How To Set Up Microsoft Email Services with IMAP in Outlook

Last Updated on March 3, 2023

Microsoft's e-mail services ( Hotmail, LiveMail, MSN, Outlook.com ) now support the IMAP protocol.  There are many benefits of using IMAP vs. the old POP method for accessing your mailbox. The biggest benefit to IMAP is the ability to quickly access your email from any device and interact with the same content across all devices and locations.

Here's a 5 minutes video tutorial on how to add your IMAP account to Outlook 2010 and other email programs, including Apple Mail.

Here's a step-by-step guide on how to do just that.

1. Open Outlook and click the “File” tab in the top-left corner.
2. Click on “Add Account” in the Account Information section.
3. Select “Manual setup or additional server types” and click “Next.”
4. Select “POP or IMAP” and click “Next.”

Now, you'll need to provide your account details.

5. Fill in your name and email address in the User Information section.
6. In the Server Information section, select “IMAP” as the account type.
7. For the incoming mail server, enter “imap-mail.outlook.com”.
8. For the outgoing mail server, enter “smtp-mail.outlook.com”.
9. In the Logon Information section, enter your email address and your Microsoft account password as the username.

Next, you'll need to configure some settings.

10. Click “More Settings” and go to the “Outgoing Server” tab.
11. Check the box next to “My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication.”
12. Go to the “Advanced” tab and make sure the following settings are configured:

• Incoming server (IMAP): 993
• Use the following type of encrypted connection: SSL
• Outgoing server (SMTP): 587
• Use the following type of encrypted connection: TLS

After configuring these settings, you're almost done.

13. Click “OK” to close the settings window.
14. Click “Next,” and Outlook will test the account settings.
15. If the tests are successful, click “Close” and “Finish” to complete the setup.

And that's it! Your Microsoft email account is now set up with IMAP in Outlook, and you should be able to send and receive emails through the application.

By following these steps, you can easily set up your Microsoft email account with IMAP in Outlook and ensure you can access your emails anytime.

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