Setup Hotmail sign in for a cell phone / mobile device
While much of the personal information you can add to your Windows Live Hotmail profile won't do much difference in the experience, adding a cell phone number / mobile internet device will give you some advantages we'll mention at the end of this page, like the ability to check your Hotmail emails from a cell phone, or get a temporary sign in code (a safety measure that allows you to login to Hotmail with a temporary password). For now, let's show you how to add a mobile phone to your Hotmail account.
Add a cell phone number to your Windows Live Hotmail profile / account
Follow these steps to add a mobile device number:
- First, login to your Hotmail account if needed.
- Once you are logged in, click on the "Options" menu in the top right corner of the screen, and choose the "More Options" item, as shown below:
- The Hotmail Options screen will load; click on the "View and edit your personal information" link, which is listed near the top, under Manage your account. Hotmail may ask you to sign in to confirm your identity: if so, just enter your password to re-login and proceed.
- In Account Information on the next screen, click the "Add" link under Mobile sign-in:
- Then, fill out all the information requested in the Hotmail mobile credentials screen:
- Enter your current Windows Live password for confirmation purposes, and then your "Mobile Phone Number" in the appropriate text field. For North America, enter your cell phone number in the form "1XXXYYYYYYY", where "XXX" is your area code - "1" needs to be at the beginning, it is the country code for the United States and Canada.
- Finally, choose a numerical "PIN", and retype it to confirm it. This is useful when you want to login to your Hotmail account from your cell phone.
- Before proceeding, double-check everything you've entered, and then click on the "Save" button to apply this information to your Hotmail account:
- You have successfully added a mobile phone number to your profile!
In itself, adding a cell phone to your Windows Live Hotmail account doesn't have an immediately obvious advantage - it will, however, allow you to access your emails from your phone while on the move!
Tip: if you just added a cell phone number to your Hotmail account for security reasons, resume your reading at "Login to Hotmail with a single-use sign in code".
New Hotmail, MSN Hotmail, Windows Live Hotmail & Live email are all referring to the same free webmail service offered by Microsoft and Windows Live Team (works on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Mac OS X). Microsoft Corporation, Apple, and other companies own the copyright or trademark to these and other terms mentioned.