So you’ve got to update your LinkedIn email address because you’ve changed your ISP or job and the old one won’t be available anymore – here’s a practical guide to get that accomplished.
What are you changing it to?
Let’s cover some basic ground, you need to:
- Make sure LinkedIn knows all of the email addresses you use
- Make sure the primary email address is to your private email account, not a work address
Those two rules will keep you in good shape.
The first will keep you from creating duplicate accounts, the second will keep you reading your LinkedIn email.
Phase one – adding email addresses
You’ll need to select “Account & Settings” and then “Email Addresses”.
This is where you want to see that all of your email addresses are listed. For every email address you have that’s not listed, type it into the box and add it.
Then, for each address you’ve added, select it and click on “Send Confirmation Message”. Check the account’s email, and when you receive the confirmation message, click on the link that it contains.
Phase two – make a new one primary
Once you’ve got them all in, making a new one primary is a snap – just select it and click on “Make Primary”!
You’re done – and should see the “Primary Address” label move to the new selection
Remove addresses – you can, but you probably don’t want to
Let’s consider this for a moment. If you used to be known as jsmith@somecompany.com, and you no longer work there, you certainly don’t want to keep that address as primary – but should you remove it?
Let’s think about it – will someone else start there and use your name? Might some people remember you working there and that address?
So as long as it isn’t primary, LinkedIn won’t send anything to that address and will know that if another user tries to connect to you through it – that they really mean you. So leave it in.
To your continued success,
steve
—
Steven Tylock
http://www.linkedinpersonaltrainer.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevetylock
Hi!
What if you forgot your password to your old email address it is your primary and you no longer work at that company how can I update my information?
Winnie,
That’s a tough spot…
You’ve forgotten your existing password for a LinkedIn account, and the primary email for that account is an address you no longer have access to…
So the one “trick” I have for you is to consult your browser’s saved account / password combinations – you might find some other passwords in there that jog your memory. (And try the browser on every system you might have used to access LinkedIn)
And if you’re still out in the cold, you’ll have to try to contact LinkedIn customer service…
steve
[And unfortunately, I have no connections there to offer any help – I’m an outsider]
I can’t add a new email address. I’ve typed the new address into the box, but when I click enter, I get this error message: “You have already added the address (then states the new address I’m trying to add).”
The problem is that address does not show up in the list of addresses. I’ve tried to contact LinkedIn regarding this, but it’s been over 10 days and no response.
Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
Carolyn,
I just tried adding an email address that is already in mine, and I see the error message that you’re talking about. The difference is that I see that address in my list…
So – it seems most likely to me that the system is properly reporting an error, but is misidentifying the error.
It is clear – the account that you are logged into does not have that email address attached to it.
But it is also likely that some other account does.
So – search for yourself, and see if you can find a second account that might have been setup with that email. If needed, reset the password by trying to login with that email and having LinkedIn reset that password – and mailing it to that email address.
Then remove that account.
After it’s cleared up, you should be able to add the email to your main account.
I’m not sure what might be going on if you don’t have a duplicate account.
steve
Steve,
Thanks for your reply. I was having the same problem as Carolyn and deleting the account at the other e-mail resolved it. Turned out I had signed up a few years ago with LinkedIn and had forgotten about it.
Jeff,
I love hearing back – glad that worked well for you.
It is unfortunately one of the biggest issues with LinkedIn (and why I devoted a section to it in my book).
steve
I also had the “You have already added the address” problem. I apparently had a second linkedin account, and the problem was resolved after closing it.
Kevin,
Ahh – more success – glad you’ve got that resolved. Another reason every other reader has to search for themselves, just to be sure…
steve
How can I change my AREA INFO in LinkedIn?
When I clicked on EDIT in AREA , there is no option for changing the area info. Kindly help me out with this issue.
Thanks in advance.
Rehman.
Rehman,
When you click “Edit” on the “Edit My Profile” page next to where you are located, it takes you to a sub-screen with your “Basic Information”.
That page includes “County” and “Zip Code”.
That is how LinkedIn locates you – it fills in the “Area” information from that setting.
Now – the logic used to determine where someone is has flaws in certain situations. Consider a Zip-code that overlaps two towns, or something like that – the reported location can be wrong.
