New protocols for using Apple Mail with Hotmail accounts

Can be simple to solve, real simple. No deleting, no moving folders.

I've had this problem and solved it through simple navigation. Hopefully this will work for others. I've used Hotmail for decades, am using Mac Mail on Mac Mini. Importantly, I also have an Exchange email that's completely separate from my Hotmail email, and you need an exchange email to do the simple navigation I describe. Again, among your emails in Mac Mail you have an Exchange email and a Hotmail email which is the situation I'm describing.

Yes, I wasn't getting my Hotmail emails on my Mac Mail. Here's the simple navigation that worked for me, hopefully works for others:

Under Mail, select Settings. Then in Settings, select Accounts. Then go down to Hotmail (it's there already because you have a Hotmail account). Then in Hotmail, go to Server Settings. Then input your incoming mail server and your outgoing mail server password (yes, it's the same password, just type it again all over again like it's new). Next you may try to save it and immediately get an error message, all is good and on schedule. Now before anything else while you're still in Mac Mail Server Settings on the Accounts tab, on the left click on Exchange, the Exchange email. Now again, you are asked if you want to save your changes. Save your changes! You have only re-input your Hotmail password, that's what you're saving but this is the right way.

Did it work for you? This is the first time I'm posting something here so somebody plz respond whether this helped.

Glad to have found this thread and wlow's post. Like others, Mail kept asking for the password to access my outlook.com email. Tried to use the Microsoft Exchange option a couple times (definitely does not work with manual configuration) and it didn't/couldn't verify. Tried it a third time, typed (vs pasted) my password and got the dialog box requesting access approval. The process worked and set up a new account; I will delete the previous account and hope for the best.

My understanding from reading the Microsoft help article, is that it will continue to prompt you for the password until you add the account using modern authentication.

I was helping a client, and noted the Inbound and Outbound server details had changed to outlook.microsoft365.com as per https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/pop-imap-and-smtp-settings-for-outlook-com-d088b986-291d-42b8-9564-9c414e2aa040

Not sure if this will be helpful to the post by munsterlanders. I simply created a new account using Microsoft Exchange instead of "other" when presented with the dialog box to create a new account. This only changes the way you connect to Microsoft. I then deleted the outlook.com account set up under "other" and kept the Exchange version. As far as any emails you download to your Mac (NOT in any of the folders used by Microsoft Exchange) they won't be touched as they're not on the server once you download them to a separate folder on the Mac.

Okay, last effort to help someone here, for those who are talking about "deleting" accounts, that is NOT necessary to conform to Microsoft's security needs. Using the Exchange option when setting up an email account provides what's needed so you don't keep getting asked to enter your password checking for mail. The "other" option available when setting up an account doesn't have the required security - that's what most of us used when setting up a hotmail/live/outlook account in the past. SO. . . you're ONLY changing the way you log into Microsoft's servers NOT deleting your account as some here indicate. Mail remains on the server while you reconnect to the account with the Exchange protocol.

If I read the INITIAL post correctly, this will fix the issue. Somehow this thread has become like that child's game where you whisper something to someone next to you and so on as it goes around the circle ending up at the last person's ear very different than the first message.

Why is Apple to blame for Microsoft changing its security protocols? Let's remember, they are competing companies. Also remember when you call Apple Care, be grateful. No experience with Microsoft is even close.

Following up on this, and to clarify. You can configure Outlook.com email accounts just fine using the “Microsoft Exchange” option as others have suggested. It’s not clear on the Microsoft documentation and there’s no explicit option yet for setting up the account. The new account does use the modern authentication though and after configuration you’ll receive an email saying that a new app password has been created for Apple Mail.

Apologies that I haven't read all of your post, Munsterlanders, but I hope this might help: I set up my hotmail and live accounts again in System Preferences > Internet Accounts, as detailed by others here, using Exchange. That worked fine, and the old mailboxes automatically deleted in Mail, but my folders and emails remained under the name Exchange.

I've decided to use my iCloud email now for everything, but wanted to have copies of all those old emails sent through Microsoft accounts, just in case the day comes when Microsoft decides it's tired of hosting free email accounts for Apple users. So today I tried just dragging the folders from the Exchange mailbox to the iCloud mailbox, and it seems to be working.

A message appears at the bottom of the menu list at the left of the page, saying "Copying Messages, 34 of 412" etc. A couple of times there have been messages to say something could not be copied, but that's easy to check manually.

Feeling so good to be further removed from the Microsoft world now :) Only have to change my address with providers who have the old ones on record and check for new emails periodically. Oh, and I can delete all those emails from the Microsoft account! Yaaay.

If anyone thinks this process isn't correct or might have problems, please let me know! I'm definitely not a techie.

I also received this warning message from Microsoft on June 28, 2024 so I decided to look into it. It seems the message is legitimate as I was able to find several articles on Microsoft sites detailing steps to correct the login method. When I first setup the Outlook.com email account on MacOS, I chose the account type (from the list) as "Add Other Account". While this worked, it seems the login method used is being deprecated by Microsoft, so it will stop working.

A quick search for "Does Apple Mail on MacOS support Outlook email", turns of the following Apple Support article.

Choose the correct email service provider when you add an account to Mail - Apple Support

I followed the steps to delete the old Outlook account and recreated it, this time selecting Exchange as described in the article. I had created several folders (server based) containing older emails and all were preserved.

One suggestion for the folders that you created using local storage, Try creating a new Outlook account using the Exchange selection BEFORE deleting the old account from Apple Mail. Once the new account is setup and working, you should be able to move the local folders to the new account before deleting the old account from Apple Mail. Please let me and this thread know if this suggestion works.

There is a way to export Apple Mail Mailboxes as one or more .mbox folders. Then you could import the .mbox folder(s) once you have Apple Mail properly configured for "modern authentication. Check this link for instructions on exporting mailboxes: Import or export mailboxes in Mail on Mac - Apple Support

My problem is that I don't see a way right now to configure Apple Mail on my Mac (as opposed to iPad) using the outlook.com link in the screenshot that Microsoft has provided (reproduced by someone in this thread).

Submitted, more in hope than expectation

I guess the only option is to continue complaining in the hopes someone from the engineering team can address this issue. It is driving me crazy.