Use Hotmail from Microsoft Outlook
If you are still using Hotmail but would prefer to access your email from a desktop client, then you might be interested to know that Microsoft has released a connector that will allow you to send and receive Hotmail or Office Live Mail through Outlook 2003 or 2007.
This is especially helpful for those of us that maintain a hotmail account but don’t like to ever check it because we don’t use it all that often.
Installation
Make sure that Outlook is closed, and then download and install the Microsoft Office Outlook Connector. Open Outlook and you’ll immediately be prompted with the settings dialog.
Enter in your account details into this screen, and then close the dialog. You’ll be prompted to restart Outlook again.
Once you’ve restarted, you’ll now see your Hotmail account in the list of mail accounts, and you can send/receive to download your messages.
If you want to send email with the hotmail account, you’ll notice a new drop-down for Account, which will let you switch the account you are sending the email as.
Hopefully this will save you some of the pain of the slow-loading hotmail website.
Download Microsoft Office Outlook Connector from Microsoft.com
Daily Email Updates
You can get our how-to articles in your inbox each day for free. Just enter your name and email below:
Thank you for this tip! I needed this. Pushing the refresh button every so minutes started to make me crazy! LOL
Thanks, maybe you could write one about aol?
This is sweet! now how do I do it with yahoo? (without installing a server on my computer)
try mr postman to use yahoo and other(java requiered)
With the new live Hotmail I cannot access my Hot Mail account I only get a white page each time I sign in with my password. What can you do to help me? I have tried many times and have spent hours that I do not need to spend on this thing anymore. Please do not send an e-mail I will not be able to open it.
Please call me
[editor: numbers removed. Leaving phone numbers on a website isn't a good idea]
Thank you
Dewey Simms
Dewey,
You aren’t the only person that has asked me about this. If you want to get into your email, install Firefox ( getfirefox.com ) and then try from there… that seems to work just fine.
Is the Connector the only way to use a hotmail address in Outlook 2007?
I installed it, and it is a hog, and I have to control/alt/delete every 5 minutes.
It also prevents using certain features: subfolders, attachments in calendar notices, more than 9 email addresses that you can include on a single email
Help
how i do use out look express with hotmail???
Why does MS Hotmail charge an annual fee? It know it allows you to send out larger files and store more on the server.
I am using microsoft outlook 2003 and after installing the connector i can not download any email from hotmail. When I click on the account name, outlook says “The set of folders can not be opened” and further info:
“This error usually appears if the OST or PST file you are using is:
Unavailable
Protected with file permissions
On a share on a server and the network is down
Corrupt”
If anyone has come across the problem and have a solution, please share with me.
Thanks a lot
VD
Thanks, very useful
Hi, if you do this, can you still access your account via hotmail as well as outlook??
@Tequila: Yes, you can still access the hotmail account online.
Thank you for your notes on this website. Hopefully, the following is an appropriate posting for your website. If it is not, my apologies.
My question is:
Periodically, Outlook 2007 will stop downloading my mail from hotmail. Outlook will also not send mail through my hotmail account. Then, when I request a Send/Receive Outlook will complete the Send or Receive process, but then it hangs up on either the Send or Receive. Rather than completing the Send/Receive process, Outlook gets to some percentage of the Send/Receive and either hangs up or locks down.
When this problem has occurred in the past, I would create a new Outlook Connector account and then delete the old Personal Folder tied to the defective account. This seemed to cure the problem, but today it did not cure the problemm 100%. Today, I was able to cure the Receive side of the problem, but Outlook 2007 will not send through Hotmail. FYI . . . I went on-line to test Hotmail from the web, to ensure that it is working and Hotmail on-line appears to be working correctly.
Regarding outlook 2007 and outlook connector-
Ive noticed that outlook connector merges the windows live mail server and outlook together and kills many of the features that outlook offers. For example, i cant rename any of the personal folders or set how I want Live mail to deal with any messages I delete in outlook.
Is there any way I can connect my live mail account using pop3 in and smtp out? The pop3 connection works perfectly fine with outlook express and outlook 2003, but 2007 fails.
People have had this problem ever since the 2007 version was released and it seems as though it still isnt resolved. Why does 2003 work and not 2007?? Can I get it to work without this god forsaken connector?
Any info would be much much appreciated!
How can I send photos through my hotmail address?
Connie
why do I constantly get the error server unavailable try again later when I try to receive mail from my hot mail account. I am using outlook 2003 and the new hotmail live. Is there an issue with the server? Is there a bug they are trying to clear up hence the server being unavailable. Leave it to MS to throw another wrench in the works. Why can’t they leave well enough alone!!!!!!
I have 3 hotmail accounts downloading through outlook connector. It was working fine for about a year, then it suddenly stopped downloading anything from one of the accounts. It says it is connected to the account, but does not download any new messages. The other two accounts are working just fine. Any ideas on how to fix this?
thanks.
When I open my outlook, my messages download, but they don’t continue to download throughout the day. They only appear the first time I open it. I have tried everything… can you help?
How do I send e mail from Microsoft Outlook please?? I have set up my hotmail in Microsoft Outlook and it receives e mail but I cannot send, I have beed told I need to purchase the right to do it, does anyone know how I do this for the UK?? I got the link to the US version but when you go to pay it only lets me put in my address as if I live in America i.e. State and Zip Code instead of County and Postcode as we call them over here…..
Really would appreciate someones help.
Regards
Rich
When I send mail (either sent, or reply and forward) I end up with a copy in my sent box AND my inbox showing as unread mail.
hi..is there any way to delete the mails automatically from hotmail after downloading all mails? such as the account settings in the outlook that i can mark the check box “don’t leave a copy of the message on the server”
thanks in advance
Same issue as Amr and Bunni.
Deleting 10k e-mails (eventlog monitoring before anyone asks) thru the webpage interface is not fun, esp. when I used to be able to do this directly in Outlook.
Can you please help?????? I finally was able to correct the problem with hotmail and outllook 2007, but now my expedient mail through outlook will not send nor receive!!! Please help me. I am at my witts end!
I am having the same problem. I delete emails in Outlook, then I login to Hotmail via the web and all the messages I deleted are still there in my inbox… Isn’t there an option to remove messages from the server after I delete them in Outlook?