Set Up and Sync a Microsoft Account in Windows 8 (Historical)

Historical support note: Windows 8 is no longer supported. This article documents the account and synchronization experience as it existed in 2013.

Windows 8 introduced deeper integration with a Microsoft account. Signing in with one could connect the Windows Store and allow selected settings to synchronize between Windows 8 devices using the same account.

Add a Microsoft account in Windows 8

The original Windows 8 interface used the Start screen and PC settings/account controls:

1. Make sure the PC is connected to the Internet.
2. Open the Start screen and search for the user/account settings.
3. Choose the option to Add a user or add an account.
4. Enter the email address associated with the Microsoft account.
5. Complete the on-screen account-verification steps.
6. Sign out, then sign in with the Microsoft account.

Microsoft accounts were not limited to hotmail.com, live.com, or outlook.com; users could create a Microsoft account associated with another email address as well.

Turn on settings sync

In the Windows 8 PC settings, users could enable synchronization and choose which categories of Windows settings were allowed to roam between devices.

The exact categories and cloud services changed substantially in later Windows releases, so screenshots and sync options from this article should not be reused as current Windows 10/11 instructions.

Historical video

The recovered article references the original video demonstration:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlaY4JtnTvg

Treat it as an archive of the Windows 8 UI.

Official reference

• Microsoft Windows lifecycle status: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deployment/updates-lifecycle/what-does-it-mean-if-windows-isn-t-supported