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How to Add Your Hotmail Email Account to MS Outlook Mail Client

Overview

Microsoft Outlook is one of the most popular email clients used by millions of people worldwide. If you have a Hotmail email account, you can easily add it to Outlook to access your emails conveniently in one place.

Adding a Hotmail account to Outlook allows you to:

  • Access your Hotmail emails in Outlook interface
  • Sync Hotmail emails to your local Outlook data file
  • Send/receive Hotmail emails from Outlook
  • Manage Hotmail emails more efficiently with Outlook features

The process is straightforward whether you use the new Outlook app that comes with Microsoft 365 or the classic Outlook desktop app. This article provides step-by-step instructions for both.

Prerequisites

Before adding your Hotmail account to Outlook, make sure:

  • You have the latest version of Outlook desktop app installed
  • You have your Hotmail email address and password handy
  • You have a stable internet connection

Add Hotmail to New Outlook App

The new Outlook app comes pre-installed with Microsoft 365 subscription. Here are the steps to add Hotmail:

  1. Open Outlook and go to File > Add Account
  2. Enter your Hotmail email address and click Connect
  3. When prompted, enter your Hotmail account password and click Connect
  4. Outlook will now verify your credentials and finish adding your Hotmail account

Once completed, you’ll see your Hotmail emails synced to Outlook automatically.

Add Hotmail to Classic Outlook App

If you use the classic Outlook desktop app, use these steps:

  1. Open Outlook and go to File > Add Account
  2. Select Advanced options and check Let me set up my account manually
  3. Select POP or IMAP as account type
  4. Enter your name, Hotmail email address and password
  5. Configure server settings as below:
  • Incoming server: pop-mail.outlook.com
  • Outgoing server: smtp-mail.outlook.com
  1. Click Next and Finish to complete setup

Once your Hotmail account is added, Outlook will start syncing your emails automatically based on the sync frequency you choose.

Access Hotmail Emails Offline

By default, Outlook offers online-only access to your Hotmail emails. To enable offline access:

  1. Go to File > Account Settings and select your Hotmail account
  2. Go to More Settings tab
  3. Under Mail settings, select Yes for Work Offline option

This will sync Hotmail content locally so you can access emails without an internet connection.

Change Hotmail Sync Settings

You can customize how frequently Outlook syncs the content of your Hotmail account:

  1. From your Hotmail account settings, go to Sync Settings tab
  2. Adjust sync frequency and content sync options as desired
  3. Click Ok to save changes

Less frequent syncs improve performance while more frequent ones ensure emails are always up to date.

Troubleshooting Tips

If you face any issues adding or accessing your Hotmail account in Outlook, try these troubleshooting tips:

  • Check your internet connection
  • Verify your Hotmail account credentials
  • Disable firewall and security software temporarily
  • Repair your Outlook data file to fix corruption errors
  • Update Outlook to the latest version

Reaching out to Microsoft Support can also help diagnose and resolve common Outlook problems when setting up Hotmail.

Conclusion

Adding a Hotmail email account to Outlook only takes a few minutes. Once configured, you get the combined benefits of Hotmail’s web-based email service and Outlook’s desktop client features for managing your emails seamlessly across devices.

With offline email access enabled, you can stay productive and respond to important emails anytime without an internet connection. Overall, integrating Hotmail with Outlook enhances your email experience greatly.

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