▼ Email Programs
▼ Webmail Providers
▼ General Tutorials
Free Email TutorialsHotmailHotmail IMAP Settings

Hotmail IMAP Settings

Hotmail IMAP folders As seen in our previous tutorial, Hotmail now supports the POP3 email protocol (Hotmail POP3 settings). Unlike IMAP, which supports folders created on the mail server to be shown to all email clients connecting to that email account, Hotmail POP3 only shows you the main folder and emails (your Hotmail inbox). This is why Hotmail IMAP settings are one of the most common requests when setting up Hotmail in an email client. This tutorial will show you how to use Hotmail as an IMAP account, even without having Windows Live Hotmail IMAP settings available at this time.

Configure Hotmail folders without IMAP settings

Unfortunately, Hotmail does not currently support IMAP for your account; if you setup your email client with POP3, you will only see a single folder, and in it your inbox emails. There are two ways around the current lack of Hotmail IMAP settings.

Using a "Microsoft Exchange Server" setup as IMAP configuration

Using Microsoft Exchange Server as IMAP settings Since early 2011, you can setup your Hotmail account on iPhone or iPod touch as though it were IMAP simply by choosing the "Microsoft Exchange" option: this allows you to get not only email messages downloaded to your inbox, but also to access all other folders in your account!

Using Hotmail without IMAP, but from a single location

Single email folder without Hotmail IMAP support The main benefit of IMAP is having Windows Live Hotmail display synchronized emails and mail folders across platforms and locations (view the same emails and folder hierarchy from your web browser and your desktop email programs, and from different locations). If, however, you are only accessing your Hotmail account from a single computer, you can setup the folder inside the email program, rather than from the Hotmail.com website: this means that, as far as your main computer is concerned, you will have all the folders you need without IMAP support.

Keep in mind though that email folders created inside your desktop email client will not be visible if you access your Windows Live Hotmail account from a browser somewhere else (at work, at a hotel, etc.)

Seen in the screenshot above, setting up Hotmail on an iPhone or iPod touch will only display a single inbox folder, since POP3, and not IMAP, is used to setup the email account. You can still read and reply to your emails, but without IMAP support, you cannot file your emails, or open emails currently stored inside Hotmail's standard folders and custom folders - what are essentially IMAP folders.

Using the Windows Live Mail email program

Windows Live Mail is a free, full-featured email program created by Microsoft, and downloadable for Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 users (plus the equivalent Windows server editions). Although Hotmail does not support IMAP, Windows Live Mail connects to your Hotmail account in a special way, simply using HTTP (a non-email protocol). Using Windows Live Mail allows you to use Hotmail as an IMAP email service, without any limitation. See how you can setup your Hotmail account in Windows Live Mail.

Future of Hotmail with IMAP support

Since Hotmail IMAP Settings are such a common request, it is very likely that the Windows Live team that maintains and upgrades Hotmail and other Live.com services is seriously considering adding IMAP support in addition to POP3. After all, one of the main advantages of using Hotmail is the ability to use it in an excellent online browser you can access when away from your main computer and a desktop email client.

On the upside, the Windows Live team claims that POP3 access to Hotmail is faster than IMAP (or DAV, the previous, proprietary email protocol Hotmail was using). If it is a feasible solution for you, see how you can setup Hotmail as a POP3 email account.

A later tutorial will explain how to use third party tools to allow you to circumvent this current limitation, and connect to Hotmail as an IMAP email service.

Hotmail Tutorial The new Hotmail Hotmail.com Create a Hotmail account Hotmail sign in Hotmail sign out Read your Emails Read your emails Show images and content Download attachments Delete email messages Delete all emails from a person Unsubscribe from mailing lists Mark emails as Unread / Read Hotmail Instant Actions Unflag / Flag email messages Hotmail Quick Views Compose & Send Emails Hotmail email Reply to emails Forward emails Compose a new message Formatting emails Send attachments File attachment size limits Add pictures to your emails Create a signature Sending emails Send mail from other accounts Send plain text emails Change importance of emails Select multiple emails Spam & Junk Mail Filtering Mark spam email as junk mail Spam and junk mail settings Block email senders Unblock email senders Report phishing scam emails Standard Hotmail Folders The standard folders Hotmail Inbox Hotmail Junk folder Hotmail Drafts folder Hotmail Sent folder Hotmail Deleted folder Show or hide email folders Custom Hotmail Folders Create a new folder Rename a folder Empty a folder Delete a folder Mark an entire folder as "Read" Hotmail Contacts Hotmail Contacts Add a sender as contact Create a new contact Edit contacts' information Delete a contact Remove duplicate contacts Import contacts into Hotmail Export Hotmail contacts Contact categories Copy / transfer Hotmail contacts Add picture to contacts Block emails from non contacts Add Safe Senders to Hotmail Hotmail Tips and Tricks Hotmail Tips View email headers X-Originating-IP Show / hide basic headers View emails full screen Check for new emails Print email messages Hotmail Help Add another email account Check another email account Sort your emails Find emails with "Search Tool" Create email filters Automated vacation replies Use Hotmail as default email Hotmail account start date Configure Hotmail Settings Customize Hotmail Options Hotmail Login Hotmail accountCheck last Hotmail accessChange "From" name in emails Change password Reset your Hotmail password Change security question Forward emails to other account Skip "Hotmail Today" Change Reply-to email address Disable sent email confirmation Show conversations / threads Disable conversation grouping Disable photo / video previews Change Hotmail language Hotmail.com in English Hotmail.com en Español Change country setting Change birthday / birth date Keyboard Shortcuts Delete your Hotmail account Reading Pane Settings Change Theme Switch back to the old Hotmail Save / delete sent messages Change Hotmail address Change profile picture Change Hotmail account Other Products & Services Hotmail Messenger Hotmail Messenger Download Hotmail Plus Cancel Hotmail Plus Hotmail Customer Service Hotmail Live Hotmail Kids Set Hotmail as homepage in IE Hotmail as homepage in Firefox POP & Mail Server Settings POP3 settings IMAP Settings Incoming Mail Server Setup Hotmail on iPhone Hotmail Outlook settings You've reached the daily limit Outlook Connector Hotmail Gmail Hotmail Yahoo!
 
Copyright © 2016 Free Email Tutorials - All Rights Reserved - About Legal & Privacy Feedback Sitemap