How can I retain POP protocol for email access after upgrading to Microsoft Office Home & Business 2024?

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Level 1

43 points

How can I retain POP protocol for email access after upgrading to Microsoft Office Home & Business 2024?

I recently updated my M2 MacBook to Tahoe 26.1. I also have a 2019 iMac Pro, which is on OS Sequoia, the latest version it can run (due to it having Intel chips). I've been using MS Office Home & Business 2021 on both the iMac and MacBook, and recently purchased, but have not yet installed, MS Office Home & Business 2024 for each of our Macs.

The MS Office Outlook applications on each Mac are using the POP mail protocol, which allows both Macs to access (the same) new email messages from the email server (which is Spectrum's Road Runner). I typically download any new emails on my MacBook, and have the option on each email message to "delete from server" if it does not need to be downloaded on our iMacPro (my spouse's computer).

I've now heard that Microsoft Home & Business 2024 has removed the ability for the user to select the protocol of POP (or IMAP) when setting up the email account after installing the Office 2024 product. To my knowledge, I will no longer be able to leave a copy of a new email on the server once I click on the Send/Receive button on the MacBook's Outlook application. The consequence of this is that important emails that my spouse is expecting on the iMac will no longer be available to view on the iMac.

I should note that both my spouse and I share the same email address, and have done so for many years. We do not want to establish additional email accounts as a work-around to the inability to specify POP protocol on the Outlook 2024 application. I'm hoping there's a viable solution to this situation as I would like to install the new Office 2024 software on both the iMac and the MacBook in the near future. I appreciate the consideration and recommendations.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Outlook

iMac Pro, macOS 15.7

Posted on Dec 6, 2025 5:54 PM

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Answer 1

Dec 6, 2025 9:47 PM in response to LYKUNO

LYKUNO wrote:

Hmmm, my experience over decades of using Outlook on our Macs is that POP can be configured to allow for copies of messages to be left on the email provider's server. As I mentioned above, I have an "Advanced" option in the Outlook Accounts screen that enables me to add a checkmark in order to "Leave a copy of each message on server". I've never used the IMAP option, but it certainly seems like it would be a viable option for me to use to ensure I could leave messages on the server. The ability for "multi-device sync and server-based backup" would seem to be a choice that could work for me.

All that said, the main question that I need an answer to before upgrading our Office software from the 2021 version to the 2024 version is this: In Microsoft Office for Home and Business 2024, does the Outlook email account setup option allow me to select the IMAP option? Or is it not possible to select IMAP or POP as can currently be done in Microsoft Office for Home and Business 2021? I believe that either IMAP or POP would work for me, but if neither are selectable options in the 2024 version, then I'll obviously be forced to find some other solution.

If you have Office 2024 (perpetual license), you likely have the classic app available; use that for your POP/IMAP needs.

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Answer 2

Dec 7, 2025 7:32 AM in response to LYKUNO

LYKUNO wrote:

Thanks for your responsive supply! I have to respectfully disagree that "POP doesn't leave copies of messages on the server, as the default behavior is to download the messages."

You are correct. By default POP deletes downloaded messages from the server. However, some email clients (including Apple Mail) offer an option to leave the message on the server.

If you can’t find a way to make Outlooksupport POP you can still force Apple Mail to configure a POP account by tricking it:Forcing creation of a POP or IMAP email account | Communities

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Answer 3

LYKUNO Author

Level 1

43 points

Dec 6, 2025 7:10 PM in response to MrHoffman

Thanks for your responsive supply! I have to respectfully disagree that "POP doesn't leave copies of messages on the server, as the default behavior is to download the messages."

On Outlook {Version 16.103.3 (25113013)} on my MacBook, on the Outlook Accounts screen, there is an "Advanced" action button on the lower right-hand corner of the Accounts window. When that button is clicked, the subsequent window displayed has option buttons for "Server" and "Security" (the latter for Digital Signing and Encryption options). Under the "Server" selection, there are checkboxes where the user can specify how often (in minutes) to perform a send and receive.

