How to Set the Default Email Account in Windows Mail or Outlook

What to Know

  • This functionality has been deprecated from Mail.
  • To change your display name for IMAP accounts, go to Settings > Manage accounts

In older, no-longer-supported versions of Microsoft's free, first-party email programs, you could add several accounts and then specify a default account for when you composed a new message.

However, with the Mail app on Windows 10, although you can still add several accounts, clicking the New mail button opens a fly-out menu specifying the account from which you will send the message.

Because of the multi-account fly-out menu, it no longer makes sense to specify a default account. This functionality has been deprecated from Mail.

Changing Address Information

If you've set up an account through Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Exchange, the server governs all information about the account, including your name and email address. If you've selected an IMAP account, however, you enjoy greater control over specifying the display name of the message.

Adjust your display name for IMAP accounts by going to Settings > Manage accounts. Select the relevant account and modify the information as needed.

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