99 thoughts on “How to remove an email account in Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013 or 2010”

  1. when i sync outlook 2007 all emails download in my P.C but when i open my mailbox at outlook.office.com its empty and all done this day. enjoy empty mailbox. what can i do my web email recover all emails at outlook.office.com.
    please help me

    Reply

    • Here is an article on how to restore your emails: https://www.codetwo.com/admins-blog/how-to-recover-deleted-emails-in-office-365/
      Is this the same account? You might check Outlook’s advanced account settings (Tools > Account Settings > Change > More Settings > Advanced) and see if you have the Remove from server option checked.
      As a side note, Microsoft 365 account doesn’t work that well with this version of Outlook, since it’s over 3 years since the extended support period for Office 2007 has ended.

    • Hi,
      I’d create a new Outlook profile, configure it with the yahoo email address as the default one and check if it works then.

    • Hi Shanelle,
      The procedure removes the account from Outlook on the device. How to delete your email account permanently, depends on your email provider and if it is a personal or a school/work account.

  4. I have a coworker who moved from one office to another one but did not switch computers. We use Outlook 2010 (yeah I know really old but I am not the boss) . Our IT man is garbage and doesn’t help with anything so today we tried to remove the email on one machine and bring it up on another. The email is a POP3 account. It accepted her account on the new machine, but none of her emails are coming out. Is there any way to restore and if so how do I do it.

    Reply

    • Hi Laura.
      Since it is a POP3 account, most likely the previous Outlook account downloaded all messages to the local drive. You need to get a PST file from the previous account and import it into the new one. If you have already deleted the account, together with its PST file, you might still be able to access the emails directly from the web browser (log in from your email service provider). Do not delete any account until you make sure everything works well in the new one.

  5. Hi,

    I have a similar issue, where I have 4 different accounts but only 3 appear listed to delete.
    By the way, this other account is active in my outlook and if I go to the Inbox all emails are updated and it’s 100% functional.

    Any suggestions?

    Thanks You.

    Reply

    • If you are experiencing any complicated problems with Outlook accounts, it may be a good idea to create a new Outlook profile and configure it the way you need it (only with the accounts you want). Then, check if you are not missing anything from the previous Outlook profile and set the new one as the default one. The article below might help you with the configuration.
      How to recreate Outlook profiles (video tutorial)

  6. I have recently installed Outlook 2019 to supersede my Outlook 10.
    My email account in Outlook 2019 does not seem to be working properly as I see the folders but no content ‘ cannot display the folder ‘
    My outlook 10 is still running perfectly though. If I delete my email account from the Outlook 2019 account will it also delete all mail from my Outlook 10 which is what I now depend on ?

    Reply

    • Hello Clive,
      Deleting your account from Outlook 2019 will not delete mail from another Outlook, especially since you cannot see the content in Outlook 2019. The exception is if you use a POP3 email account and set it up so that messages are automatically deleted from the server. That might be the reason why another Outlook version does not have any content.
      Hard to say what the problem with Outlook 2019 is, without knowing what kind of email account you use.

  7. I am trying to delete my old email from outlook. This was a work account & I want to attach the new one. I have tried all of the “remove” options & continue to get “Before deleting the email account containing your personal…”
    I tried going to control panel – there is not an option for “mail”, there is not an option for “outlook” … I was able to go to “credentials” and remove the account, however this did not resolve the issue. I continue to get this stupid error. I added my new email, but then it will not delete as it states that all other accounts must be removed before that account can be removed.
    I’m going around in circles here! I need this account off my Outlook 365 so that I can access my new work emails without issue.

    Reply

    • Probably the best solution for you now is to recreate your Outlook profile. This video provides a step by step guide on how to do this. I you cannot see the Mail option in the Control Panel, either go to User Accounts – Mail, or switch the view to Small icons, insted of Category.

  8. How do you fix Crazy ?
    A former employee has left the office permanently. They are experiencing mental illness issues. Refused to address them.
    Rather collect their last check and leave. In an attempt to fix the problems which have accumulated during the process. I have come across challenging problems. Such as Removing their E mail from the Computer they used to use. I am not sure if they have access to files remotely from another computer off of this one. This is business providing service with clients whom information is private. I need to secure all things possible. I deleted a file with their name stored on this computer. They have also a g mail and Microsoft e mail stored on this computer. I need to remove them and ensure their is no access to any files.What can I do to secure things on this end.

