Set Up Outlook 2007 for IMAP or POP Access to Your E-Mail Account

Topic Last Modified: 2010-02-16

You can connect Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 to your e-mail account using POP3 or IMAP4 connectivity.

Important:
If you're using Outlook 2007, consider connecting using an Exchange account instead of using POP3 or IMAP4. Using an Exchange account lets you use the calendaring and other collaboration features that you can't get if you connect through IMAP4 or POP3. For information about how to connect Outlook 2007 using an Exchange account, see Set Up Outlook 2007 to Get Your E-Mail.

Note:
These instructions include the correct server names for e-mail accounts that are accessed online using the Outlook.com Web site. If you use a different address to access your e-mail on the Web, such as your organization’s Web address, you need to obtain the correct server names from someone who manages your e-mail account before you follow the steps below.

How do I set up Outlook 2007 for POP3 or IMAP4 access to my e-mail account?

Open Outlook. The Account Settings dialog box will open the first time you open Outlook. If the Account Settings dialog box doesn't open when you first open Outlook, do the following:
1. On the Tools menu, click Account Settings.
2. In the Account Settings dialog box, on the E-mail tab, click New.
On the Choose E-mail Service page, make sure Microsoft Exchange, POP, IMAP, or HTTP is selected, and then click Next.
On the Auto Account Setup page, at the bottom of the page, click the Manually configure server settings or additional server types check box.
Click Internet E-mail, and then click Next.
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. Under Account Type, select IMAP or POP3. Consider using IMAP.
2. In the Incoming mail server box, enter the IMAP or POP server name. If you access your e-mail account online using the outlook.com Web site, you can find the POP or IMAP server settings for your e-mail account by signing in to Outlook Web App at the following address: http://outlook.com. After you sign in successfully, click the drop-down arrow next to the Help question mark, and then click About. The POP or IMAP server name you need to enter is listed on the About page under External POP setting or External IMAP setting.
  For example, 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 POP server name is 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
  the server name is pod51000.outlook.com.
  
  Note:
  Write down the values for the POP or IMAP port and encryption method. You'll need to set or verify those settings later in this procedure.
3. In the Outgoing mail server (SMTP) box, enter the SMTP server name. If you access your e-mail account online using the outlook.com Web site, you can find the SMTP server name by signing in to your e-mail account at the following address: http://outlook.com. After you sign in successfully, click the drop-down arrow next to the Help question mark, and then click About. The SMTP server name you need to enter is listed on the About page under External SMTP setting. For example, if the About page shows the following:
  External SMTP setting:
     Server name: pod51000.outlook.com
     Port: 587
     Encryption method: TLS
  your SMTP server name is pod51000.outlook.com.
  
  Note:
  Write down the values for the SMTP port and encryption method. You'll need to set or verify those settings later in this procedure.
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.
At the lower-right side of the page, click More Settings, and then fill in the Internet E-Mail Settings dialog box as follows:
On the Outgoing Server tab, select My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication.
On the Advanced tab:
1. Under Incoming server (IMAP), or Incoming server (POP3), next to Use the following type of encrypted connection, select SSL in the drop-down box.
2. Under Outgoing server (SMTP), next to Use the following type of encrypted connection, select TLS, and then click OK.
3. 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.
On the Add New E-mail Settings page, click Next.
On the Congratulations page, click Finish. Close the Account Settings dialog box.
On the Account Settings page, click Close.
If you're using IMAP4, a message appears that asks you if you want to download folders for the mail server that you added. Click Yes. Use the Outlook 2007 user interface to select which folders to synchronize between the server and your local computer, and then click OK.

Note:
Write down the values for the POP or IMAP port and encryption method. You'll need to set or verify those settings later in this procedure.

Note:
Write down the values for the SMTP port and encryption method. You'll need to set or verify those settings later in this procedure.

For more information about how to use Outlook 2007, see the Help documentation provided with Outlook 2007.

What else do I need to know?

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 that 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.

What if I want to know more?