How to add my email to Outlook (Windows and Mac)

Settings you'll need

Full details in Email server settings: IMAP, POP3 and SMTP. Before you start, check the password works at https://yourdomain/webmail.

Outlook tries to detect settings automatically and often guesses wrong for custom domains. The steps below use manual setup, which avoids that.

Classic Outlook for Windows (Outlook 2016, 2019, 2021, Microsoft 365)

1. Open Outlook. Go to File → Add Account.
2. Type your email address.
3. Click Advanced options, tick Let me set up my account manually, then click Connect.
4. Choose IMAP.
5. Fill in Incoming mail: server mail.example.co.za, port 993, encryption SSL/TLS.
6. Fill in Outgoing mail: server mail.example.co.za, port 465, encryption SSL/TLS.
7. Leave Require logon using Secure Password Authentication (SPA) unticked. Click Next.
8. Enter the mailbox password and click Connect.
9. When you see "Account successfully added", click Done.

If Outlook says it can't connect, click Change Account Settings and check every field against the table. The most common slip is a port and encryption that don't match.

Already added the account and it's not working?

File → Account Settings → Account Settings → select the account → Repair → Advanced options → Let me repair my account manually, then correct the fields.

New Outlook for Windows

1. Click the Settings gear (top-right) → Accounts → Email accounts → Add account.
2. Type your email address and click Continue.
3. If it tries to set up an Outlook.com or Exchange account, go back and choose Advanced setup, then IMAP.
4. Enter the password.
5. Under the IMAP incoming server: mail.example.co.za, port 993, SSL/TLS.
6. Under the SMTP outgoing server: mail.example.co.za, port 465, SSL/TLS. Username is your full address.
7. Click Continue, then Done.

Outlook for Mac

1. Open Outlook. Go to Outlook → Settings (or Preferences) → Accounts.
2. Click + → New Account.
3. Type your email address and click Continue.
4. If Outlook asks which provider, choose IMAP/POP. If it tries Microsoft 365 or Exchange first, choose the option to pick the provider yourself and select IMAP/POP.
5. Set Type to IMAP.
6. Enter the password.
7. Incoming server: mail.example.co.za, port 993, tick Use SSL to connect.
8. Outgoing server: mail.example.co.za, port 465, tick Use SSL to connect.
9. Click Add Account, then Done.

If sending fails on Mac, open the account, click More Options under the outgoing server and set Authentication to Use Incoming Server Info.

After adding the account

• Send a test email to yourself and to an outside address such as a Gmail address.
• Give Outlook time to download folders on a large mailbox. The first sync can take a while.
• If you use the mailbox on other devices too, use IMAP everywhere so they stay in sync.

Problems