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Trying to add an Alias account as primary.

Greg Gilham 0 Reputation points
2026-06-12T04:06:25.3+00:00

In trying to add an alias email account to make as primary,( because of hackers attempting to log into my account.)

I managed to create a new email account but when trying to make that account the primary, I keep getting the error message of

"Unable to make this alias primary at this time. Try again later."

A search online .. indicate other Users also have received this error, many several times, with no solution from Microsoft?

Outlook | Web | Outlook.com | Account management, security, and privacy

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  1. Hornblower409 9,445 Reputation points
    2026-06-12T10:45:54.86+00:00

    @Greg Gilham said

    In trying to add an alias email account to make as primary,( because of hackers attempting to log into my account.)

    Here are detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to setup a Login Only Alias and disable Sign-In for your current email address. See the Answer by "Hornblower409  on Feb 27, 2026" in
    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5789093/i-get-a-few-2fa-notifications-from-canada-daily-us

    "Unable to make this alias primary at this time. Try again later."

    The Microsoft Account Security pages can be wonky at times. Try using a Private/Incognito browser session when you connect to https://account.live.com/names/manage

    There are also limits on how often you can change your Primary: Users are only allowed to change their primary aliases twice in any rolling 7 day period.

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  2. AI answer

    2026-06-12T04:06:51+00:00

    The error "Unable to make this alias primary at this time. Try again later" typically occurs when there is a backend issue or a conflict with the alias being promoted to primary.

    For Outlook.com / Microsoft account aliases, use these steps and checks:

    1. Confirm the alias is eligible to be primary
      • Primary alias cannot be a work or school email address associated with Microsoft 365 or Azure Active Directory.
      • From the alias page note: "You can't change your primary alias to an email address that's associated with a work or school account."
      • If the alias is a work/school address, create or add a personal Outlook.com / Hotmail.com alias instead and use that as primary.
    2. Use the official alias management page
      • Go to Manage how you sign in to your account (same page used to add/remove aliases).
      • Under Account username, select Make primary next to the new alias.
      • If this fails repeatedly with the same error, wait and try again later in case of temporary backend issues.
    3. If the alias is a work/school address causing conflicts
      • This can also trigger errors like ADDriverStoreAccessNonLocalException when the primary alias name matches an existing work or school account.
      • Recommended workaround is to:
        1. Sign in to the Microsoft account Your info page.
        2. Select Manage how you sign in to Microsoft.
        3. Add a personal email alias (or create a new Outlook.com address) if not already present.
        4. Set that personal alias as Make primary.
        5. Optionally remove the work/school email alias from the account.
    4. If the goal is to protect against hackers
      • Another supported approach is to add a new alias, make it primary, and then block sign-in on the old alias instead of deleting it:
        • After adding the new alias and making it primary, use the sign-in preference options to prevent the old alias from being used to sign in, while still allowing it to receive mail.
      • Also ensure password is changed and two-factor authentication is enabled.

    If the alias meets the rules above and the error persists over time (not just temporarily), contact Microsoft Support so they can check and fix any backend account issues.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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