There is also a checkbox that I currently have selected to "Leave a copy of each message on server". Directly below that is an option to "Delete copies from the server:" There are 5 choices under this option: "Never", "After One Day", "After One Week", "After One Month", and "After Deleting From This Computer". I have that choice set to "Never".

Back on the MacBook's Outlook Inbox screen, when new email messages arrive (e.g., the email from email.apple.com that just alerted me to your reply to the question I posted), there is a row in the email header section that states: "A copy of this message is on the server." And on the right-hand side of this same row, there is an action button labelled "Delete from server". I would only click on that button if I determined that the email does not need to be accessed on the iMac by my spouse.

On our iMac's Outlook application's email accounts option screen, the settings for the"Advanced" Server option intentionally does not have the checkmark set to "Leave a copy of each message on server". The iMac is our primary computing device, so it needs to receive all the essential email that is sent to us. However, I spend more time on the MacBook, since it travels around with me throughout the day. With the MacBook, I can randomly check in to see the email traffic on the server and deal with and delete (as appropriate) the less essential messages that don't need to be received/seen on the iMac.

All that said, we have been using the POP option for our Macs' Outlook email applications since 2003 or thereabouts, with zero issues with leaving messages on the server. I definitely need an option or alternative that allows me to continue processing emails as I have done for the past 20+ years. If the Office for Mac 2024 software has entirely eliminated the ability to set protocols (POP/IMAP) for our email handling, then I'll likely have to seek a better alternative solution.

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Answer 4

Dec 6, 2025 7:16 PM in response to LYKUNO

It appears you want to not change to a newer email protocol. You should contact your email provider to confirm they still offer POP.

POP (Post Office Protocol) downloads emails to one device and often deletes them

from the server, great for offline access on a single device; IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) syncs emails across multiple devices by keeping them on the server, making it ideal for multi-device use, ensuring all your folders, read statuses, and actions are consistent everywhere.

For most people today, IMAP is the superior choice because of its multi-device sync and server-based backup.

Use POP only if you strictly use one device and want emails off the server to save space.

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Answer 5

Dec 6, 2025 8:18 PM in response to LYKUNO

LYKUNO wrote:

Thanks for your responsive supply! I have to respectfully disagree that "POP doesn't leave copies of messages on the server, as the default behavior is to download the messages."

You would be wrong.

Among many other discussions of this topic: https://www.mailgun.com/blog/email/imap-vs-pop/

IMAP is the preferred protocol for accessing mail on most platforms.

We can help you with configuring the Apple mail clients — which we are far more familiar with around here, as compared with the add-on Microsoft Outlook mail client — and the Apple mail clients do support both IMAP and POP, though IMAP is the preferred choice.

The Apple mail clients also have support for Exchange as well, though that can be more involved and less common.

I certainly wouldn’t select POP here, though. Not unless the local IMAP server was unavailable or somehow unusable. Also probably not Microsoft Exchange, outside of some specific use cases.

On Outlook {Version 16.103.3 (25113013)} on my MacBook, on the Outlook Accounts ….

For assistance with Microsoft Outlook and other Microsoft apps, please ask in the Microsoft forums.

And to be clear, if you should want a non-default POP configuration using Microsoft Outlook and multiple clients, by all means use that. That is entirely your decision, and getting that to work is something you and Microsoft and your mail service provider (one providing a POP server) can troubleshoot.

Microsoft may well prefer you using Microsoft Exchange if your mail service provider offers it, as well.

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Answer 6

LYKUNO Author

Level 1

43 points

Dec 6, 2025 9:14 PM in response to BobTheFisherman

Okay ... I know that my email provider (Spectrum RoadRunner) can provide POP. I've used it for many years without issue. I'm aware that they could stop providing this option in the future, but for the time being, it's what I'm using.

What I'm really trying to learn (without first installing the 2024 version), is will the Outlook Accounts menu option still open a window titled "Set Up Your Email"? When I view the "Set Up Your Email" window in the 2021 version, the top of the window shows "Choose the provider for {my email address} and below that are the following seven (7) possible selections ...