I counseled someone a couple years back and they were very unhappy that the system said they lived in one location instead of the other…
LinkedIn probably gets the data from some service and has just as much an issue if they said the location was your town instead of the one it does.
Perhaps they’ll allow us to locate ourselves with a Latitude/Longitude in the future;-)
steve
(I expect it does something similar for non US sites – and the logic for that is also subject to flaws…)
I want to change my e mail address. Please confirm how is it possible because I cannot read and reply to my messages with my previous e-mail address. Looking forward to your response.
Best regards,
Allah yar.
Allah,
LinkedIn has made it even easier with the latest changes.
Consult “Hidden Settings for LinkedIn” to get to the settings area and then just select “change” next to where it says “Primary Email”. Add the new email address, confirm it, and then make it primary.
And no, you don’t have to have access to the old email to do this, but you do need access to the LinkedIn account, and access to the new email.
steve
I was trying to add my personal email address and the worning came back saying there was difficulty adding this email address..?? not sure whats up.
Eric,
Let’s check to make sure you have not created multiple accounts. Use the advanced search to look for yourself by first and last name – I see 43 people with your name. Hopefully you can narrow it down by zip code (and a 100 mile radius).
If you see yourself twice, try to reset the password of the account based on the other email address and then get in.
Best of luck,
steve
Today I attempted to add an professional email address to my account. I was given the error message “there was an error adding your email address” with no further explanation. I was hoping you could help. I am sure there are not duplicate accounts under my name (I triple checked before posting to make sure). And I was unable to find answers elsewhere.
Thank you!
Dominique,
Sorry, there just isn’t much more I can offer. It sounds like you did what you needed to do – make sure the email wasn’t in use by another profile.
You’ll need to contact LinkedIn support. (sorry)
steve
How Do I change/add a new email primary when I changed jobs and forgot to add a new one. So when I try and add the new Email it sends the link to the email address I no longer can assess. What to I do?
Gary,
It sounds like you have access still – that’s good.
First – add the email. To do this you just have to have access to the LinkedIn account.
When you do this, LinkedIn sends an email to the address you just added.
Open that email and confirm it. (This is for the email account you want to use – because you have access)
Then once it’s a confirmed email you can “Make Primary” – and you’re set.
BTW – leave the old company email in there – no reason to take it out, and it may help you should someone identify you through it. (I have 7 addresses attached to my account)
Best,
steve
(And for other readers – this is why your primary email should always be a personal one… Yes have your business email in there, but make your personal one primary)
You say:
You’ll need to select “Account & Settings” and then “Email Addresses”.
I can’t see anything called “Accounts & Settings”. Has this function been moved?
Jim,
Ahh – yes, this older article came before the great hiding of settings…
You now have to hover over your name and see the settings selection pop up. (of course that makes it hard to find if you don’t know to try that…) I covered it in this article – and it’s changed since then, but you can get the idea:
http://www.linkedinpersonaltrainer.com/2010/12/21/hidden-settings-for-linkedin/
Now when you get to the “settings” area, look for “Change/Add” next to “Primary Email”. (Which of course uses the notation that if you want to add a non-primary mail, you would still select that action…)
Best,
steve
I added my personal email to my account and made it the primary. I recieved the confirmation email and accepped it but I am not get ting any LinkedIn info or connection request to the new primary. I typically receive soething daily. What else can I do/
Tim
Tim,
Sorry to hear that.
It sounds like the LinkedIn system isn’t working as expected.
You should go and visually confirm what the control panel thinks is your primary email.
Oh – one thought – I remember groups having their own “send group email here” configuration. I wouldn’t be surprised that all the stuff you’re receiving is group related, and each of those is stuck to the old address. (and would need to be manually reset)
Best,
steve
Hi Steve,
I have added a new email address and clicked on “Make primary”.I receive a pop-up message saying “We have made (new email) your primary address”. However, the “Primary Address”label stays next to the old email, and every time I go to my settings, the old email appears as primary again.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Milena
Milena,
I don’t hear you talking about confirming the email address, I’m sure you need to do that first.
If you have, and the change isn’t sticking, I might try completing that action with a different browser. Maybe there’s an issue and you are not seeing a popup or something.
Best,
steve