    Reply

    • Hi Susan,
      Those questions should be answered by an IT Security Specialist. Regardless of issues, tasks related to data security should be included in an employee departure procedure and followed whenever someone leaves the company.

  9. We have closed the previous person’s email account and all email is forwarded to me. But both of our accounts are in Outlook 2013 and I keep getting a message that pops up that it can’t connect the old person’s account (because it’s not active). How can I get it to stop showing up, but still be able to see/search all of their old emails?

    Reply

    • Hi Katy,
      I would recreate the Outlook profile and connect your account only (Here is a guide on how to recreate an Outlook profile). The easiest way to get the other person’s emails to show in your Outlook would be to export them to PST and import them back to your account (using the Outlook’s export-import feature).

  10. I keep getting a popup that says there is an error in connecting to a gmail account I have. I would like to delete that account from my Outlook 2013 so it stops popping up. I don’t use it much anymore and don’t need it in Outlook. The problem I am having is that is does not show in the accounts list so I can’t just delete it. How can I find it to delete it. It does show up on the send and receive process list though.

    Reply

    • You could recreate mail profile. Go to Control Panel > Mail > Show Profiles. Next, add a new profile and configure it without the gmail account. If everything works fine, you can delete the old mail profile and use the one you have just created.

  11. We have several employees who are no longer here and want to clean up our Exchange email. How can I copy the current email content in each mailbox to an archive mailbox or folder then delete the mailboxes? Thank you…

    Reply

  12. Hello,

    How can I remove my current email linked to outlook and change it to a new email.

    Thank you so much in advance.

    Grace

    Reply

    • Hello Grace,
      I would create a new email profile, configure it to use the new email address and then, delete the old one.
      To create a new profile, go to Control Panel > Mail > Show profiles > Add and complete the wizard to add your new email account.
      Then, you can remove your old profile and that is it.
      Unless you want to delete your email account permanently? Mind that it is (mostly) irreversible and will cause you to lose access to the old account for good. If that is the case, the procedure depends on the email account you use and should be done after performing the steps above.

  13. Hi Kamil,

    I have got 3 account added to Outlook 2010 but I need to remove the primary account as it is no longer needed. Does it mean that I will lose all the 3 accounts if I remove the primary or is there a possibility to set up one of the other 2 accounts as the primary account?
    Thank you for your help in advance
    Mona

    Reply

    • Hi Mona,
      I’m afraid that there is no way to switch one of the other accounts to the primary. However, you can easily start a new profile with the “two other accounts”, and after you make sure they do not miss anything from the old profile, remove the old profile along with its primary account.

  14. Hi, I have outlook 2010 and I need to add one account and remove another. The old email that I need to remove is my wife’s old work email. Unfortunately when we want to remove it says something like “account off line and files are being transferred” so it does not allow us to delete this account. This causes outlook to freeze and hang. I contacted my hosting company to help with the setup of my new email and they helped me with the settings, outlook has now been set up with my new email as the primary mail. BUT as soon as I launch outlook and I want to click on anything the program freezes. so I suspect it is the old exchange email that we can not get deleted. Any advice?

    Reply

  15. I wanted to try outlook to as an organization tool, but I’m finding that I prefer using another format for email and calendaring. How do I get rid of it all together? I don’t want to use it at all, but I can’t figure out how to disconnect myself completely, delete my account, etc?

    Reply

    • Hi Eliza,
      The article provides you a detailed guide on how to disconnect from Outlook. After you do that, feel free to uninstall Outlook via Control Panel > Programs and Features > Microsoft Office > Change. Then, follow a simple wizard to uninstall Outlook.

  16. I need to remove a few accounts from Outlook. I was trying to add them the other day, mistakes were made, etc. I see the accounts in the panel win the left side of the Outlook screen, but the do not appear when I go to File->Account Settings->Account Settings->Email. So I cant select and remove them.

    Reply

    • Hi Jeff,
      The easiest way to deal with this kind of situation would be to create a new Outlook profile which contains only your primary email account and then delete the problematic profile.

    • It depends on what kind of email account it is. If it is a Gmail, Hotmail, or any other hosted email account, the emails are probably gone permanently. You could try logging in to the email account via a browser and check if the emails you have deleted are still there.

  18. I can get my wifes emails on my laptop. If I remove her account will that interfere – as in reomve – all her emails from her laptop?

    Reply

    • Hi Rob,
      Removing an account disconnects your Outlook and the account, it does not delete emails which are on the server or on another computer. The only items which are permanently deleted are emails you have downloaded from the server. But since you received someone else’s emails and the other person was able to see them, you can rest assured that nothing will disappear from any other computer.

