outlook - primary account cannot be removed

_{Wednesday, February 15, 2017 5:02 PM | 3 votes}

Hi,

i want to delete Microsoft Exchange account from outlook 2016 but error

how can i solve this issue,

thanks

_{Sunday, February 19, 2017 12:22 PM ✅Answered | 2 votes}

Hi Ethan,

i change my primary account and i think this account is not primary account before .

and i need to do this thing always when want to remove Exchange account?

The primary Exchange account is determined by the first account added to the profile. When the primary is removed, the next Exchange account added is considered the primary.

So to your question, as long as the Exchange account is not the first one in your profile, you can then remove it directly. Otherwise, you will follow the advices above to remove it (primary account).

Hope this helps. If you need further clarification, please feel free to post back.

Regards,

Ethan Hua

Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they helped.
If you have feedback for TechNet Subscriber Support, contact tnmff@microsoft.com.

_{Thursday, February 16, 2017 7:06 AM | 3 votes}

Hi Abdullah,

The message is self-explanatory. The primary account cannot be removed from a profile until all other Exchange accounts are removed from the profile.

You have two choices when you need to remove a primary account from your profile:

1. You can make a new profile (recommended): https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Create-an-Outlook-profile-f544c1ba-3352-4b3b-be0b-8d42a540459d
2. Remove all Exchange accounts from your existing profile, then add the new account back.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Ethan Hua

Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they helped.
If you have feedback for TechNet Subscriber Support, contact tnmff@microsoft.com.  

_{Thursday, February 16, 2017 8:39 AM | 2 votes}

Hi Ethan,

i change my primary account and i think this account is not primary account before .

and i need to do this thing always when want to remove Exchange account?

_{Thursday, February 16, 2017 8:57 AM | 1 vote}

Hi,

How many additional accounts are configured/added in the same outlook profile that you are trying to get rid off?

What version of outlook are you using?

Y dont you try to remove the .OST file from the stored location. No ost file no Outlook profile 

_{Thursday, February 16, 2017 10:57 AM | 2 votes}

5 active email accounts and 3 offline accounts.

outlook 2016

_{Thursday, February 16, 2017 11:04 AM | 1 vote}

Now this snapshot helps. Thnx 

Via Account settings > Account settings > The profile that you are trying to remove > Is not set as default > This means it should allow you to remove it 

The profile that you want to remove > Was this set as default at any time?

If you cant do it this way, then:-

1. Outlook > Account settings > Account settings > Data files > Remove if it exists there 

2. Else get rid of the .OST file directly from the specified location. 

3. If it is added as an additional account > Then > Account settings > Account setting > Change> More settings > Advanced > If it is added > Then remove it 

_{Thursday, February 23, 2017 7:12 AM | 1 vote}

Hi Abdullah,

Just want to do a follow-up on this, if there is anything else that I can do to help, don't hesitate to post back.

Regards,

Ethan Hua

Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they helped.
If you have feedback for TechNet Subscriber Support, contact tnmff@microsoft.com.

_{Sunday, September 22, 2019 8:07 AM}

Accomplishing this simplest of things (removing an obsolete e-mail account) has indeed been made hard. I found no other option than to remove all Exchange accounts, then the (now obsolete) primary, then re-adding the relevant accounts and setting my favourite one as the primary. By default it seems to take the first account you add, so in case you already know which exchange account is going to be your primary, just add it first.