Troubleshooting Outlook email setup

If you're having problems setting up your email in Outlook, we want to help. Choose an option below for more information. 

Note: AOL has recently announced upcoming changes that affect customers who use Outlook or other third-party email clients to send and receive their AOL email. For steps to verify your email account settings, see Update AOL email settings below.

Update AOL email settings

On November 7, 2017, AOL is making changes to their email account settings to help provide a more secure email experience for customers. Use the following steps to verify your account settings to ensure you can still send and receive email using your AOL account after November 7, 2016.

Outlook 2016, 2013, and 2010

1. Select File > Account Settings > Account Settings.

2. Select your AOL account from the list on the email tab and then click Change.

3. On the POP and IMAP Account Settings box, select More Settings.

4. Select the Outgoing Server tab and make sure the box marked My outgoing server (SMTP requires authentication) is checked. If not, check the box.

5. Select the Advanced tab and make sure that you're using the following settings if you have an IMAP account.

   • Incoming server (IMAP): 993

   • Use the following type of encrypted connection: SSL/TLS or SSL

   • Outgoing server (SMTP): 465 or 587

   • Use the following type of encrypted connection: SSL/TLS, SSL, TLS, or Auto

If you have a POP account, your options will look a little different. Make sure you're using these settings.

• Incoming server (POP): 995

• Use the following type of encrypted connection: SSL/TLS (or SSL)

• Outgoing server (SMTP): 465 or 587

• Use the following type of encrypted connection: SSL/TLS, SSL, TLS, or Auto

Outlook 2007

1. Select Tools > Account Settings.

2. Select your AOL account from the list on the email tab and then click Change.

3. On the POP and IMAP Account Settings box, select More Settings.

4. Select the Outgoing Server tab and check the box marked My outgoing server (SMTP requires authentication).

5. Select the Advanced tab and make sure that you're using the following settings if you have an IMAP account.

   • Incoming server (IMAP): 993

   • Use the following type of encrypted connection: SSL

   • Outgoing server (SMTP): 465

   • Use the following type of encrypted connection: SSL or TLS

If you have a POP account, your options will look a little different. Make sure you're using these settings.

• Incoming server (POP): 995

• Use the following type of encrypted connection: SSL/TLS

• Outgoing server (SMTP): 465 or 587

• Use the following type of encrypted connection: SSL or TLS

Outlook never asks me for a password

If you try to add an IMAP account to Outlook, for example a Gmail account, Apple account, Yahoo account, or an account from your local ISP, and you're not prompted to enter your password, use the following steps to work around the problem.

Ensure that on the IMAP details page, Secure Password Authentication is Unchecked

If this does not work

1. Open Control Panel by pressing the Windows key, typing Control Panel, and selecting Control Panel from the search results.

2. Select Mail.

3. Select Email Accounts...

4. On the Email tab, select New.

5. Enter your name, email address, and then enter your password in the Password and Retype Password boxes. Then select Next.

6. Follow the steps on screen to complete your account setup. You may be prompted to enter your password one additional time.

7. When account setup completes, select Finish.

Automatic setup failed

If Outlook can't find settings for your email account, or you receive an error during setup, in many cases, you can set up your account manually.

Important: Manual setup isn't possible for Office 365 or Exchange server accounts unless you want to use POP or IMAP to connect to those accounts. Contact your administrator to determine if POP or IMAP access are enabled for your account.

Set up your account manually

Choose File. Under Account Information, choose Add Account.

Choose Advanced options > Advanced setup.

Choose Manual setup or additional server types > Next then choose POP or IMAP and choose Next again.

Enter your account information, then choose Next. If you need help finding your account information, see POP and IMAP server name reference.

Choose More Settings > Advanced. Update the Server Port Numbers section with the information you received from your email provider or from the POP and IMAP server name reference topic. Choose OK > Next.

Choose Finish to start using Outlook.

Outlook keeps asking me for a password

If Outlook repeatedly prompts you for a password during setup, make sure that your caps lock isn't turned on. Passwords are case sensitive. This can also happen if you've entered your username incorrectly. Your user name is your full email address, for example tony@contoso.com.

If you've successfully sent and received email from Outlook before, and now Outlook repeatedly asks you to reenter your password, one of two things may have happened.

• You changed your password with your email provider, for example, Gmail, and haven't updated Outlook.

• Your password has expired. Many corporate email accounts have policies that require you to change your email password every few months.

To update your password in Outlook, see Change email account settings.

I want to change my password

Your email password is stored in Outlook. However, if you want to change your password with your email provider, you'll need to visit their website or help desk, or contact your email administrator. For example, if you have a Yahoo! account, you first have to change your password at Yahoo.com. Once you've changed your password with your email provider, you can update the password in Outlook. See Change email account settings for more information.

I can't receive new email messages

If you can't receive new email messages, there are several troubleshooting steps you can take.

• Look for Working Offline at the bottom of your Outlook window. If you see this text, choose the Send/Receive tab at the top of the screen, then choose the Work Offline button to disable offline mode.

• If you're not working offline, open a web browser and see if you can browse the internet. If not, check your network connection.

• Check your account settings against the information in our POP and IMAP server name reference. See Change email account settings for help on how to see your account settings.

I can't send messages

If your messages are stuck in the Outbox or aren't reaching their intended recipients, see Fix messages that are stuck in the Outbox.

My Outlook doesn't look like any of the pictures

There are multiple ways for you to send and receive email, and multiple versions of Outlook available. If the images in these topics don't match what you see on your screen, you might be using a different version of Outlook. See What version of Outlook do I have? for more information.

My problem isn't listed here

If you're having an issue that's not solved by one of the above options, we want to know. Please scroll down to the bottom of the page, select Yes or No on the Was this information helpful box, and leave us a note with the following information:

• Your version of Outlook

• The type of email account you're trying to set up (Outlook.com, Office 365, Exchange, or other)

• The text of any error messages you're seeing

• A brief description of your problem

We update this page each month and we want to ensure that we're including all of the troubleshooting steps you need.