    • Hi Fred,
      Removing an email account from Outlook does not delete it. After taking the steps specified in the article, you can add the same email account to Outlook, although you will lose all cached content. As for the second question – no, you cannot sign out of a desktop version Outlook, you can sign out of OWA.

  20. I don’t understand the purpose of adding the second data file?
    I clicked add, and a generic data file was added, but I don’t understand what it is for?
    I want to remove my gmail account from Outlook. I accidentally deleted some emails that were from my gmail account. They are still in the trash in outlook, where I am slowly recovering them from. If I remove my gmail from outlook, is the trash considered “cache?” and will it be deleted/emptied too?
    Thank you

    Reply

    • Hello Stephanie,
      Creating the second data file is required because Outlook does not let you delete all data files – there needs to be at least one left.
      When it comes to the second question – this depends on your settings. In Outlook, you can go to the following path:
      File > Account Settings > E-mail > your email account > Change > More Settings > Advanced > Delivery, to see whether you have the Leave a copy of messages on the server option checked. If the option is not checked, Outlook downloads the messages from your Gmail account and they are no longer accessible on the server. Just to be sure, you can create a backup of your messages – PST files are not affected when you delete an email account from Outlook.
      Mind that even if your emails are not deleted from the gmail account, the messages in the trash are usually hard deleted after some time. You might want to recover everything you need, as soon as possible.

    • Hello Mohammed,
      Do you see those email accounts in the Account settings window? If you do, you should be able to delete them as per instructions in the article. If you cannot see those email accounts, you might need to ask your administrator to turn off automapping feature for your mailbox.

  22. I have a problem in outlook my mail I’d is in office 365 u configured in outlook it was working fine for some time but recently when I open outlook it showing collected to Microsoft exchange in bottom right but after 3 min it’s showing trying to connect and only free mails showing again after 3 min it’s showing collected and so mails appear and this is keep on fluctuating. Please advice me on this issue

    Reply

  23. Hi,

    I want to delete an old mail account off my computer, but another account is connected to it. i have followed the steps you listed above but it says i must remove the secondary one (i still use today) to delete the main one which i no longer use. Will this affect the one i still use today if i delete it, in order to delete the email account i no longer use off the computer?

    in other words, if i delete the one i still use right now to delete the one i don’t use will it still be there when i try to log back in after i delete it?

    Reply

    • I recommend that you use the safest way, so that you do not have to worry at all: Go to Control Panel > Mail > Show Profiles, add a new profile and set it up with your current secondary account details. Then, start your Outlook and choose the new profile. Finally, check if there is anything missing from your account, export items from the old profile, if necessary, and delete the old profile when you are done. As a result, the old primary account disappears, the account you use becomes primary, and all your items remain where they should be.

  24. Hi,
    I need to change my current email address from IMAP to POP3 but it’s proving difficult on Outlook 2016 version. I wanted to then remove my current email address and add it again as a POP3. It is saying it will delete all it’s cached data. Does this mean I won’t be able to access any of my previous emails on Outlook?
    I don’t know what to do. My email server keeps filling up and important emails are being returned to the sender.
    Thanks,
    Lyn

    Reply

    • Hi Lyn,
      First, I would add a new POP3 account to an Outlook profile. Then, move all required items from the original folders to the new account. And finally, delete the old IMAP account along with its OST file. This way, you don’t risk losing any data and you can make the switch rather quickly.

  25. I already did step #2, but the email account still shows up in the inbox. Could it be because it is the first email I set up on Outlook?

    Please advise.

    Reply

    • Hi Steve,
      Have you made sure that there is a second data file like instructed in the beginning of the article? You might need to set the other data file as a default.
      Another thing, is this an Exchange account? If it is, you might have to remove all secondary accounts first and the primary (the first email you set up) Exchange account at the end.
      You might also create another email profile in Control Panel > Mail and use it instead of the current one.

  26. Hi, I would like to remove the outlook account from my personal laptop. However, will it affect the data stored in my company’s laptop? Microsoft exchange is the account type.

    Reply

    • Removing an account from Outlook is like disconnecting from Exchange – it will not affect data stored on another laptop.

    • Hi Arthur,
      Do you have Outlook 2016,2013 or 2010? If yes, the Account Settings button should be under File>Info. Could you write what you see in this section? Account settings had been under Menu>Tools>Account Settings in Outlook 2007, but you could have this classic menu in a more recent version if you have some kind of Add-in installed. Please check if it is there and tell me what you have found.

