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Set Up Outlook 2003 for IMAP or POP Access to Your E-Mail Account

Topic Last Modified: 2010-06-02

You can connect Outlook 2003 to your e-mail account using POP3 or IMAP4.

Cc835668.important(en-us,EXCHSRVCS.140).gifImportant:
If you're using Outlook 2003, you may also be able to connect to your e-mail account with an Exchange account instead of through POP3 or IMAP4. Using an Exchange account lets you use calendaring and other collaboration features that you can't use if you connect through IMAP4 or POP3. For more information, see "What else do I need to know?" later in this topic.

How do I set up Outlook 2003 for POP3 or IMAP4 access to my e-mail account?

  1. Open Outlook 2003. If the Outlook 2003 Startup page doesn't open, do the following:
    1. On the Tools menu, click E-Mail Accounts.
    2. On the E-Mail Accounts page, under E-mail, click Add an e-mail account, and then click Next to go to step 2.
    If the Outlook 2003 Startup page opens when you start Outlook:
    1. Click Next on the first page of the wizard.
    2. On the Account Configuration page, click Next again.
  2. On the Server Type page, select IMAP or POP3, and then click Next. Consider using IMAP because it supports more features.
  3. Provide the following information on the Internet E-mail Settings page:
    Under User Information:
    1. In the Your Name box, enter the name you want users to see when you send e-mail from this account.
    2. In the E-mail Address box, enter your e-mail address.
    Under Server Information:
    1. If you're using IMAP, enter your IMAP server name in the Incoming mail server (IMAP) box. If you're using POP, enter your POP server name in the Incoming mail server (POP3) box. For information about how to find your incoming POP3 or IMAP4 server name, see the "What else do I need to know?" section in this topic.
    2. In the Outgoing mail server (SMTP) box, enter the SMTP server name. For information about how to find your outgoing SMTP server name, see the "What else do I need to know?" section in this topic.
    Under Logon Information:
    1. In the User Name box, enter your e-mail address.
    2. In the Password box, enter your password. If you want Outlook to remember your password, make sure the check box next to Remember password is selected.
      Cc835668.note(en-us,EXCHSRVCS.140).gifNote:
      Don't select Log on using Secure Password Authentication (SPA).
  4. At the lower-right side of the page, click More Settings, and then fill in the Internet E-Mail Settings dialog box as follows:
    1. On the General tab, under Mail account, type the name you want to use for this e-mail account.
    2. On the Outgoing Server tab, select My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication. Make sure Use same settings as my incoming mail server is selected.
    3. On the Advanced tab:
    • Under Incoming server (IMAP), or Incoming server (POP3), select the This server requires an encrypted connection (SSL) check box.
    • Under Outgoing server (SMTP), select the This server requires an encrypted connection (SSL) check box, and then click OK.
    • If you're using POP3 and you want to keep a copy of your messages on the server, under Delivery, click Leave a copy of messages on the server. If you don't select this option, all messages will be removed from the server and stored locally on your computer.
  5. On the Internet E-mail Settings (IMAP) page, click Next.
  6. On the Congratulations page, click Finish.
  7. If you're using IMAP4, a message appears that asks you if you want to download folders for the mail server you added. Click Yes. Use the Outlook 2003 user interface to select which folders to synchronize between the server and your local computer, and then click OK.

What else do I need to know?

  • Before you set up a POP3 or IMAP4 e-mail program, you need to look up your own POP3, IMAP4, and SMTP server settings.
    Watch this video to learn how to find your server settings for your POP or IMAP e-mail program.
    Cc835668.d2955990-a94b-4f10-9abd-9a25266521a0(en-us,EXCHSRVCS.140).jpg
    To find your server settings, sign in to your e-mail account using Outlook Web App. After you sign in, click the drop-down arrow next to the Help question mark, and then click About. The POP3 or IMAP4 server name and other settings you may need to enter are listed on the About page under External POP setting or External IMAP setting. The SMTP server name and other settings are listed under External SMTP setting.
    Cc835668.important(en-us,EXCHSRVCS.140).gifImportant:
    The following settings are just examples. You must look up your own server settings.
    • If you're using POP and the About page shows the following:
      External POP setting:
         Server name: pod51000.outlook.com
         Port: 995
         Encryption method: SSL
      your POP3 server name should be set to pod51000.outlook.com.
    • If you're using IMAP and the About page shows the following:
      External IMAP setting:
         Server name: pod51000.outlook.com
         Port: 993
         Encryption method: SSL
      your server name should be set to pod51000.outlook.com.
    • To find your SMTP server setting, if the About page shows the following:
      External SMTP setting:
         Server name: pod51000.outlook.com
         Port: 587
         Encryption method: TLS
      your SMTP server name should be set to pod51000.outlook.com.
      Cc835668.note(en-us,EXCHSRVCS.140).gifNote:
      Write down the server settings in case you need them for future reference.
  • If you don't know whether to use POP3 or IMAP4, consider using IMAP4 because it supports more features.
  • If you access your e-mail account online using the outlook.com Web site, to access your e-mail account, you'll need the Windows Live ID your administrator gave you and your password. The Windows Live ID is also your primary e-mail address and includes the name of the domain, for example, tony@contoso.com.
  • If you're using Outlook 2003, you may be able to connect to your e-mail account using an Exchange account instead of using POP3 or IMAP4. Using an Exchange account lets you use calendaring and other collaboration features you can't get if you connect through IMAP4 or POP3. For information about how to connect Outlook 2003 using an Exchange account, see Set Up E-Mail in Outlook 2003.

What if I want to know more?

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