 2013, when Microsoft transformed it into Outlook.com, a rebranded and easier-to-use service, but essentially the same thing.

This change confused many users because we couldKeep your Hotmail accountis @hotmail.com, even though we are using Outlook. New users can create @outlook.com, @outlook.es, or @hotmail.com accounts. So Outlook and Hotmail are the same email service, but with different names.

Steps to create a Hotmail account

If we want to register a new Hotmail email account for free, we just have to follow a few simple steps. The first thing we must do isAccess Outlook Weband clickCreate a free accountbutton.

On the next page we must enter our name, always keeping in mind that it must be unique,No spaces or special characters, e.g.(@, #, ¬, &, etc.) and be able to use numbers, letters and numbers, as well as select The Dominion. By default, @outlook.es appears on the right, but if we show it, we can choose @outlook.com, or in this case, @hotmail.com that interests us. Once selected, click Next.

Next, we must enter aContain at least 8 characters, which we will use later to access our email account. This must be as secure as possible and it is recommended to use a mixture of letters, numbers, uppercase, lowercase and even special characters. If we do not want to receive advertising from Microsoft, uncheck the box “I want to receive information, recommendations and offers about Microsoft products and services” and click “Next” to continue.

In the new screen we have to enter ourName and Surname. Although we will be able to put out what we want, since Microsoft will not be responsible for checking whether this data is real, it is recommended that it is real data, especially if we want to use it professionally. Once finished, click Next.

Next, we are asked for more information to configure our account. We have to enter ourDate of birth, which will help Microsoft provide us with settings that are appropriate for our age. If you are a minor under the age of 13, a parent or guardian will be required to verify and approve the account.

Now, to avoid bots automatically creating accounts, we have to solve a catpcha or audio challenge so that we can verify that we are not a bot.

Finally, the service asks usDo you want to keep the session started?, so as not to start it again next time. This is useful if we are going to use this account frequently and do not want to log in every time. Otherwise, if we have several accounts that we use frequently, we can mark No. If we want to mark Yes, it is important that we do it on the main computer that no one else can access.

Finally, we have created our account and it will appear on the screen. Now we have to choose the account we want to useOutlook design.We can choose the advertising experience so that we can read in the most appropriate way, and later we can change it from the Configuration section. We can choose the default (recommended) or the banner form. Once selected, we can start operating with our account.

How to log in to Windows

Now that we have a Hotmail account, we can now use different methods to Windows Sign in, either from Outlook Web, its desktop application, or by using another third-party client.

From Outlook on the web

The easiest way to access our email account from any device is to go intoOutlook Web.From here, just click on Start Session and enter our data, email address and password. In this way we canFrom anyWeb browseraccess,Without having to download any type of application to our computer. Without a doubt, this is the best option if we occasionally check our mail or access it from a computer that we do not use regularly.

Using the Outlook application

Microsoft has its own Outlook application for Windows. This software isMicrosoft Office or Microsoft 365Part of an office suite, although it can be used as a standalone tool. By accessing and configuring our account with our email address and password, we will always have direct access to all our mails and even receive notifications every time a new mail arrives. It is recommended in cases where we use mail intensively.

With third-party customers

If we don't want to use Outlook Web or Application, we can also access our account through various third-party email clients that support Microsoft accounts.

Mail and Calendar

Windows 10 and Windows 11 Each has its own email manager designed for personal and professional use. This is compatible with Office 365, Exchange, Outlook.com, Gmail, and Yahoo! Compatible with among others, so we can use our Hotmail and Outlook accounts without problems, just configure our account with our username and password. To start the application, just use the start menuSearch Enginesand write the mail and select it. If we don't have it installed, we canFrom the Microsoft StoreFree download.