  29. I want to check that following these steps listed will delete the email account from one computer but not the server so I can still access the email from the other computer that has the email on it???

    What I want to do is to delete the access to my email on one computer that I needed access for a few months… now I will be on a permanent computer so I don’t need the access on the other computer.

    Reply

    • Hello Squidjit,

      Could you please let me know whether you use POP3, IMAP or Exchange-based email account? Depending on the email account type, the results of the account deletion may differ.

      Milena

    • Hola don’t worry dear just go ahead and uninstall the application problem will be solved so simple na have a joy

  30. When I try to remove an unused email account from Outlook (2010 running on XP) I get a popup message “The primary account cannot be removed unless it is the only account in the profile. You must remove all other Exchange caaounts before removing the primary account”. What does this even mean, and how do I remove this unused account?

    Reply

    • Hi Steward, Do you have 2 data files in Outlook as per the requirement I mention at the very beginning of the article?

  32. Hi

    I need to delete my hotmail email account from Outlook 2013. I have followed the steps all the way until I have to press the final button to do it and then I had a sudden worry – if I delete it from here, will I lose the content from the account? I.e. if I log into the account via hotmail online, will the content still all be there? Or is this just removing it from the computer?

    I’m not a tech-y person at all so PST files etc all means absolutely nothing to me.

    Many thanks
    Kahila

    Many thanks

    Reply

    • Hi Kahila,

      As far as I know, removing an email account from Outlook should not delete the content on a Hotmail server. However, you may lost your emails if the Leave a copy of messages on the server option in the Outlook account settings was not checked. (You can verify that in Outlook: File>Info>Account settings>Account settings>E-mail tab. Then highlight your email account and click Change>More settings>Advanced tab>Leave a copy of messages on the server.)

      Before deleting your account from Outlook, you can create a backup copy of it by following the steps below:

      1. Open your Outlook 2013.
      2. Go to File>Open&Export>Import/Export.
      3. In the Import and Export Wizard, select Export to a file and click Next.
      4. In the resulting window, select Outlook Data File (.pst) and click Next.
      5. Then choose folders to export from (make sure the Include subfolders option is checked) and go Next.
      6. In the resulting window, you can choose the location for your .pst file or leave a default path. In the Options section, select e.g. Do not export duplicate items.

      The backed up data is saved to a .pst file which, if needed, can be opened in Outlook: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Open-Outlook-Data-Files-pst-381b776d-7511-45a0-953a-0935c79d24f2.

      Hope this helps,
      Milena

  34. To remove all accounts from Outlook follow the steps below.

    (Hormoz has similar solution.)

    1. Open Control Panel. (Make sure you closed Outlook)
    2. Click “Mail (32 Bit)”. If it’s not visible, then select “Small icons” view on “View by:” section on top right.
    3. Click “Profiles” option/button.
    4. Select “Outlook” (or name which you created) and click “Remove” button.
    5. Click “OK” and close the window.

    It’ll remove email accounts and data files. To ensure open the below location.

    C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\

    (If you installed Windows on different drive instead of C: Drive, Change C: to that drive letter.)

    Reply

  35. 1. Right click start-up menu on your PC
    2. Click control panel > (you must see) all control panel items
    3. on letter “M”, select and click “Mail”
    4. Select “Show Profile”
    4. Highlight the account and press “Remove”

    Reply

  36. The screen doesn’t even look like this and there is no info option. Just feel like smashing up my computer again because I can’t find the account settings anywhere.

    Reply

  37. Using outlook 2010. the Hotmail account is corrupt and unable to repair. Will removing the email account from outlook impact the contacts and calendar attached to that email account? Can the contacts and calendar be reassigned to another account in outlook?

    Reply

  39. “In the resulting window highlight the account you want removed and click Remove.”

    This is what people are doing, and it isn’t working, b/c Outlook is a POS. It often doesn’t delete an email account unless you delete the entire profile, which is unacceptable.

    Reply

  40. yes i did follow the steps but it is not removing. It pops up an icon “account settings”
    please advise

    Reply

    • Hi Raphael,

      At which point do you see the pop up? Can you post a screenshot e.g. to an image hosting service and paste the link here?

      Best regards,
      Pawel

  41. Hi. Major problems with Outlook. I have W8.1 and Office 365. now unable to open Outlook due to C:\users\lawrencesalvoni\appdata\local\microsoft\outlook\my personal email add here.ost or .pst file cannot be opened.
    does anybody have a solution?
    Microsoft Answer Desk based in Manila – well after 4 days I give up with them. they just create a new profile and thats ok till I switch back on the following day – then the same as the above.
    Everytime a new profile is created I loose email and of course address book. ggggrrrrrrr! – HELP!

