Add Hotmail to Outlook

Creative IT

Adding Hotmail to Microsoft Office Outlook

Hotmail accounts use Microsoft’s Exchange ActiveSync or IMAP. The method depends on your Outlook version.

Method 1: Exchange ActiveSync (Recommended for Outlook 2016/2019/365)

  1. Open Outlook
  2. Click File → Add Account
  3. Enter your Hotmail email address
  4. Click Connect
  5. Enter your password
  6. If prompted for Modern Authentication, approve the sign-in via your Microsoft account (authenticator app, text, or email)
  7. Click Done

Outlook automatically configures Exchange settings.

Method 2: IMAP (Older Outlook versions or if Exchange unavailable)

Server Settings:

Incoming Mail (IMAP):

  • Server: imap-mail.outlook.com
  • Port: 993
  • Encryption: SSL/TLS

 

Outgoing Mail (SMTP):

  • Server: smtp-mail.outlook.com
  • Port: 587
  • Encryption: STARTTLS or TLS

 

Setup Steps:

  1. Open Outlook
  2. Click File → Add Account
  3. Select Manual setup or additional server types
  4. Click Next
  5. Select POP or IMAP
  6. Click Next
  7. Fill in:
    • Your Name: (display name)
    • Email Address: (your Hotmail address)
    • Account Type: IMAP
    • Incoming mail server: imap-mail.outlook.com
    • Outgoing mail server: smtp-mail.outlook.com
    • User Name: (your full Hotmail email address)
    • Password: (your Hotmail password)
  8. Click More Settings
  9. Outgoing Server tab: Check My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication
  10. Advanced tab:
    • Incoming server (IMAP): 993, Encryption: SSL
    • Outgoing server (SMTP): 587, Encryption: TLS
  11. Click OK
  12. Click Next to test settings
  13. Click Finish

App Passwords (If you have 2-Factor Authentication enabled)

If your Microsoft account uses two-factor authentication:

  1. Go to https://account.microsoft.com/security
  2. Click Advanced security options
  3. Under App passwords, click Create a new app password
  4. Copy the generated password
  5. Use this app password instead of your regular password in Outlook

Troubleshooting

  • Authentication failed: Use app password if 2FA is enabled
  • Cannot connect: Check SSL/TLS settings match above
  • Sync issues: Exchange ActiveSync provides better sync than IMAP
  • Missing folders: IMAP may not sync all folders; Exchange is preferred