How to Add Email Account to Microsoft Outlook 2016

With emails being one of the most important medium of communication especially in the business world, there’s no doubt that majority of us use emails on daily basis. In fact, most of us have multiple email accounts for various purposes. Some people like to keep the business and personal emails separate while some us wants to keep the emails of every business completely separate. Whatever maybe the reason for your multiple email accounts, there’s no doubt that managing emails and accessing emails from all accounts is very useful for our day-to-day routine.

Microsoft Outlook is one of those email management programs that lets you access emails and send/receive emails from multiple accounts. It’s a complete package that can handle emails from all of your accounts and has a lot of extra features for time management and productivity as well.

Microsoft Outlook is available for both Windows and Mac. But, in this article, we will only be talking about how to add multiple accounts in Outlook for Mac. It’s a step-by-step guide that includes adding emails automatically as well as manually.

Adding Email Accounts

Adding email accounts to Microsoft Outlook isn’t a huge deal. You can do that with very little or no technical knowledge at all. But, sometimes, you might need a little bit of help and it can get a little bit tricky especially if you are adding your account manually.

But, before we dig deep into how to add email accounts to Microsoft Outlook, lets first have a

Automatic Configuration

This is the easiest and, perhaps, the most widely used way of adding email account. This is basically adding your account the usual way. All you have to do is enter your email and password. As long as your email and passwords are correct, you won’t have any problem and all of your emails will be imported to Microsoft Outlook. But, this only works for the main email providers like Gmail and Yahoo etc.

Basically, what happens in the background is that you enter the email and password, and the Outlook automatically detects what email provider you have. Once it recognizes the email provider, Microsoft Outlook imports the configuration of Gmail to your account and everything is set up for you. This doesn’t work for other email providers like custom ones because Microsoft Outlook won’t have their configurations stored in their database. So, if you have an email provider like Gmail, Hotmail, live, Yahoo etc. then you are good to go. But if you have a custom email that looks something like yourname@arkent.com then Microsoft Outlook might not recognize it and you will have to go to the manual configuration.

Manual Configuration

There are 2 reasons that you might want to add your account manually. The first one is that you need to add your account in a different way with a different protocol. That means that you know what you are doing and you are switching to manual configuration because of some features or requirements. The second reason is that you couldn’t add your email with automatic configuration. This can happen when you have a custom email address, for example an email address that your company gave you. Most of the time, Microsoft Outlook won’t be able to add the custom emails because it won’t have their settings.

Manual configuration is a little different from automatic configuration because you will have to enter all the details manually. This means that the information that was automatically added by Microsoft Outlook in automatic configuration needs to be added manually. This can be a tiresome process especially for those who aren’t so tech-savvy and don’t know what a port number or incoming and outgoing server names are. But, don’t worry, manually adding your email account isn’t complicated. You just need a little more information to add an account manually and we will help you get all of that information later in this article.

Automatic Configurations

Let’s start with the steps of adding an account automatically. Since this is the easiest and the most time efficient method, let’s go through this before going to manual configurations.

Before adding your email accounts to Microsoft Outlook, make sure you have the information given below

Things you will need to know to add email accounts to Microsoft Outlook

1. Email Address
2. Username
3. Password

Adding Gmail Account to Microsoft Outlook

Getting the password

The password you type while adding the account will depend on whether or not you have enabled the 2-step verification system for your account.

2-Step Verification Enabled

If you have 2-Step verification enabled then you will need to enter an App Password in the password field. You can get your App password by following these steps

1. Open your browser and sign-in to your Gmail account
2. Click on your display picture (on the top right corner) and click My Account

3. Select Sign-in & Security

4. Select App passwords. Google might ask for password confirmation

5. Select Windows Computer from the drop down list that says Select Device
6. Select Mail from the drop down list that says Select App
7. Click Generate

8. Copy or note this 16-digit code somewhere

2-Step Verification Disabled

If your 2-Step verification system is disabled for your account then you will need to enter your email account’s password in the Microsoft Outlook’s password field. But you need to enable the Allow less secure apps option for your account.

