Outlook is one of the most popular email clients. Once configured, the Microsoft program provides the perfect environment to send, receive and manage emails . The package is completed with the integrated calendar, which reminds you of dates and also facilitates the organization of meetings and events. Apart from that, the user can add other accounts to Outlook (as many as they want) and thus collect them into one client. This is useful, for example, when a person uses different email addresses for private and business communication..
If you want to use Outlook to manage your email accounts, the first step is to set up an account. The steps to do this are no different from those required to add another email account to Outlook. The only difference is in the protocol and address settings of the incoming and outgoing server that the ISP uses as the basis for the e-mail service. For some providers, such as Gmail or Yahoo, it may also be necessary to modify certain settings on the provider's website before adding the account to Outlook, as linking may be blocked.
The different types of accounts that you can add to Outlook are, among others:
In order to add a new account to Outlook, you generally need the password for that email account. If a provider has login procedures configured, such as two-factor authentication, then you will also have to have the second device at hand and generate a second password in the settings of the account you want to link in order to finish the session. Account settings..
The steps required to set up a new account in Outlook depend, as mentioned before, on your internet service provider or email provider. Since many email providers block Outlook onboarding or require an additional application password to be entered , there are often a few more steps to take. Also, the process for adding an account to Outlook depends on the version of the Microsoft program you use (desktop clients, such as 2019, 2016, or 2013 versions, versus Outlook on the web). You will also have the possibility to choose between automatic configuration (not available for all email accounts) and manual .
In the following sections you will find detailed instructions for the different versions of Outlook , in which both manual and automatic configuration are explained..
The ability to automatically configure email accounts exists from Outlook 2010 . If you are still using an older version of the desktop client, you will not have this feature. The steps required for automatic configuration differ very little from version to version, which is taken into account in the following instructions:
In all versions, you can access the account settings from the? File ?. On the menu page that opens, called? Information? (Account Information), click the button? Add account ? (Add Account).
The dialog window that appears has been slightly adapted in the new versions (Office 365), so that you only have to indicate the address of the account to be linked and then click on? Connect ? In previous versions up to 2013 (although in part also the 2016 editions), you also have to enter the account password and the name you choose before you can continue with the configuration by clicking on? Next ? (Next).
If prompted, enter your password (again). Once the automatic account configuration has been carried out, you will receive the corresponding confirmation. Then click? Finish ?
If the automatic configuration of the email account fails, you will need to check the account settings. In certain circumstances, you might have additional protection , such as the aforementioned two-factor authentication, a security email that must be answered first, or a feature that blocks third-party applications, such as the Outlook client. Generally, some accounts cannot be automatically added to Outlook , so you will have to resort to the manual method .
For the manual configuration of an account you not only need your credentials, but also the data for the incoming or outgoing server of the corresponding email service. The procedure is very similar in all versions, but there are some differences in the buttons and dialog windows. As in the automatic configuration of the account, first you have to access the tab? File ? and in ? Account information ?, click the button? Add account ?
In the most recent versions, select the item? Advanced options ?, then mark the checkbox? Allow me to manually set up my account ? and then click? Connect ?.
Instead, in the classic dialog window, you simply change the selection to? Manual configuration or additional server types ? or in? Manually configure server settings or additional server types ? (Outlook 2010) and click? Next ?
Under? Choose service ?, click? POP or IMAP ? or in? Internet email ? and then on? Next ? At this point, you are prompted for the address and server information provided by your Internet or email service provider. You will have to indicate the following information:
Select the option? Require login using Secure Password Authentication (SAP)? only if it is compatible with the provider's email servers or if the provider expressly requests it.
If you have doubts when choosing the transmission protocol, we recommend that you take a look at our article on IMAP and POP3.
Since the connection to the email servers remains unencrypted to date, before finishing the configuration, click the button? More settings ? (More Settings) located in the lower right corner.
Access the tab? Outgoing server ? and check the box? Does my outgoing server (SMTP) require authentication ? Keep the standard option? Use the same settings as my incoming mail server? and switch to the tab? Advanced ?. Depending on whether you have previously entered IMAP or POP3 as the transmission protocol, make the following settings to configure encryption via SSL or TLS for connections to email servers:
Save the changes with? OK? and close the window? Add account to Outlook? with the buttons? Next ? Y ? Finish ?
In the web version of Outlook you can also add multiple email accounts (up to 20). Like the desktop client, the web version of Outlook also gives you the choice between manual and automatic configuration . Both variants are available in the menu? Synchronize email? which you can access as follows:
In ? Add a connected account ?, Outlook offers two buttons so you can start the setup. If you want to link the web client with a Gmail account , select the button of the same name, otherwise, press? Other email accounts ?:
As with the Outlook desktop client, a dialog window now opens allowing you to choose between manual and automatic account setup. First enter the address and password of the account you want to link and, if you wish, a display name, and press? Accept ?
Then the Outlook web automatically creates a new folder for the emails of this new account, although you can also select the second option? You can choose where the imported email will be stored ?, so that imported and future emails are uploaded to an existing folder.
If you want to configure the account yourself, for now, leave the address and password changes empty and check the box? Manually configure account options (POP, IMAP or send-only account) ? in the Advanced Settings. Then press? OK? and the window will reopen where, as described in the instructions above, you can enter the data for the incoming and outgoing server.
At the beginning of this article we already mentioned that it is not so easy to add your email account from services like Gmail, Yahoo or GMX to Outlook or other email clients. This is because in most cases these services block access to other applications for security reasons. Here's how to disable this Gmail security feature so that you can add your Gmail account to Outlook .
Since the procedure to remove this lock varies from service to service, the following instructions are only used as an example for the Google Mail service, Gmail. In general, you will find the necessary information in the technical support forums of each provider.
Gmail comes with two security settings to avoid linking accounts to Outlook. First of all, is the impediment of? Unsafe application access? which is centrally configured in the Google account . Therefore, the first step should be to access the Google account and remove this block as follows:
As soon as you have activated access to applications considered unsafe, you will receive a notification email in your Gmail account. However, we still have a bit to do with linking: to be able to add the account to Outlook, we must activate the transmission of e-mail through POP or IMAP , which are deactivated by default. To do this, log in to Gmail and open the settings by pressing the small gear symbol and there select the menu option of the same name:
Within the configuration, go to the tab? Forwarding and POP / IMAP mail ?, where you can activate the desired protocol in? Download POP mail? or? IMAP access ?. In addition, you have other configuration options, such as determining what should happen to the copies of the messages in the Gmail account. To finish, click? Save changes ? (Save Changes):
Please, take into account the legal notice related to this article.