Did Hotmail become Outlook?

What happened to Hotmail?

Although Hotmail was created in 1996, Microsoft didn’t buy it and name it MSN Hotmail until 1997. Then, in 2005, it was combined into Windows Live which was a set of digital products that you could use on your Windows computer or laptop. If you had a Hotmail account back then, you may have received notice in 2011 that the email service provider was phasing out. Hotmail.com was officially discontinued in 2013.

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The benefits of combining Hotmail and Outlook

After the 2013 discontinuation, Hotmail was migrated into Outlook. Both of these email servers offered free versions. There’s no need to worry about losing your Hotmail email features because some of them were implemented in the Outlook platform. The other benefits you’ll gain from this migration are:

Same great features, plus more

You can still send, receive, and manage your emails with Outlook just how you did with your Hotmail account. However, there’s additional features added within the Outlook server. You can now access your email through the Outlook.com website or in the downloaded Outlook app on your compatible computer, laptop, tablet, and smartphone. You can also schedule when you want to send emails in advance, create your own email templates to use in the future, and organize your emails based on specific keywords and content.

Improved security

Outlook has beefed up the security features you had in your Hotmail account. The updated email service provider protects you from junk mail and phishing scams. It also provides you additional warning when opening emails that include downloaded photos and data from questionable websites. You can block these suspecting senders and disable the hyperlinks they send to make sure you don’t accidentally click them. Another security feature built into Outlook is multi-factor authentication. MFA helps you safeguard access to your email account and keep unauthorized users from accessing it.

Collaborative calendar

Whether you’re using the website or the Outlook app, you can use its imbedded calendar to collaborate with others. Create, edit, and manage calendar invites to share with your coworkers. If you send them an invite, you can also incorporate other Microsoft 365 tools that you can use for your virtual meeting, like Microsoft Teams, OneNote, and OneDrive. You and the invitees can join the Teams meeting from the calendar invite and access all relevant documents and links included right from the email you sent them.

Embedded to-do lists

If you have a hard time balancing all the tasks you need to complete around the house and while working, Outlook is a great tool to use when planning out your day. You can use the integrated task tool, Microsoft To Do, to add and organize your to-do list. After you’ve created the list, you can add them to your Outlook calendar, flag the important ones, and share them with your peers.

How to access Hotmail in Outlook

If you still have your hotmail.com email address, you don’t have to worry about losing it. While you can’t log into Hotmail anymore, you can use your Hotmail email address and password when signing into the Outlook.com website or app. To log into Outlook using your Hotmail information:

1. Go to the Outlook sign-in page.
2. Enter your email address that ends in @hotmail.com.
3. Click “Next”.
4. Enter your account password.
5. Click “Sign in”.

If you want to change your email address from Hotmail.com to Outlook.com, you can do so in your email’s settings after you sign in. Outlook has some of the same convenient features as Hotmail while incorporating more apps and tools that you can use for your personal and work duties.