How do I verify my Windows Live email address?

I have my Windows Live account set up but keep getting an error message that I need to verify my address. Since my address is part of the Windows Live network (hotmail) I’m a bit confused: how do I verify my addr?

Truthfully, this is a pretty simple question because as far as my experience the only time you would see a message about verifying your email address in the Windows Live network is when you also have a link adjacent that lets you do just that.
But I’ll cut you some slack because I know all too well that these complicated Web interfaces can be surprisingly complex and confusing, even when others think it’s simple and immediately obvious. Heck, if everything were easy and obvious I probably wouldn’t have so many people coming to my Web site every day!
More seriously, when you log in to the Microsoft Windows Live network using http://account.live.com/ (I have deliberately not made that a clickable URL, btw. Copy and paste or type it in for yourself to ensure you aren’t getting tricked!) the first thing you should see is:

windows live verify email address 1

Click on “Verify your e-mail address” and…
windows live verify email address 2

Make sure that’s the address you desire to verify (if not, you’ll need to tweak some settings to update it) then click on “Send e-mail”.
Message sent!
windows live verify email address 3

Within a few minutes in the mailbox, you’ll see a message similar to this:
windows live verify email address 4

Again, don’t click on the link, copy and paste it into your Web browser (darn those hackers and their phishing attempts anyway!). Assuming everything works properly, here’s what you’ll see:
windows live verify email address 5

Done! Now you should never see the “unverified” error again.

29 thoughts on “How do I verify my Windows Live email address?”

  1. I need help on verifying my Microsoft account.because it says I should check my email inboxes but when I check it there is no messages that will help me setting my account. What must I do?

    Reply
  2. I have problems I don’t know what to do because my Microsoft account says I have to verify my address so that I can get access to download some apps.

    Reply
  3. I have been having problems trying to verify my email address I have been ask to check my email address for verification but the inbox is empty what do. I do.

    Reply
  4. Yep…that’s exactly the problem…we can’t get to the Inbox to verify the account/email address because the account isn’t verified. They should have given you a place for a 2nd email address when setting up the account, but they didn’t do that.

    Reply
  5. The information is pretty useless, since it is only for the easy process that everyone knows how to do. I can only join the group here by having the same problem. I want to verify and when I click on verify it gives me a message: service is temporarily not available and that is since 3 days. Great!!!!. How am I ever be able to get my email verified????

    Reply
  6. Wow! I’ve found a new game! Click on the “send verification link” until you crash their server and it says “verification email cannot be sent at this time”.
    When I do finally get to that inbox, it is going to be full of verification emails – ha ha. But no, seriously, I can’t verify because I can’t get to the inbox. What’s the trick?

    Reply
  7. Hi!
    I’m having an issue, i cant seem to verify my email. My email does not show any of the above anywhere it just wont let me send emails anymore and it says i need to verify it i try and it takes me so i can put my phone number to get a verification number and i click send me verification number and i never receive anything. I go into my other email where i received a verify account email for my Hotmail & i try to verify it from my Yahoo & it still doesn’t work it says i have to log out of my y mail and log in my Hotmail i do that but still nothing. please help!!

    Reply
  8. Yeah, got Windows 8 on release day, but I never receive the confirmation email. I have hit the resend confirmation email about 50 times, and it has never arrived. It is not in spam or junk, it’s just not coming. I’m using W8 with a Gmail email, and it simply doesn’t work.
    This is utterly frustrating.

    Reply
  9. my account wont let me click on the inbox to even receive the confirmation email
    am i missing something completely obvious ?

    Reply
  10. Hello, you article is very helpful, but the problem is that when I was creating my live ID so i’ve never seen such kinda verification alert. so i never saw these kinda pop-ups or whatever you call it and still i can see it while i go to my accounts, so how could i verify my account. and i did’nt received any email on my other account..

    Reply
  11. I have a problem that I never got the verify email so I can never verify. I have tried 100 times. Utterly frustrating…

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  12. the website asked me to verify again and again, when ever i try to access myinbox it directs me to the verify page, how am i gona verify it if it wont let me enter my inbox? what kind of system

    Reply
  13. i did that but when i want to check the email confirmation it still comes out to me “Verify your email address
    You’ve created example555@example.co.uk as your Windows Live ID. To use your Windows Live ID, we need to verify that this is your email address. To verify, you can check your email at example555@example.co.uk and follow the instructions in the message we sent you.
    If you do not have access to this email account, you can change your Windows Live ID now.
    Need another email message to verify your Windows Live ID?” i tried to check my inbox more than 100 billion times the same thing comes out please help me

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  14. I just received a message (sent by Windows Live Team —email-verification@windowslivemail.com—) asking for my account verification:
    Dear Customer,
    Your Windows Live Email account has exceeded
    its limit and needs to be verified, if not verified
    within 24 hours, we shall suspend your account.
    Click here to verify your email account now
    Thank you
    Windows Live
    2011 Microsoft
    ….Above the message there’s a legend that says Hotmail awares me about the posibility of that this could be a suspicious e-mail according to their smartscreen filters.
    …I entered the http://account.live.com add and it didn’t ask for any validation, …so I’m pretty sure it’s not an official link.
    I posted this in case anyone receive a suspicious e-mail like this, and of course grateful for your site and information,
    greetings 😀

    Reply
  15. I have the same issue, once I have created my Windows Live account, I ask for the email to be sent, or I ask for it to be ‘re-sent’ but I cannot access my Inbox, when I click ont he ‘Hotmail’ drop down tab, and then click ‘Inbox’ I get taken back to the original page asking me to verify my account. It’s a vicious loop, I’m assuming as so many people have the same problem it’s a glitch in the site?

    Reply
  16. Lol! The funny thing with me is whenever I click the inbox, it says “page not found”. How am I suppose to confirm the email when I cannot get to the inbox. I am starting to dislike it lol, I tried all sorts of links then it says “not found” or says that I re-directed many pages. What the? lol.
    Is there a certain link we have to use, to open the inbox from the url on the browser? Since it doesn’t allow you to open the inbox from the navigation on that page. I am so confused….

    Reply
  17. Well, here is an issue I’m having. When I click on “Send email”, I wait and yet nothing. I am aware that i tells me, “If you don’t see the email message in your inbox, look for it in your junk mail folder or check your email again later.”
    But when I click on my inbox it takes me back to where I have to send an email to verify and I can’t go anywhere else. It keeps sending me back to “Send email.” Is there some sort of issue with my settings or something?

    Reply
  18. My problem is I never receive the verification e-mail. I know my email is typed correctly. No matter how many times I have it resent it never shows. I,m in this endless loop and can never use the service.
    Thanks

    Reply
  19. Well, the problem is that I cannot access to my inbox, so how in earth I can verify my new windows live email address?? Terrable information, totally useless for me in this case.. ;(

    Reply
  20. hi people i do this steps but may problem is that i sign up in email adrres in @surrey.ac.ukw and now i cant have my verfection email what can i do plz answer me wating for u

    Reply
  21. Hi!
    First of all I would like to thank you for this, but I have another question.. they sent me an email that says that if I don’t verify my account it will be deactivated within 24 hours. They also put a link that I should click, where I ”supposedly” should verify my account. The thing is that this link doesn’t open, and I’m worried about it, because I don’t want my account to be deacctivated.

    Reply

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