How to continue accessing Outlook.com email in Mail app on macOS Sonoma 14.5?

The main point of confusion here seems to be the fact that Microsoft has not realised that the options for adding a Microsoft mail account (hotmail, live, outlook etc) to Apple Mail is DIFFERENT depending on whether it is being used on a Mac computer (MacOS) or an iPhone (iOS).

In general, when adding a Microsoft mail account to Apple Mail (iOS) on an iPhone, there IS an option to process it through ‘outlook.com’ and another option to do it through ‘Microsoft Exchange’. As advised, I have done this through ‘outlook.com’ for my iPhone so I assume it will be OK.

However, when trying to do the same on my Mac (MacOS) there is NOT an option to process it through ‘outlook.com’. The only option is to do it through ‘Microsoft Exchange’. At the time of writing, I have the latest MacOS Sonoma 14.6.1 using the most up-to-date version of Apple Mail. And I repeat, there is NO option on MacOS to add a new mail account on Apple Mail through ‘outlook.com’.

I realise that we are talking about an Apple app here but I’m sure someone at Microsoft does have access to a Mac and can see that the options for Macs and iPhones are not the same. Not rocket science. However, it is Microsoft that is asking us to make these changes and there is a big hole in the advice being given out… Alternatively, maybe Apple could do an update to give the same mail account options for the Mac as they do for the iPhone.

Unfortunately, it’s the same story for the advice sent out to all MS mail users warning that from Sept 16 they may no longer be able to access their MS mail accounts unless they update to use “Modern Authentication”. It’s only for iPhones.

Microsoft should address this as quickly as possible and ideally before September 16.

I think the fundamental question I would ask is: If I add my MS account to Apple Mail on my Mac using the Microsoft Exchange option (the only feasible option), will my Apple Mail app still be able to access my MS account?

This is what I’ve done. Please tell me if I and the millions of other Mac users around the world should do something else… ASAP please!

I just used Microsoft Exchange instead in macOS. It work. Not sure it will work after 16th September though...

I noticed that the Outlook.com option is in iOS, perhaps the help page is referring to iOS not macOS. https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/office/modern-authentication-methods-now-needed-to-continue-syncing-outlook-email-in-non-microsoft-email-apps-c5d65390-9676-4763-b41f-d7986499a90d refers to Outlook.com, but it looks like an iPhone screenshot.

Just a quick update to say that the Microsoft Exchange option for processing my old Hotmail account in Apple Mail on my Mac appears to have been working with no problems for several weeks now.

I would recommend this option.

I also have two gmail and one academic account included in Apple Mail and, at least for the moment, everything seems to be working fine.

I just had the same issue. I have chosen "Exchange" when adding the Hotmail / MS Office Outlook account...and that has now worked.

Hey JustForConment,

My account is also a personal account, an old @hotmail.com. Unexpectedly, it worked with the Microsoft exchange option and it was verified through the Microsoft Authenticator App.

DCat.

YES! AT LAST! I have spent days trying to get access to my Outlook.com emails in Apple Mail. I even switched-off 2FA, deleted the account, re-created account, tried "App Passwords" etc, all the normal stuff, but I still could not login. Error message about "Unable to verify..." was a constant popup. I was able to use a web browser and my iPad and iPhone worked, just not Apple Mail on my 14" laptop. However, selecting the "Exchange" option, counter-intuitive since this is a personal account not a business account, worked straight away and I now have both email accounts working in Apple Mail. Thank you to whoever first found this, and good luck to everyone else suffering from Apple and MS upgrades.

Hi @TwickersJohn,

I don't know anything about an automatic setting, perhaps that was in someone's reply.

I had trouble setting this up on a second Mac, but now (without doing anything special other than turning it off and on) it is working. I wouldn't count on this solution working forever...

re: the web interface, that was going to be my backup plan if this solution didn't work, then get an Apple or Proton email account. Nothing wrong with the web interface.

Hopefully it work for you soon.

Regards,

DCatFelix.

Mozilla Thunderbird does support Modern Authentication and it is recommended that you ensure you switch to use those settings. Any account that you add to Thunderbird will now automatically setup using the proper settings. You have the following options:

Option 1: Update Current Settings

1. Change Thunderbird's server settings:
2. 
   
   1. Select ≡ > Account Settings.
   2. In the left pane, select Server Settings for your Outlook.com or Hotmail.com account.
3. For Authentication method, select OAuth2 (instead of Normal password).
   1. 
4. Change Thunderbird's authentication method for sending messages (SMTP):
5. 
   
   1. Select ≡ > Account Settings.
   2. In the left pane, select Outgoing Server (SMTP).
6. In the right pane, select your Microsoft account and then Edit… .
   1. 
7. For Authentication method, select OAuth2 (instead of Normal password).
   1. 
   2. Select OK to save your changes.

Option 2: Remove Current Account and Re-Add 

If you remove your current account from Thunderbird and then re-add it, the proper settings will be detected, and you will just need to sign in to be properly configured with Modern Authentication and the proper server settings.

See if this note helps...

Most likely biggest factor is using Other in Mail setup, then using a Browser that doesn’t have Mail PW stored in it to get the App PW.

Using app passwords with apps that don't support two-step verification (microsoft.com)

I have an old Mac running High Sierra 10.13.6 so I don't hold out much hope of the Mail & Hotmail combination ever working again for me. @DCatFelix, I don't even see an "automatic" option if I select Exchange.

I suppose I will just have to use the web interface.

I set-up my Outlook.com EM in Mac Apple Mail using Exchange option a few months back and it worked fine... until today. Now it will not recognize my password. So... I have the same issue elguiri lists. Apple Mail on iPhone iOS wroks fine because it has an "Outlook" option for email accounts. On MacOS there is only Exchange Option. No "Outlook" option. If I choose other email account it wants to set-up imap/smtp - which Microsoft claims it wants to avoid. Has anyone solved this probe for MacOs? Or am I forced to use Outlook on my MacOs - UGH!