    Reply

  42. Am having the same problem has everyone else, i just want to delete the previous outlook inbox. Even though i remove it from control panel it is still there. i tried to delete the email and data files and it just came up with error messages and preventing me from doing……

    Reply

    • Hi Stacey,

      Please check if you have at least 2 data files in Outlook, as per the instruction I added at the beginning of the article.

      Hope this helps,
      Pawel

  43. Hi Guys,

    Thanks for the above advise. I need to delete my laptop from the Microsoft server as i no longer work for the company. Will I delete their outlook account from other computers that are logged into the same account or will it simply delete mine from the system?

    Reply

    • Hi Shawn,

      This article is related exclusively to deleting Outlook email accounts from Windows machines. If you are unsure whether this could have an impact on other users or computers in your network, please consult your system administrator.

      All the best,
      Pawel

    • Hi Dee,

      By ‘list of Outlook email accounts’ do you mean this:

      If so, have you tried the solution I mentioned in my comment above? Also, is the email account you want to get rid of the only account or do you have more?

      Looking forward to hearing from you,
      Pawel

  45. I am having the same problem as Roger and Gabe and tried this step and it would not allow me to delete the default account from the data tab. It says I only have one email account, but I need to delete it totally from outlook. It will not let me choose remove because it is the default account but when I click on the other account the option for making that the default account is not highlighted therefore I cannot chose that. HELP!!!

    Reply

  46. In response to Roger Shiflet and Gabe issue being:
    “Unfortunately, that is not how it works. On clicking “Remove”, which you show to be the final step, one gets a pop-up message for Account Settings that states “Before deleting the e-mail account containing your personal mail, (etc) you must create a new location for your data.” Having done that and then clicking “Remove” another pop-up appears stating, “The default data file cannot be removed because it is your default delivery location.” In order to remove this location you have to create another one, which makes no sense at all.”

    Go to the start-up menu on your computer, click control panel, user accounts, mail, select your account and remove. This should remove it from your computer without any error.

    -Rachael at Godaddy.

    Reply

  47. Outlook 2013 does not look like other Outlook . I need to delete my current email from Outlook 2013 and can’t locate where to do this. I am not receiving my emails and I need to delete my email so I can add it again.

    Reply

    • Hi Phyllis,

      Are you sure you’re running Outlook 2013? If so, there should be a File tab in the upper left corner of your Outlook:

      When you click it, the Backstage view is displayed. Now go to Accounts Settings, Account Settings:

      In the resulting window highlight the account you want removed and click Remove.

      If you can’t find the options I talk about, please post a screenshot online of what your Outlook looks like.

      Best regards,
      Pawel

  48. Hi Lance!
    Give us some details so we can point you in the right direction. Is it syncing at all? What kind of problems are there?

    Reply

  50. If you want to keep the account, but don’t want it to check that account on Send/Receive, you can do that under:
    >> File ¦ Options ¦ Advanced ¦ Send/Receive
    >> Usually there’s only one group, named “All Accounts”. Click the EDIT button.
    >> Find the account you want to skip on the left, click to select it.
    >> Un-Check the “Include the selected account in this group” checkbox at the top.
    >> Save your changes. The account you disabled will no longer be included in Send/Receive operations, but it will remain in Outlook for re-activation later.

    Reply

  51. Roger were you able to find a resolution to this- i’m finding myself at the same point exactly, prompting me to find a new data location. thanks.

    Reply

  53. Unfortunately, that is not how it works. On clicking “Remove”, which you show to be the final step, one gets a pop-up message for Account Settings that states “Before deleting the e-mail account containing your personal mail, (etc) you must create a new location for your data.” Having done that and then clicking “Remove” another pop-up appears stating, “The default data file cannot be removed because it is your default delivery location.” In order to remove this location you have to create another one, which makes no sense at all.

    Reply

  54. I have tried that but how come I can still see all my emails still in it and every email that is send to the yahoo I still keep seeing it in Microsoft. This was a big mistake, I don’t even know how I got an account on Microsoft Outlook. I was just trying to send an email to my friend and I thought I was going through some new procedure, then all of a sudden I have a Microsoft account. This is not my laptop and I don’t want my information to be out there. I’m really worried. Any help or advice will be much appreciated

    Reply

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