Microsoft 365
Outlook.com
Exchange
Gmail
iCloud
Yahoo Mail
IMAP/POP

When I choose the IMAP/POP option, the "Set Up Your Email" window displays IMAP/POP at the top of the window,

then a option to select the Type as either POP or IMAP, followed by fields for my Email Address, Username, Password, and fields to enter the Incoming Server Port, a checkbox to specify "Use SSL to connect (recommended), then a field to enter the Outgoing Server Port, followed by another checkbox to specify "Use SSL to connect (recommended). At the very bottom of the window is an action button to "Add Account".

In conclusion, the 2021 version clearly offers the choice of POP or IMAP when setting up an email account. The question remains, does the 2024 version offer this same choice? I've got a nearby neighbor with a new iMac that's got Office for Home and Business 2024 installed. I'm going to check the Outlook Accounts menu on that Mac and see what options are presented for adding a new email address/account. I know that she uses a gmail account but if I try a dry run to add an account with my email credentials, perhaps I'll see if I can select POP or IMAP. Hopefully, that will present the proof I need before installing the 2024 software on our Macs.

Thanks for all the replies and perspectives!

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Answer 7

Dec 6, 2025 6:09 PM in response to LYKUNO

For questions and concerns about and assistance with and feedback for Microsoft 365 Office apps and services, best contact Microsoft support.

POP doesn’t leave copies of messages on the server, as the default behavior is to download the messages.

IMAP does leave copies in the server, and is the usual choice when multiple clients are sharing the same mail account.

Unlike IMAP, with POP the first client download wins.

Microsoft often uses Exchange Server, which is a Microsoft service using Microsoft servers.

Again, for assistance with Microsoft 365 Outlook, contact Microsoft. Probably here:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/tags/1371/office-outlook-macos-new-outlook-mac-home

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Answer 8

LYKUNO Author

Level 1

43 points

Dec 6, 2025 8:37 PM in response to MrHoffman

Hmmm, my experience over decades of using Outlook on our Macs is that POP can be configured to allow for copies of messages to be left on the email provider's server. As I mentioned above, I have an "Advanced" option in the Outlook Accounts screen that enables me to add a checkmark in order to "Leave a copy of each message on server". I've never used the IMAP option, but it certainly seems like it would be a viable option for me to use to ensure I could leave messages on the server. The ability for "multi-device sync and server-based backup" would seem to be a choice that could work for me.

All that said, the main question that I need an answer to before upgrading our Office software from the 2021 version to the 2024 version is this: In Microsoft Office for Home and Business 2024, does the Outlook email account setup option allow me to select the IMAP option? Or is it not possible to select IMAP or POP as can currently be done in Microsoft Office for Home and Business 2021? I believe that either IMAP or POP would work for me, but if neither are selectable options in the 2024 version, then I'll obviously be forced to find some other solution.

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Answer 9

Dec 6, 2025 9:01 PM in response to LYKUNO

LYKUNO wrote:

Hmmm, my experience over decades of using Outlook on our Macs is that POP can be configured to allow for copies of messages to be left on the email provider's server. As I mentioned above, I have an "Advanced" option in the Outlook Accounts screen that enables me to add a checkmark in order to "Leave a copy of each message on server". I've never used the IMAP option, but it certainly seems like it would be a viable option for me to use to ensure I could leave messages on the server. The ability for "multi-device sync and server-based backup" would seem to be a choice that could work for me.

All that said, the main question that I need an answer to before upgrading our Office software from the 2021 version to the 2024 version is this: In Microsoft Office for Home and Business 2024, does the Outlook email account setup option allow me to select the IMAP option? Or is it not possible to select IMAP or POP as can currently be done in Microsoft Office for Home and Business 2021? I believe that either IMAP or POP would work for me, but if neither are selectable options in the 2024 version, then I'll obviously be forced to find some other solution.

What did the folks in the Microsoft Outlook forum state about this?

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Answer 10

Dec 6, 2025 9:20 PM in response to LYKUNO

LYKUNO wrote:

In conclusion, the 2021 version clearly offers the choice of POP or IMAP when setting up an email account. The question remains, does the 2024 version offer this same choice?

What did Microsoft say?

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Answer 11

Dec 6, 2025 8:32 PM in response to LYKUNO

Whether or not you can select either POP or IMAP depends on your email provider not on your email client.

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