Companies usually give you a bit of guff when you try deleting an account with them, but Microsoft has relatively few of hoops to jump through to do so. No matter the reason for deleting your account — switching to a new one, moving to a different OS, or just testing things out — the process remains the same. Here's how to do it.
Select Account Settings Account Settings. Select the account you want to delete, then select Remove. You'll see a message warning you that all offline cached content for this account will be deleted. This only affects content downloaded and stored on your computer.
Things to do before deleting your Microsoft account
Before you completely get rid of a Microsoft account, there might be a few loose ends that need tying up.
1. Cancel subscriptions: If you're subscribing to other services using your Microsoft account ID, cancel those subscriptions now. If not, you won't be able to access those services following deletion.
2. Set up an automated email forward: If you use an email address that ends in hotmail.com, outlook.com, live.com, or msn.com, your emails will no longer be available following the 60-day waiting period for final account deletion. You can manually send out messages, letting people know the account will be deleted, or you can set automated vacation replies.
3. Spend money: Once your Microsoft account is gone, so is all the money associated with it. Before deleting your account, spend any remaining moola on items you can keep after account deletion. Money that will disappear also includes any Skype credit.
4. Save your stuff: While using a Microsoft account, you might have been tempted to store data, like pictures in OneDrive or emails in Outlook. Following account deletion, that data will no longer be accessible if you don't back it up somewhere else that isn't associated with your account. Also, keep in mind that games you've purchased through the Microsoft account will remain playable, but you will lose saved game progress, your Gamerscore, and your Gamertag. If you use an Xbox Music Pass, that music will no longer be accessible.
5. Deal with sub accounts: Child accounts remain open even when you delete your account, but they will need another parent account to give them consent when attempting to log into a PC running Windows 8 or later, a Windows phone, or an Xbox.
6. Turn off reset protection: If you have reset protection enabled on any of your devices, be sure to disable it before deleting your account. If you don't, you might not be able to use the device once the account is deleted.
Remember, if you delete your Microsoft account and realize that something is no longer working, there is a 60-day grace period where you can retrieve your Microsoft account before it is deleted forever.
How to completely delete your Microsoft account
Once you've tied up any loose ends, you can delete your Microsoft account.
- Navigate to the Close your account page of the Microsoft website.
- Type the email address associated with your Microsoft account.
Click Next.
- Type your password.
Click Sign in.
- Click Next.
Click each checkbox after reading each one and understanding the ramifications of deleting your account.
- Click the dropdown arrow in the Select a reason field.
Click an option.
- Click Mark account for closure.
Click Done.
How to retrieve your Microsoft account within 60 days
If you realize you've made a mistake and you'd like to restore your Microsoft account, you can do so within 60 days.
- Navigate to the Microsoft login page.
- Type your username.
Click Next.
- Type your password.
Click Sign in.
- Click Continue — I want to reopen this account. You'll be asked to verify the account with a security question. In this case, we used a secondary email address as a backup.
Type the backup email address.
- Click Send code.
Type the code you receive, whether in email or text.
- Click Next.
- Click Done.
You can now continue using your Microsoft account as usual.
Updated July 11, 2017: We've refreshed this how-to to ensure you're still getting current information about how to delete your Microsoft account, how to restore your account, and the ramifications behind the action.
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Credits
The credits on the credit meter are stored in your browser's cookies on your hard drive. If your browser's security setting disallows cookies, the games will not be able to save your credits. Also, if you use a privacy program that erases your cookies, it will reset the credit meter.
To protect your credits, you should press the sweepstakes button to upload them to the server whenever you have a lot of credits on the credit meter. Make sure you do this before replacing your computer or re-installing the operating system.
Java
If you have an old browser (Internet Explorer 8 or lower) that doesn't support HTML5, a Java version of the games will try to load instead. You might see the message 'Application Blocked by Security Settings' if you have a new version of Java that doesn't work with our slots. Try using Google Chrome, a free web browser that doesn't need Java to play the games.
How do I change my e-mail address?
Log in and press the 'Edit account' button, then edit the 'E-Mail Address' line. If you've already created a new account with the new e-mail address, you'll need to change the new account to another address to get it out of the way so you can change the old account to the new address.
After you change your e-mail address, the status display for sweepstakes entries today and this month will not show your previous entries that were made under the old e-mail address. Don't worry, the entries are still in the sweepstakes. The account only displays entries submitted with the current e-mail address.
I forgot my password
Press the sweepstakes button and enter your e-mail address but leave the password box blank. Press the 'Login' button. On the dialog box saying 'Incorrect password', press the 'E-mail me my password' button.
Where can I see who won?
Here is the Winners List.
How can a second person playing on the same computer enter the sweepstakes separately?
The second player should create their own account by pressing the 'Create new account' button. When you log in with the sweepstakes button, it fills in the blanks with the last person who logged in, so if you weren't the last person to log in, you'll need to change it to your own account.