text: how can i get my old e-mail address back?   that usually depends on the provider.  if you deactivate an email address, there's usually a time period before that name can be reused by anybody.  after that, it's up for grabs.  earthlink is like that - i think they have a 6 month wait period between shutting off an email account and reusing that same name.  you could always try to contact customer support to see if they can re-release it to you sooner, if it hasn't been too long.