Microsoft counters Hotmail users' Outlook.com complaints

Microsoft has issued some further guidance to help ease Hotmail users through the transition to Outlook.com, after many admitted struggling with the switchover.

The firm announced Outlook.com as the successor to its consumer webmail service Hotmail last week, as it fights to win back users from Google's Gmail platform.

Since then, Microsoft has been encouraging Hotmail users to try a preview version of Outlook.com, with seemingly mixed results.

As reported by IT Pro on Friday, Hotmail users have been flooding the software giant's web forums with reports of problems they have encountered since switching to Outlook.com.

In the first few days alone, we've seen several million people upgrade to Outlook.com.

For instance, some users claim their accounts have been upgraded to Outlook.com without their permission, while others are struggling to access the new site at all.

Many have also reported losing access to their old Hotmail emails post-upgrade.

IT Pro has also been inundated with complaints from disgruntled Outlook.com users, with several readers calling on Microsoft to ditch the venture and keep Hotmail.

"Having used proper, professional Outlook I thought to myself, "what could go wrong?' Well, almost everything," claimed one reader, calling themselves Blue5creen0fDeath.

"[It] looks clunky, hides away the option to change back to Hotmail, keeps opening up new windows [and] causes confusion."

When IT Pro approached Microsoft for a response, the firm's press team directed us to a blog post, which contains a step-by-step guide to moving from Hotmail to Outlook.com.

The blog post was published on Friday afternoon and claims "several million" people have upgraded to Outlook.com since it was first unveiled.

In it, users are urged to think very carefully about adopting an Outlook.com address, with the software giant stating that it is a move that is difficult to undo.

End users are also warned that switching to an Outlook.com address means they will have to login with their new email address and password to use other Microsoft services, including Xbox and Windows Phone.

"If you use a Windows Phone, you will need to reset your Windows Phone to factory settings, and then set it back up with the new account name," the blog states.

"You will lose all [your] personal data when you do this, so make sure you have [it]backed up."

The blog post does not provide any guidance to users that may have encountered post-switch problems, much to the chagrin of some of the site's visitors, who have left feedback in the comments section.

However, Microsoft is encouraging users to give them direct feedback about the problems they may be having.

"We've built Outlook.com to be modern email for the next billion inboxes. We hope you like it, and we want to hear from you," the blog post concludes.

"Our product team uses your feedback to make the product even better. So, tell us what you think, and thanks for using Outlook.com."