
Hotmail was initially backed by venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson. The name "Hotmail" was chosen out of many possibilities ending in "-mail" as it included the letters HTML, the markup language used to create web pages (to emphasize this, the original type casing was "HoTMaiL"). It was commercially launched on July 4, 1996, symbolizing "freedom" from ISP-based email and the ability to access a user's inbox from anywhere in the world. Hotmail service was founded by Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith, and was one of the first webmail services on the Internet along with Four11's RocketMail (later Yahoo! Mail). Outlook is offered with any Microsoft account, using as well as and (which are no longer offered) domains. It was changed back to Hotmail in October 2011 and was fully replaced by Outlook in February 2013, sharing the same brand as the Microsoft Outlook software which is offered via a Microsoft 365 (formerly Microsoft Office) subscription. In May 2007, the service was rebranded to Windows Live Hotmail, as part of the Windows Live suite of products. Outlook can also be accessed via email clients using the IMAP or POP protocols.įounded in 1996 by Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith as Hotmail, it was acquired by Microsoft in 1997 for an estimated $400 million, with it becoming part of the MSN family of online services, branded as MSN Hotmail. It includes a webmail interface featuring mail, calendaring, contacts, and tasks services. Post questions, follow discussions and share your knowledge in the, formerly Hotmail, is a free personal email service offered by Microsoft. To get help and troubleshoot other Microsoft products and services, enter your problem here. If you can't sign in, click here.įor other help with your Microsoft account and subscriptions, visit Account & Billing Help. To contact us in, you'll need to sign in. If the self-help doesn't solve your problem, scroll down to Still need help? and select Yes. To get support in, click here or select Help on the menu bar and enter your query.


Which browsers work with Office for the web and Office Add-insįix account settings being out-of-date in Mail or Calendar Still need help? If you're still having problems with signing in, read When you can't sign in to your Microsoft account. On the Enter password page, clear Keep me signed in. Go to the sign-in page and select Sign in.Įnter your email address or phone number and select Next. In, select your account picture at the top of the screen. If automatically signs you in, turn off automatic sign in.
