Windows · Accounts & Family
Manage Accounts Used by Email, Calendar, and Other Apps
Email & Accounts lists every account — Microsoft, work/school, or other — that your installed apps (Mail, Calendar, OneDrive, and third-party apps) are allowed to use to sync data. You can add new accounts here or remove ones apps no longer need.
How to open Email & Accounts
- Open Settings > Accounts > Email & accounts.
- Select 'Add an account' and choose the account type (Microsoft, Google, Outlook, Yahoo, or Other).
- Sign in and grant the requested permissions (mail, contacts, calendar).
- The account now appears in Mail, Calendar, and any other app that supports it.
What you should know
- Shows accounts used specifically for syncing email, contacts, and calendars — separate from your main Windows sign-in account.
- Add a Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, iCloud, or generic IMAP/POP account.
- Remove an account here to stop every app on this PC from accessing it, without deleting the account itself.
- Your main sign-in account (shown at the top) can't be removed from this page.
Why it matters
Keeping this list accurate matters when you share a PC, leave a job, or stop using an old email provider — an account you forget to remove here keeps syncing quietly in the background, even after you've changed its password elsewhere.
Best practices
- Remove accounts for jobs or services you no longer use, rather than leaving them signed in indefinitely.
- Use a personal Microsoft account for personal syncing and a separate work/school account for work data, instead of mixing both on one account.
- If an app stops syncing, check here first — often the account's token has expired and just needs re-entering the password.
Common problems and fixes
- Mail app shows an account error or stops receiving new mail.
- Open Email & Accounts, select the affected account, and choose 'Manage' to re-enter your password — sync tokens occasionally expire and need refreshing.
- Removed an account here but an app still shows old cached emails.
- This is expected — removing the account stops new syncing, but some apps keep a local cache until you clear their app data separately.
Tips and tricks
- If you only need read-only calendar access from a work account, some providers let you add it as a subscribed calendar instead of a full synced account — lighter weight and easier to remove later.
Frequently asked questions
Does removing an account here delete it permanently?
No — it only disconnects it from this PC. The account itself (and its emails, contacts, etc.) still exists wherever it's hosted.
Can I use Email & Accounts to change my Windows sign-in password?
No — password changes for your Microsoft account are done through account.microsoft.com or Windows' Sign-in options, not this page.
Related settings
- Sign-in OptionsSign-in Options controls every way you can sign into this PC — Windows Hello face and fingerprint recognition, PIN, security key, or password — and lets you require sign-in after sleep for extra security.
- Your InfoYour Info shows the account currently signed into this PC — your name, profile picture, and whether it's a local or Microsoft account — with quick links to manage your Microsoft account online.
- Family SafetyMicrosoft Family Safety lets you create a family group to manage screen time limits, content filters, spending, and location sharing for children's Windows, Xbox, and mobile devices from one place.
More Accounts & Family guides for Windows
- Other UsersOther Users lets you add separate sign-in accounts for other people who share this PC — family members, guests, or coworkers — each getting their own desktop, files, and settings, isolated from yours.
- Access Work or SchoolAccess Work or School lets you connect this PC to an organization's Azure AD / Microsoft Entra environment so you can access company or school email, apps, and resources, and so IT can apply required security policies.
- PasskeysPasskeys let you sign into supported websites and apps using Windows Hello (your face, fingerprint, or PIN) instead of typing a password — they're stored securely on this device and can't be phished or reused if a website is breached.
- Linked DevicesLinked Devices shows phones and other PCs connected to your Microsoft account, enabling features like continuing a browser tab from your phone on this PC, or seeing your phone's photos and notifications through the Link to Windows / Phone Link app.
- Find My DeviceFind My Device uses your Microsoft account to record your PC's last known location, helping you locate it on a map if it's ever lost or stolen.
- Sync Your SettingsSync your settings uses your Microsoft account to roam preferences such as theme, language, passwords, and other Windows settings across every PC you sign into.