# if I use MSN messenger with a non MSN email account....

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-use-msn-messenger-with-a-non-msn-email-account/142484>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 13, 2002, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-use-msn-messenger-with-a-non-msn-email-account/142484 "2002-12-13T11:11:39Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![lukaspriest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5a626/32.png) [@lukaspriest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lukaspriest)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-use-msn-messenger-with-a-non-msn-email-account/142484/1 "2002-12-13T11:11:39Z")

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I recently switched my email address over to yahoo (got sick of spam and the 2 meg account limit) and got an MSN passport for it. Now when I use MSN messenger, it no longer handily displays at the top of my program if I have new email or not - only “go to email inbox.” Do I HAVE to use Hotmail or MSN in order for that info to be displayed? Or can MSN messenger check my yahoo account to see if I have new mail?

thanks!

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**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-use-msn-messenger-with-a-non-msn-email-account/142484/2 "2002-12-13T13:41:17Z")

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I don’t believe it can. Yahoo! has its own messenger service.

There’s also a third party messaging program that I’ve been using for several months now, Trillian. It’s freeware and rather useful, since it can handle Hotmail, Yahoo!, AOL (intermittently), ICQ and IRC simultaneously. It will also display mail notifications for the first three.