How Do I Enable IMAP in Outlook for Mac?

Sarabjeet Kaur | How to's mac os Outlook Software Technology | 4 minutes read | Modified on: 25-04-2024
how do i enable imap in outlook for mac

Do you have trouble establishing a connection between Outlook for Mac and your IMAP account? Well, don’t worry! We’ll provide you with step-by-step guidance to help you complete the procedure immediately. We also provide a more effective and innovative technique to fulfill your needs without utilizing IMAP. Read on to learn more.

Everyone in the present day is overabundant with alternatives, but desktop Windows users especially so. The same cannot be true for Mac users, however, as they must put up with Apple Mail’s complexity and have less connectivity options.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that an important number of Mac users choose Outlook over other email clients given that it’s one of the most widely used and has a more attractive interface in addition to many more capabilities.

The cherry on the cake is the IMAP Support, which lets you see and sync your email correspondence across several platforms, including a computer, tablet, and smartphone. You will need to activate this feature, though, and it’s an easy task that, with careful attention to detail, you can complete in a few minutes.

To set up an IMAP account in Outlook Mac, follow these steps:

Necessary Requirements:

  • An email address that is already registered.
  • The login information for your email account, including your password and email address

I’ll be providing two how-to guides here for:

  1. The first step is designed for users who are new to using Outlook for Mac.
  2. Those who want to set up an additional IMAP account after having previously set up an Outlook for Mac account should go to step 2.

#Step 1- Outlook for Mac: First Setup (IMAP)

  1. Launch Microsoft 365 Outlook.
  2. The “Add Account” window opens the first time you open Outlook for Microsoft 365. After entering your email address, select “Continue.”
  3. A fresh window opens. Take a look, then select “Continue.” Go to the next step if this window is not visible to you.
  4. You will be asked to select the provider for [YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS] in a new window. Hit “IMAP” after disabling the “Synchronize with Microsoft Cloud” option.
  5. You must enter the information for your IMAP account in this step.

Afterwards, turn on “Show Advanced Settings” option.

6. Enter your email provider’s incoming and outgoing mail servers in the “IMAP Incoming Server” and “SMTP Outgoing Server” fields. Enter mail.yourdomain.com as the format.

Let’s take the example of using a Gmail account. In this situation, “smtp.gmail.com” will be the outgoing mail server and “imap.gmail.com” will be the incoming mail server.

7. Set the port option for the IMAP Incoming Server to 993 and choose the “Use SSL to connect (recommended)” option.

Set the port option for the SMTP Outgoing Server to 587 and choose the “Use SSL to connect (recommended)” option.

8. Enter your email address & the password in the corresponding fields labeled “SMTP Username” & “SMTP Password,” respectively.

9. After that, select “Add Account.”

If you are using Outlook for Mac and have not yet created an email account, you will see a box that says “Microsoft Respects Your Privacy.” Take the steps listed below.

An “IMAP account has been added” popup will show up if you previously had an email account that was initially set up and then removed. To complete the configuration, hit “Done.”

10. Select “Continue.” The “Getting Better Together” window opens in a new window.

11. After making your choice, press “Accept” to provide optional Office data to Microsoft.

12. It has now added your account. Close the “Add Account” window.

#Step2- Configuring an Additional IMAP Account in Mac Outlook

If you already have an account with Outlook for Mac, this tutorial shows you how to set up another one.

  1. Launch Mac Outlook.
  2. Right-click Tools > Accounts from the menu bar.
  3. Hit the + sign in the lower-left corner of the Accounts window.
  4. Choose the option labeled “New Account.”
  5. After entering your email address, press Continue.
  6. You will be prompted to select the provider for [YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS] in a new window. Click on the “IMAP” after disabling the “Synchronize with Microsoft Cloud” option.
  7. In the “IMAP Password” area, type the password for your email address.
  8. To view the advanced settings, click the Show option.
  9. Enter your email provider’s incoming and outgoing mail servers in the “IMAP Incoming Server” and “SMTP Outgoing Server” fields. Input mail.yourdomain.com as the format.

Let’s take the example of using a Gmail account. In this instance, “smtp.gmail.com” will be the outgoing mail server and “imap.gmail.com” will be the incoming mail server.

10. Set the port selection for the IMAP Incoming Server to 993 and choose the “Use SSL to connect (recommended)” option.

Set the port choice for the SMTP Outgoing Server to 587 and choose the “Use SSL to connect (recommended)” option.

11. Enter your email address and password in the corresponding fields labeled “SMTP Username” and “SMTP Password,” accordingly.

12. After that, pick “Add Account.”

You’re done now. An account has been set up for you. You are now prepared to go if you remember to customize your account settings to your requirements.

13. Select “Done” to complete the procedure.

Last Verdict

For anyone who wants to enable IMAP functionality for their Outlook for Mac account, I’ve provided two straightforward procedures. You can utilize your account to access Outlook on several systems after it is completely configured.

You will need to move your existing Mac Outlook data to the corresponding Windows Outlook if you plan to try out other email clients, such Windows Outlook. I would advise utilizing a professional solution like the CubexSoft OLM Converter to guarantee a smooth data conversion.

Additionally, you have the option to convert the OLM mailbox items directly to a Microsoft 365 account or convert the Mac OLM file to another format like PST, PDF, EML, MSG, HTML, DOC, Thunderbird, Zimbra, Office 365, IMAP, Exchange Server, Gmail, Yahoo, etc.