Essential Chatter

Configure Incredimail to send and receive Hotmail email

For a while now I've been having trouble with downloading my Hotmail emails into my Incredimail email client. Initially I deleted the Hotmail account in Incredimail, and started over, adding it over from scratch. However, each time I did this, entering my address@hotmail.com, Incredimail would go to the default http settings, giving absolutely no entry field to enter the POP3 and SMTP server settings. Originally Incredimail would give you the option of "Let me configure settings myself", which would have allowed the entering of proper server settings, when adding a new email account, however, for whatever reason, that option simply was not and is not there.

Frustrated, I went on a Google search and found various confusing as well as complicated answers, and then I came across http://windowslivehelp.com/community/t/13141.aspx where others were asking this same question and receiving suggestions. Amongst the many posts on this page, I found a simple suggestion that worked for me. However it wasn't gone into with great detail, so I thought that I would try to explain this in full here for other's benefit, giving all the relevant information one would need to set it all up. Hopefully Incredimail will put a fix on this little glitch of a problems soon, but until then, this workaround simple fix will allow you to add your Hotmail email account to Incredimail.

The key to the solution is to NOT use the word "HOTMAIL" anywhere on the original setting up of the new account in Incredimail, so that the Incredimail program won't go to the default http server settings. Just use a made up email account name like maryjane@gmail.com, as an example, when adding a new account.

First, in Incredimail, go to your Accounts, under the Tools menu:

Once in the 'Mail Accounts' popup menu box, click on ADD and enter the dummy account name maryjane@gmail.com. At this point, it doesn't really matter what you enter, just be sure not to use the word 'Hotmail' and you should be fine. After you enter the few details click "Finish" on the account setup. This will bring you back to the 'Mail Accounts' popup window,


with that newly added account now highlighted. With that account still highlighted, click on "Properties".

Once in the Properties section, under the General tab, change the Account Name and Display Name to be as you want, (eg: Account Name: "Hotmail" / Display Name: "Mary Jane"), as well as changing the email address to be as it should, (eg: "maryjane@hotmail.com".)


Under the Servers tab change the following:

• Incoming mail server: pop3.live.com
• Outgoing mail server: smtp.live.com

(Incoming and Outgoing server settings can be found at Microsoft's Windows Live Help.)

On this same Servers tab, be sure the Incoming Mail Server Username and Password field is correct with your something@hotmail.com address of choice and the proper password for that Hotmail account.

Also be sure to tick the box under Outgoing Mail Server that states "My server requires authentication".


Next, under the Advanced tab, set the Server Port Numbers as follows:

• Outgoing mail (SMTP): 25
• Incoming mail (POP3): 995

Be sure to put a tick on "This server requres a secure connection (SSL)" underneath both the Outgoing and Incoming mail setting.

Finally, click on OK, and then that should do it!

To give it a quick test, compose and send a dummy test message to yourself at the hotmail address you just set up and then check your mail to see if it the test email downloads into your Incredimail client properly.

This could very well be the 'easy fix' for other email clients out there that suddenly out of the blue are no longer receiving your Hotmail emails. It is certainly worth a try.

Best of luck,

Carl