Follow the steps given below to enable this option (if it isn’t already)

1. Open your browser and sign-in to your Gmail account
2. Click on your display picture (on the top right corner) and click My Account

3. Select Sign-in & Security

4. Enable the Allow less secure apps under Connected apps & sites

Steps for adding your account to Outlook

Follow these steps to add your Gmail account to Microsoft Outlook

1. Now open Microsoft Outlook
2. Click Tools then select Accounts

3. Click the plus (+) symbol on the bottom left and then select Other Email…
4. Type in your Email
5. In the password field, enter the password (determined above in the getting your password section)
6. Check the box that says Configure automatically
7. Click Add Account

8. Now wait while Microsoft Outlook imports your settings.
9. Once the process is done you will be able to see that Microsoft Outlook added your account on the left pane

Now your Gmail account is added to the Microsoft Outlook. If there’s a problem with your password, then make sure that you are using the App password if your 2-step verification is enabled. If your 2-step verification isn’t enabled, then make sure that your option “Allow less secure apps” is enabled from your account. The wording of this option can change from account to account but overall it will be the same thing. Also, keep in mind, that this option isn’t available for all accounts. For example, this option isn’t available in the Hotmail. Another thing to keep in mind is that this option will only appear when you turn of 2-step verification. If your 2-step verification is on then you won’t be able to see this option. So, check this option if you are having troubles signing in.

Adding Hotmail Account to Microsoft Outlook

Getting the password

The password you type while adding the account will depend on whether or not you have enabled the 2-step verification system for your account.

2-Step Verification Enabled

If you have 2-Step verification enabled then you will need to enter an App Password in the password field. You can get your App password by following these steps

1. Open your browser and sign-in to your Hotmail account
2. Click on your display picture (on the top right corner) and click View Account

3. Select Security

4. Select Update info under the section named Update your security info. You might have to enter your password

5. Click more options

6. Scroll down and select Create a new app password under the App passwords section

7. It will automatically generate a new password for you
8. Copy or note this app password somewhere

2-Step Verification Disabled

If your 2-Step verification system is disabled for your account then you will need to enter your email account’s password in the Microsoft Outlook’s password field and it will work.

Follow these steps to add your Hotmail account to Microsoft Outlook

1. Now open Microsoft Outlook
2. Click Tools then select Accounts

3. Click the plus (+) symbol on the bottom left and then select Other Email… You can also select com for your Hotmail account.
4. Type in your Email
5. In the password field, enter the password (determined above in the getting your password section)
6. Check the box that says Configure automatically
7. Click Add Account

8. Now wait while Microsoft Outlook imports your settings.
9. Once the process is done you will be able to see that Microsoft Outlook added your account which you can see on the left pane

Now your Hotmail account is added to the Microsoft Outlook. If you are having troubles in adding your account then make sure you are using the App password generated from your account if your 2-step verification is enabled.

Adding Yahoo Account to Microsoft Outlook

Getting the password

The password you type while adding the account will depend on whether or not you have enabled the 2-step verification system for your account.

2-Step Verification Enabled

If you have 2-Step verification enabled then you will need to enter an App Password in the password field. You can get your App password by following these steps

1. Go to yahoomail.com and sign in
2. Click on the settings button (on the top right corner) and click Account Info

3. Select Account Security
4. Select Manage app passwords

5. Select Outlook Desktop from the drop down list that says Select your app
6. Click Generate

7. Copy or note this app password somewhere

2-Step Verification Disabled

If your 2-Step verification system is disabled for your account then you will need to enter your email account’s password in the Microsoft Outlook’s password field. But you need to enable the Allow apps that use less secure sign in option for your account.

