New protocols for using Apple Mail with Hotmail accounts

Can confirm this works just fine. Use the Exchange option in Apple Mail. You will need to delete and recreate the account as you're moving from IMAP / SMTP to Modern Authentication using App Passwords (tech speak). The way it syncs is different.

Before you delete the account read the guide here to make sure any email you store is saved locally too. Remove or temporarily turn off email accounts in Mail on Mac – Apple Support (UK)

The new account with Exchange will load everything as it sits in your Outlook.com account as you view it on the web.

After viewing all of your responses, I decided to just create a Microsoft "Exchange" account, following all of the prompts (not using manual sign-in) as someone else (LV2219) suggested and using my regular password. It worked perfectly. All of the emails that I had under my hotmail account were transferred over to the Exchange account. I did not lose anything. Guys, I think this is the way to go. I'm waiting until everything is downloaded before I delete the old hotmail account but as I look at it now, there are no emails left, because everything got transferred over to the Exchange account. Also, so far my email on my phone is working fine. I didn't have to change a thing.

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.

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.

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.

I think what is confusing is that you do end up removing the old account from Mail, so the process seems like you are deleting the account. And it seems like you are in danger of losing all your emails. Even though all you are doing is changing the method you use to log into your account.

Since there are millions that have Hotmail, Outlook, etc. accounts, Apple could have designed Mail to handle this better and had a smooth way to step users through changing their Hotmail/Outlook accounts to use Exchange to log into Microsoft email servers.

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.

I would just like to add, This is not okay Apple. A solution which begins, "Delete your account," is not a solution. There were a myriad of ways to make this change easier, but for whatever reason Apple chose not to. I've put a similar mail on a Microsoft board, because I think the blame can be spread around. Shame on both of them.

I would just add, both pretend to be devoted to "net zero", but what this means is that they will be buying carbon credits, many of which are dubious (e.g. credits for not cutting down a forest when it wasn't going to be cut down anyway). But a real "net zero" solution is to allow people to use their devices longer, rather than having to change them - but no, they have to make it as difficult as possible to keep old computers and old systems.

Late to the game and just posted the solution that worked for me. It's not as complicated as many are making it out to be. Use the Exchange option to log into your outlook/hotmail/live account instead of "other" and I don't think you'll keep getting the dialog box asking to sign in with your password. I won't use Outlook on my devices and Apple Mail continues to do everything I need. Positive replies only please, we're all just trying to help. . . .

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.

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

Ok. This is creating a huge headache for me - as it sounds like it is for most of you. Using a hotmail account I use for just junk, I set it up on my iPhone using the Outlook option, and it was all great. Went to my MacBook and did the same using the Microsoft Exchange as suggested, and it worked swimmingly as well. Now, here is where the problem arises. In the old way of doing emails, I had mine set up as a Pop acct and not an IMAP acct. That meant that emails downloaded to my phone were still left on the server until I downloaded them onto my MacBook. In the Exchange protocol, they downloaded onto my phone and onto my Mac. Great I thought I have this sorted! But nope. When I deleted the emails from my iPhone, they also deleted off of the server AND my MacBook. This will be a disaster for me. As I use my phone during the day, I read and delete emails as needed, and then the next morning, download everything onto my MacBook. That will no longer work because the emails will no longer be on the server, because once they're deleted from my phone, the server deletes them. I'm not sure what the workaround for that is. Anyone have any ideas?

thank you! after years of frustration on why I keep having to enter and/or change my Hotmail accounts passwords, I finally found the solution (which is so obvious on hindsight).

An update:

I have followed the Microsoft recommendations along with suggestions on this thread. I have been successful on my Mac via adding all my accounts using the exchange option in the Mac Mail app. On my iPad I added all my Hotmail accounts again in the Mail app using the Outlook option. I also installed the Outlook app for iOS on the iPad and all accounts were added there as well. On my iPhone I did the same regarding the Outlook app for iOS adding my accounts, and also adding the Hotmail accounts via the Outlook option in the Mail app. All my accounts are syncing between all devices and accounts. I have run into one problem with one account however, and don’t know how to fix it.

On the iPhone, the last Hotmail account I attempted to add in the Mail app using the Outlook option(and of course it’s my main account), when I go to input the email address and then the password, I get a message saying “ Cannot create account. An identical Outlook account already exists.” This is the same process I followed when adding 3 Hotmail via Outlook accounts on iPad Mail app after these same 3 had been previously added to the Outlook for iOS app on the iPad. On the Outook for iOS app on the iPhone, these same 3 Hotmail accounts had been previously added, and 2 of these same Hotmail via Outlook accounts had been successfully added already to the Mail app. It’s only that very last one I attempt to add that consistently gives me that “ account already exists” message. Any ideas on how to fix this? Thanks

It's good to hear some success stories. I have tried to do the same just now with a newer hotmail account with very little saved material. Using the exchange choice on Mac mail, it is not recognizing the original Hotmail email address for the account of choice and it's password. I have deleted the original account. Did save the emails first. But this brings me back to my original question- when it initially asks for an email and password, is this for an exchange account? Like when you open a separate Microsoft account? Or do I put the Hotmail address in for the email and the password for that account that I have deleted and am trying to re add?