Have your details ready
You need the full email address and password, and your phone or app for any security check.
Step 1 of 6
In this guide
Check the account works in webmail
Check the account works in webmail
Go to your email provider's webmail site and sign in with the full email address and password. Check your mail is there, then send yourself a test and check it arrives.
If you cannot sign in, or the account is locked or full, contact your email provider. Do not add it to Outlook until webmail works.
Then choose the Outlook you have: New Outlook, or classic Outlook that comes with Microsoft 365 or Office.
Choose your version of Outlook.
Add the account in New Outlook
Add the account in New Outlook
Search Start for Outlook and open it. On first setup, enter the full email address, select Continue, enter the password and complete any security check. Wait for your mail to load.
App password: if your provider asks for one, create it on the provider's account security page and enter it in Outlook instead of your normal password. Do not turn off multifactor authentication to make setup work. If you cannot complete the security check, contact your email provider.
If another account is already set up, open the settings gear (top right), then Accounts > Email accounts > Add account, and follow the same prompts.
Check the account shows under Email accounts without an error, then select it in the left pane and check your Inbox.
New Outlook does not handle some older internet provider mailboxes well, such as older Telstra, BigPond or Optus addresses. If setup fails in New Outlook, use classic Outlook instead.
Choose whether the account was added.
Add the account in classic Outlook
Add the account in classic Outlook
Open classic Outlook and choose File > Add Account. Enter the full email address, select Connect, enter the password and complete any security check. Choose Done and check your mail appears.
App password: if your provider asks for one, create it on the provider's account security page and enter it in Outlook instead of your normal password. Do not turn off multifactor authentication to make setup work. If you cannot complete the security check, contact your email provider.
Choose whether automatic setup worked.
Add the account manually
Add the account manually
Choose File > Add Account, enter the address, open Advanced options, tick Let me set up my account manually and select Connect > IMAP. Enter the incoming (IMAP) and outgoing (SMTP) server details, then the password, and choose Connect, then Done.
- IMAP keeps mail in sync across all your devices. Use it unless your provider says POP3.
- POP3 downloads mail to one computer.
- SMTP sends mail.
The usual secure settings are IMAP port 993 with SSL/TLS, and SMTP port 587 with STARTTLS or 465 with SSL/TLS. The username is usually the full email address, but some providers and business mail servers use a different username; enter exactly what your provider gives you. Get the server names from your provider.
For Telstra, BigPond and Optus, use the settings in our email guide. If you have an iPrimus or AAPT address, check who now hosts your mailbox and use that provider's settings.
Gmail and Yahoo reject your normal password in manual setup. Use automatic setup, which opens the provider's own sign-in page. If you must set them up manually, create an app password on the provider's account security page and use that instead.
Once this is done, continue.
Check incoming mail
Check incoming mail
Once the account is added, close Outlook and open it again before checking for emails.
Check Outlook is connected:
- New Outlook: there is no error message across the top of the window.
- Classic Outlook: the bottom right of the window says Connected.
Select the account in the left pane and open the Inbox. Check new emails are arriving.
Depending on how much email you have, not all of it will show straight away. Older emails can take time to download, so leave Outlook open. Searching for older emails may not find everything until this first download has finished. If Outlook freezes during this first download, close it and open it again; it carries on where it stopped.
If new emails are not arriving, sync it:
- New Outlook: select View > Sync.
- Classic Outlook: select Send/Receive > Send/Receive All Folders.
If the Inbox stays empty, check the address matches the one you used in webmail and look for an account error. If mail still will not arrive, see our email troubleshooting guide.
If it says Connected and emails are arriving, continue.
Send a test email
Send a test email
Select New mail and send a test email to your own address. Check it arrives.
If the test email arrives, your email is set up.
Book IT supportFrequently asked questions
Why test webmail before Outlook setup?
It checks that the account can sign in and send/receive through its provider. If webmail fails, resolve that with the provider before adding the account to an app.
Where do manual server settings come from?
From your email provider. The ports in this guide are the usual secure settings, but the server names must come from the provider.
Must I turn off multifactor authentication?
No. Complete the provider’s supported verification or app-password method. Contact the provider when verification fails.
Who helps with a locked account?
Your email provider handles a locked account, password or security check. We can help set up Outlook and move your mail.