Follow the steps given below to enable this option (if it isn’t already)

1. Go to yahoomail.com and sign in
2. Click on the settings button (on the top right corner) and click Account Info

3. Select Account Security
4. Enable the Allow apps that use less secure sign in

Follow these steps to add your Yahoo account to Microsoft Outlook

1. Now open Microsoft Outlook
2. Click Tools then select Accounts

3. Click the plus (+) symbol on the bottom left and then select Other Email…
4. Type in your Email
5. In the password field, enter the password (determined above in the getting your password section)
6. Check the box that says Configure automatically
7. Click Add Account

8. Now wait while Microsoft Outlook imports your settings.
9. Once the process is done you will be able to see that Microsoft Outlook added your account which you can see on the left pane

Now your Yahoo account should be added in Outlook. If, for some reason, you can’t add your email account, then make sure you are using the App password from your account (if your 2-step verification is enabled). If, your 2-step verification is disabled and you still can’t add your account then make sure the option “Allow less secure apps” is turned on. This option will only appear when you disable 2-step verification and it has to be turned on in order to add your account.

Manual Configurations

You will have to switch to manual configurations if either you couldn’t add your account automatically or if you need to change some settings for a specific requirement. Whatever is the case, it’s not that hard to manually add your email account in Microsoft Outlook.

IMAP

IMAP stands for Internet Message Access Protocol. This is one of the two messaging protocol that you can configure your account with. A protocol basically tells the email client, in this case Microsoft Outlook, how to handle your email messages. For example, whether to store your email messages or not, should the program sync your emails or not etc.

IMAP protocol is like your regular email. It syncs your account on all devices and any changes made to your account will be visible to other devices that you are logged in with. If you want the same features as that of your online email and you want your emails to sync across multiple devices then pick IMAP.

POP3

POP3 stands for Post Office Protocol and the 3 stands for the 3^rd version. This protocol is the second of the two protocols that you can configure your account with. This is a little bit different from the IMAP protocol and it’s not what most people use. The main difference between POP3 and IMAP is that POP3 won’t sync your emails across multiple devices. With POP3 as your protocol, your emails will be downloaded to your device and you will have an offline version of your emails. But, since your emails are downloaded and you can access them offline, any changes you make to them won’t be reflected back to your servers. POP3 also has an option to delete your emails from the server after a specific period of time but that option can be turned off or changed as per your requirements. This might not seem useful to you but it’s preferred by a lot of people especially the ones who use just one computer for business purposes. Mostly, people use POP3 to download and keep a copy of their business emails on their machine.

Which one to pick?

It totally depends on what your requirements are and what you need your account for. Some people just want the regular IMAP protocol because they want to access their emails from multiple devices and they need to keep their inbox updated while some people want to use Microsoft Outlook just for business and keep their emails at one place. It totally depends on your needs and what you are looking for.

But, to give you an idea, if you are looking for regular email communication then pick IMAP. There’s no need to get into POP3 if you aren’t sure what it is or why do you need your emails to download. But if you are a business person who wants to keep their email at one place or a person who have very little or no space at all on their email servers then POP3 can be very useful. POP3 can also be useful if you are looking for a way to back up your important emails and documents. So, pick the one that suits you the best.

Things needed to add account via Manual Configurations

1. Email address
2. Password
3. Incoming Server Name (these will be covered later)
4. Outgoing Server Name (these will be covered later)
5. Protocol (IMAP or POP3)
6. Port Numbers

Manually Add Yahoo Account

Getting the password

The password you type while adding the account will depend on whether or not you have enabled the 2-step verification system for your account.

2-Step Verification Enabled

If you have 2-Step verification enabled then you will need to enter an App Password in the password field. You can get your App password by following these steps

1. Go to yahoomail.com and sign in
2. Click on the settings button (on the top right corner) and click Account Info

3. Select Account Security
4. Select Manage app password

5. Select Outlook Desktop from the drop down list that says Select your app
6. Click Generate

7. Copy or note this app password somewhere

2-Step Verification Disabled

If your 2-Step verification system is disabled for your account then you will need to enter your email account’s password in the Microsoft Outlook’s password field. But you need to enable the Allow apps that use less secure sign in option for your account.

