[Action Required] Re-Connect Outlook 2016/2013 To Outlook.com After Upgrade

[shivvy]

I got an email with this as the subject line "[Action Required] Re-connect Outlook 2016/2013 to Outlook.com after upgrade"

I am not sure if it is spam or not and therefore unsure whether I need to do as it suggests. I am not good with this kind of thing and always prefer to be cautious rather than to rush in to things. All advice gratefully received.

This is what it said . . .
Earlier this year we introduced the new Outlook.com, which helps you focus on what matters, collaborate effortlessly, and get more done. As part of the Outlook.com upgrade, we have moved your account to a more secure and reliable infrastructure.
Now that your Outlook.com account has been upgraded, you’ll need to re-connect Outlook 2016 or Outlook 2013 to your Outlook.com account to ensure the best experience. If you do not re-connect to your upgraded Outlook.com account, you may experience email or calendar sync issues, unintended recipients getting added when replying to emails, or other issues listed here.

Action Required: Please follow the steps below based on the number of accounts you have connected to Outlook 2016/2013.
Option 1: If Outlook.com is the primary or only account you are accessing via Outlook 2016/2013:
• Create a new Outlook profile and then add your Outlook.com account when prompted.
• Note that you do not need to delete the old profile first and can refer to it to get the new one set up. Once you have the new profile set up, you should select to “Always use this profile” option, or delete the old profile.



Option 2: If you have multiple accounts in an Outlook 2016/2013 profile:
• First, remove your account from your existing profile. Refer to "Remove an email account” section of this article.

• Then, re-add your Outlook.com account to your existing profile.



Note: For both the options above, when you add your account (via File > Account), enter your Name, Email, and Password and let Outlook automatically configure your account.


Thank you for being an Outlook.com customer. We recognize that changes like this can be difficult and inconvenient at times. We bring a change like this only after thoughtful consideration. In this case, we are confident that you will love the benefits and performance of the new Outlook.com.

Sincerely,
The Outlook.com team
Note: Given this requires action by you, we wanted to send you this notice right away in English and will follow up with the same information in your preferred language soon.
FAQ:
Q. What happens if I don’t re-connect my Outlook.com account to Outlook 2016 or 2013 after upgrade?
A. If you are accessing your Outlook.com emails via Outlook 2013 or Outlook 2016, we recommend following the steps above to re-connect your Outlook.com account to Outlook 2016/2013 to ensure the best upgrade experience and to avoid any issues. If you need help with any of the steps above or have follow-up questions, please refer to the support article here.

Q. Will I lose any data if I delete my old Outlook.com account?
A. No, you will not lose any Outlook.com data by deleting your account.
Q. Where can I get help if I have trouble reconnecting my Outlook.com account to Outlook 2013 or 2016?
A. For detailed step-by-step instructions, please refer to the help article here.

[Buenchico]

You can always trust what's on either Microsoft.com or Office.com (which is also a genuine Microsoft website).

So ignore the email, per se, (in case it's from a scammer, pretending to be Microsoft, who wants you to take some sort of dodgy action) but rely on this (which, on the face of things, does look remarkably similar):
https://support.office.com/en-gb/article/Reconnect-Outlook-2016-or-Outlook-2013-to-Outlook-com-to-fix-issues-after-Outlook-com-upgrade-cda1751d-9503-40bf-bf76-e79454ac5eb3

[shivvy]

Thanks for this Buenchico. I will ignore the email but it sounds like I need to do some sort of upgrade/update doesn't it?
I read through the link that you sent me but my mailbox doesn't look like either of the ones shown in the link. Any suggestions?

[Buenchico]

How are you actually accessing your email?

Microsoft idiotically gave their email SERVICE (Outlook.com) the same name (i.e. 'Outlook') as they'd already given to their email CLIENT (Outlook 2007, Outlook 2013, Outlook 2016, etc). It leads to a LOT of confusion!

If you access your Outlook (or Hotmail) account via the Outlook.com website (using your web browser) then the information in the email (and in my link) does NOT apply to you. It ONLY applies to people who use a dedicated email client (either Outlook 2013 or Outlook 2016), which is a program completely separate to your web browser.

[shivvy]

Oh Buenchico I love your IT answers. Somehow you are able to make the completely bewildering world of IT seem understandable!
I access my hotmail account using a shortcut on my desktop on my laptop. I don't go onto a website to see my emails. I use Outlook 2013 which means that I do have to do something. Isn't that right?

[Buenchico]

Thanks for that. (The confusion between the two different 'Outlook's drives me mad!).

Just for once, go to https://outlook.live.com/owa/ and sign into your account there (instead of using Outlook 2013). Look at the 'Search' box and compare it with the images in my link above. If you've got the 'white' version, your account hasn't yet been upgraded. (Check again, possibly every few days, to see if that's changed). If you see the 'blue' version, your account has already been upgraded.

Once you know that your account has been upgraded, you can either wait to see if anything goes wrong or, probably better, go straight to the 'Preferred Workaround' from my first link (unless you've got multiple Outlook accounts in Outlook 2013; then use the 'Alternative Workaround').