My old Microsoft Account used now-discontinued Cox.net email; I created new Microsoft Account using Gmail, but am prompted to enter cox.net email

Question

My old Microsoft Account used now-discontinued Cox.net email; I created new Microsoft Account using Gmail, but am prompted to enter cox.net email

Doug Stordal 0

My original Microsoft Account was created using Cox.net email, which Cox permanently discontinued one to two years ago.

Thus, I can no longer use my Cox.net e-mail to sign in to my Microsoft Account, so I created a new Microsoft Account using my Gmail email address, and new password, which works fine.

However, I still get prompted to sign in with the Cox.net email; how do I prevent this from

happening?

Sincerely,

Doug at ******@gmail.com

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2 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Just because your cox.net is discontinued, it doesn't mean you need a completely different Microsoft account. You can just switch out the alias/username for the account, and update the security contact information as well.

Can you please confirm if that's what you did, that you created a brand new Msft account with the gmail address?

You can also use this method to get back into your old Msft account, when you try to sign in, if it is asking for the code sent to cox.net, look for an option like “Show more verification methods” to see if you have a backup (e.g., a phone number or alternate email).

If you don’t have access to any of the options listed, select “I don’t have any of these.” This will begin the recovery process. As part of that process, Microsoft will let you add new contact information — but only after a 30-day waiting period.

This 30-day delay is intentional. It’s a security safeguard designed to protect users in case someone else tries to hijack their account by changing recovery info. The wait gives the rightful owner time to notice and stop unauthorized changes.

Unfortunately, this policy cannot be bypassed. Microsoft explains it further here.

https://support.microsoft.com/account-billing/-your-security-info-change-is-still-pending-or-you-can-t-access-this-site-right-now-microsoft-account-message-cbd0f64f-02d9-45d2-90c3-2375e5a72e52#:~:text=While%20we%20understand%20this%2030,phone%20number%20or%20email%20address.

Answer 2

The prompt appears because the old Cox.net address is still associated with a Microsoft account sign-in or alias somewhere in the account setup.

To stop it:

Sign in to the Microsoft account that is still being prompted.
Open Edit account info: Edit account info
Check the email addresses listed for that account.
If possible, add the Gmail address as an alias by selecting Add email and following the prompts.
Set the new address as the primary alias.
Remove the old Cox.net address if it is still listed and no longer needed.

Important details:

Microsoft account email addresses are aliases that share the same account settings, subscriptions, and password.
An email address can only be used with one Microsoft account.
If the Gmail address was used to create a completely separate Microsoft account, it cannot also be added as an alias to the old account.
If a sign-in screen says “Which account do you want to use?”, that means the same email address exists as both a personal account and a work or school account. One documented way to reduce that prompt is to rename the personal Microsoft account by changing its primary alias.
If sign-in or alias changes are blocked because security information was recently changed, those changes can be temporarily unavailable until the protection period ends.

If access to the old account is no longer possible, use the Sign-in helper or Contact Support options provided in Microsoft account support.