Follow the steps given below to enable this option (if it isn’t already)

1. Go to yahoomail.com and sign in
2. Click on the settings button (on the top right corner) and click Account Info

3. Select Account Security
4. Enable the Allow apps that use less secure sign in

Yahoo Account: IMAP

1. Now open Microsoft Outlook
2. Click Tools then select Accounts

3. Click the plus (+) symbol on the bottom left and then select Other Email…
4. Enter your email address
5. Enter your password. (if you aren’t sure which password to use then go to “Getting the password” section above)
6. Enter your This should be your email address e.g. john@example.com
7. Select IMAP from the drop down menu in Type
8. In the Incoming Mail Server, write your Incoming Server Name. This should be e.g. imap-mail.outlook.com, imap.gmail.com and imap.mail.yahoo.com for Outlook, Gmail and Yahoo, respectively. If you have any other provider then the general rule is to write imap.domain.com or imap.mail.domain.com
9. Type 993 in Incoming server (IMAP).
10. In the Outgoing server option (SMTP), write the Server hostname. This should be e.g. smtp-mail.outlook.com, smtp.gmail.com and smtp.mail.yahoo.com for Outlook, Gmail and Yahoo, respectively. If you have any other provider then the general rule is to write smtp.domain.com or smtp.mail.domain.com
11. Type 465 (or 587 if 465 doesn’t work) in Outgoing server (SMTP).
12. Check the option Use SSL to connect (recommended) for both Incoming and Outgoing servers
13. Click Add Account

Now, Microsoft Outlook will check your settings. Once it is finished, your account will be added to the Microsoft Outlook. If there are any errors then make sure you have entered the correct username and password.

Yahoo Account: POP3

1. Now open Microsoft Outlook
2. Click Tools then select Accounts

3. Click the plus (+) symbol on the bottom left and then select Other Email…
4. Enter your email address
5. Enter your password. (if you aren’t sure which password to use then go to “Getting the password” section above)
6. Enter your Username
7. Select POP3 from the drop down menu in Type
8. In the Incoming server option, write pop-mail.outlook.com, pop.gmail.com and pop.mail.yahoo.com for Outlook, Gmail and Yahoo, respectively. If you have any other provider then the general rule is to write pop.domain.com or pop.mail.domain.com
9. Type 995 in Incoming server (POP3).
10. In the Outgoing server option (SMTP), write the Server hostname. This should be e.g. smtp-mail.outlook.com, smtp.gmail.com and smtp.mail.yahoo.com for Outlook, Gmail and Yahoo, respectively. If you have any other provider then the general rule is to write smtp.domain.com or smtp.mail.domain.com
11. Type 465 (or 587 if 465 doesn’t work) in Outgoing server (SMTP).
12. Check the option Use SSL to connect (recommended) for both Incoming and Outgoing servers
13. Click Add Account

Wait for it to check the settings. Once it is finished, your account will be added to the Microsoft Outlook and your data will be synced as well. If there are any errors then make sure you have entered the correct username and password.

Other Accounts

You can add pretty much any account to Outlook like we added Yahoo above. These are the things that you require to add your account manually

Email: Your email address

Username: Your username

Password: Get the App Password if you have 2-step verification on otherwise insert your email account password and make sure your Allow less secure option is enabled

IMAP or POP3: Your preference

Incoming Mail Server: For IMAP, use imap-mail.outlook.com, imap.gmail.com and imap.mail.yahoo.com for Outlook, Gmail and Yahoo, respectively. For POP3, use pop-mail.outlook.com, pop.gmail.com and pop.mail.yahoo.com for Outlook, Gmail and Yahoo, respectively

Incoming Server (More Settings Option): For IMAP, use 465 or 587. For POP3, use 995

Outgoing Mail Server: Use smtp-mail.outlook.com, smtp.gmail.com and smtp.mail.yahoo.com for Outlook, Gmail and Yahoo, respectively.

Encryption Type: Always go for SSL/TLS. If there is no option named SSL/TLS then go for SSL or TLS.