Set up a free email
Contents
Secure password set up
Set up a Google GMAIL account
Set up a Microsoft Outlook account
Overview
It’s easy and free to set up a new email account. You can set up a free email account from any device with wifi.
Google’s Gmail (gmail.com) and Microsoft’s Outlook.com (outlook.com) offer free webmail. They’re both reliable, free choices with leading security standards.
Webmail works on mobiles and tablets.
Secure password set up
It is really important to set up a secure password for your email address so other people cannot access your important information. You can find detailed information on our web page 'Create Secure Passwords'.
Tips
Avoid using your own surname, your date of birth, your pet's name, the word ‘password’ or simple number combinations such as ‘12345’ or ‘0000’
Do not choose a complex password that you will not remember it.
Pick something that is unique to you
Combine letters and numbers or symbols to make it harder to crack.
Follow the instructions given by the service provider for typing a password, you might be required to start the password with a capital letter for example
Set up a Google GMAIL account
1. Open the 'Create a Google account' page
Go to 'Create a Google account' in a web browser tab. NB. You must agree to Google's terms to create an account.
2. Create a Google account & email address
Type in your full name. Google auto suggests available pre-fixes, select one or choose your own pre-fix to @gmail.com, some pre-fixes might be unavailable, try changing your entry slightly.
3. Create a secure password
You can uncross the eye symbol to make your password visible as you type, passwords must match, click 'Next'.
4. Further details about you
Enter personal info, e.g. gender and date of birth. You can enter a mobile number or another email address for password recovery in the future. Click 'Next'
5. Verification
You can click 'skip now' to complete the set up or ask Google to send a verification code to your mobile number. If you choose to 'verify now', you will need to enter the code to complete set up.
6. Login to your new email
Open a new browser tab and Login to your email here, enter your new email address, click 'Next', to enter your password.
Set up a Microsoft Outlook account
1. Open the Microsoft 'Create account' page
Go to 'Create account' in a web browser, you will see 'No account - Create one'. Click to open a page where you can select 'Get a new email address', click 'Next'.
2. Decide what email address pre-fix you want
Choose a pre-fix to @outlook.com. some pre-fixes might be unavailable, try changing your entry slightly.
3. Create a secure password
Enter a secure password. You will be asked to 'opt in' to Microsoft marketing, only tick if you want to receive marketing emails. You auto accept Microsoft terms by clicking 'Next'.
4. Location & Date of Birth
On this page, you will need to confirm your location and date of birth, use the dropdown arrows to the right of the selection, then click 'Next'.
5. Checking you are not a robot
You need to confirm you are human by typing the screen characters you see. This can be a tricky step, you can ask for new characters if needed. Click 'Next'.
6. Account home page - edit
Once set up, you'll go to a home account page. You can then click 'edit' to add other personal details and set preferences. For example, in the Microsoft set up, you do not have give your full name to get a new email address.
7. Login to your new email
Open a new browser tab and Login to your email here, enter your new email address, click 'Next', to enter your password. You might need to set your language in this step to 'English (United Kingdom)' and select your timezone, choose '(UTC+00:00) Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London', then click 'Save'. You are now logged into your new email account.