How to set up email in Outlook (IMAP or POP3)

In Outlook for Windows, open File, choose Add Account, enter your address, pick manual setup and fill in the TopHost server: IMAP on port 993 and SMTP on port 465, both with SSL/TLS, and the full email address as the user name. Below are the exact steps for classic Outlook, the new Outlook for Windows and Outlook for Mac, plus the errors people meet most often.

What you need first

• The full address, for example office@your-domain.md, and the mailbox password.
• The incoming and outgoing server names. In cPanel open Email Accounts, click Connect Devices next to the address and copy them from Secure SSL/TLS Settings. All values are explained in the mail client settings.

Classic Outlook for Windows (Microsoft 365, 2024, 2021, 2019)

1. Open File and click Add Account. On the very first start Outlook opens this window by itself.
2. Type the email address, click Advanced options, tick Let me set up my account manually and click Connect.
3. Choose IMAP. Choose POP only if you read this mailbox on one computer and nowhere else.
4. Under Incoming mail enter the server, port 993 and encryption method SSL/TLS.
5. Under Outgoing mail enter the server, port 465 and encryption method SSL/TLS.
6. Leave Require logon using Secure Password Authentication (SPA) unticked in both places and click Next.
7. Enter the mailbox password and click Connect. When Outlook reports that the account was added, click Done.

If Outlook offers a Microsoft sign-in page instead of the manual form, go back and make sure the manual setup box is ticked.

Settings for a POP3 account

With POP3 the messages are stored in a data file (.pst) on your computer. Back that file up, since it is the only copy if messages are removed from the server. Choose how long a copy stays on the server in File, Account Settings, Account Settings: select the account, click Change, then More Settings, tab Advanced, options Leave a copy of messages on the server and Remove from server after a number of days. Without removal the mailbox on the server grows until it is full (what to do with a full mailbox).

In the same window, on the Outgoing Server tab, My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication must be ticked, with the option to use the same settings as the incoming server.

The new Outlook for Windows

1. Open Settings (the gear icon), then Accounts, then Email accounts, and click Add account.
2. Type the address and continue. When asked for the account type, choose IMAP.
3. Show the advanced settings and fill in: user name the full address, the password, the IMAP server with port 993 and security SSL/TLS, the SMTP server with port 465 and security SSL/TLS.
4. Continue and wait for the check to finish.

Outlook for Mac

Open Outlook, then Settings, then Accounts, click the plus button and choose a new account. Enter the address; if Outlook does not find the settings, choose IMAP and enter the same values as in the table, with the full address as user name and SSL turned on for both servers.

How often Outlook checks for mail

A mailbox accepts no more than 50 logins per hour, counted across all your devices. In classic Outlook the interval is under File, Options, Advanced, Send/Receive; keep it at 5 minutes or more. Other limits are in Email limits on shared hosting.

Frequent errors

• Outlook keeps asking for the password. The user name is not the full address, or the password is wrong. Correct it in the account settings; to set a new password use cPanel, Email Accounts, Manage.
• Error 0x800CCC0E or cannot connect to the server. The server name or port is wrong, or an antivirus or office network blocks the connection. Check the table above and try from another network.
• Sending fails with an authentication or relay error. Outgoing authentication is off or port 465 does not have SSL/TLS.
• Certificate warning about the server name. The name you entered is not the one on the certificate. Use the exact name from the secure block of Connect Devices.
• Everything was fine and then stopped. After several failed logins the server firewall can block your IP address, for example when another computer still has the old password. See why the firewall blocks an IP.

If the mailbox works in webmail but not in Outlook, the problem is in the Outlook settings. If webmail does not get new mail either, follow Emails are not arriving. You can always open a ticket with the Outlook version and the full error text.