How to Configure @outlook.com Address in Email Client

Microsoft has just launched the shiny new Outlook.com webmail service, and the company is thinking to phase out their Hotmail brand. Outlook comes with a fresh new Metro interface, just like the upcoming Windows 8. So if you’ve got Outlook.com email address and want to configure it in your email client, then read on.

The online (webmail) version works good too, but many people would like @Outlook.com address to configure in their favorite email clients like Outlook 2010, Outlook 2007 or Mozilla Thunderbird.

Setup @outlook.com address in Email Client

Configuring Outlook.com is very easy. If you are using Mozilla Thunderbird, then all you need to do is to just open it and then go to File > New > Existing Mail Account. You will now be prompted to enter your name, complete email address and password. Also check mark “Remember password” so that you don’t have to type in your password every time.

Thunderbird will now look up the configuration in Mozilla ISP database. The settings will be found automatically and in the next step, you’ll be presented with the configuration such as Incoming server, Outgoing server and username (which is your email ID).

In this step, all you need to do is to click on “Done”. That’s it, your new @outlook.com email is now configured in the Email client.

But what if you want to configure Microsoft Outlook? If you are using Outlook 2013, then Exchange ActiveSync support is built in. Just configure the account normally by entering your email address and password. But for Outlook 2010, Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2003, you will need to use the free Outlook Hotmail Connector add-in. With this add-in, you can connect your @outlook.com email to your Microsoft Outlook.

You may be wondering about the POP/SMTP settings for Outlook.com address? For now, Outlook doesn’t support IMAP or POP and it uses Exchange ActiveSync only. You can use any modern web browser or email client that supports Exchange ActiveSync. But if your favorite mail app doesn’t supports ActiveSync, then unfortunately you won’t be able to use that app with Outlook.

(Also read: Outlook.com Email Keyboard Shortcuts)

Also you can configure the native mail apps on iOS and Android platforms, as by default they support Exchange ActiveSync. If you are using older version of Android, then you will need to use Microsoft’s Hotmail app.

It would be worth seeing how it compares to Gmail and other webmail services. Only time will tell the success of Microsoft’s new venture, till then, try out the webmail version or configure it on your email client.