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MusioMan Author

Level 1

12 points

Can't setup Hotmail Pop account in mail app

New macbook
All updates
Gmail works in mail app fine
hotmail account created 2007

Problem; i can't add a hotmail account.

It says it can't verify the user/pass. I have tried to delete and re-add but it doesn't work.

Could any genius troubleshoot this one?
I literally, add a new account
user is the email
pass is the password for the webmail version
setup for pop

won't go past this screen 😟

iMac 2009 2.93GHz 4GB / aTV, Mac OS X (10.6)

Posted on Feb 9, 2011 12:04 PM

43 replies

Csound1

Level 9

60,033 points

Mar 9, 2011 1:49 PM in response to MaureenNewMac

So, I was curious about this one, I had already added an (ancient) hotmail address to MacMail and it worked first time, and continues to work but I wondered if the new (live!) system was different. I opened a new account, added it to Mail (I gave username & password only) it setup in about 30 seconds and has run continuously from then on without any issues.

So it can work, I now have 2 (which is 2 more than I want) hotmail/live accounts and I must say they are worth every penny I paid for them .... but they work with MacMail.

Mar 10, 2011 7:54 AM in response to Csound1

I FIGURED IT OUT!!

I decided to try your test and create a new Hotmail account. By chance, I decided to use the same password that's on my old Hotmail account, and my password was rejected by Hotmail as being too long! So I used a shorter password on the new Hotmail account, and Apple Mail set it up easily. Then I went back to my old Hotmail account and changed my password to a shorter password, and Apple Mail set it up fine. Thanks for helping me through this! I was about to give up.
Maureen

Mar 10, 2011 8:27 AM in response to MaureenNewMac

i think you helped me figure out my problem.

i recently changed my hotmail password (think it got hacked) and put in a 17 digit password. i could get into hotmail through safari, but apple mail wouldn't connect for whatever reason.

for some reason it worked when i changed it back to the old shorter password. but since that didn't solve my problem, i changed it to another shorter password and it works.

however, through all of this, i was never sent any notification of WHY it wouldn't accept the new password, so i had no idea. i thought it was a keychain access thing, or some residual plist or file (i had even deleted the account and started over, but to no avail).

it seems to me to simply be a password length issue.

this is entiredly separate to the annoying problem of mail rejecting the password periodically.

smudgedj

Level 1

0 points

Jun 11, 2011 5:38 AM in response to MusioMan

OH THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I've been scratching my head for the last 3 hrs trying to work out what the problem was. Apple should make an update about this I'm sure there are many others wondering why it's not working.

Thanks again! 🙂

Aug 20, 2011 3:17 PM in response to MaureenNewMac

Thank you very much Maureen! Shortening the password worked for me.

Jan 6, 2012 7:07 AM in response to MusioMan

I am new to macbook and I was having a hard time figuring this out ... Thank you very much, I had such a headache because of this, I changed the password to a shorter one and walahhh there it went my mail it's all set up ... Thank you sooo much... 😉

Quillnib

Level 1

12 points

Apr 16, 2012 7:05 AM in response to Ernie Stamper

I have had the exact same problem trying to load Hotmail account settings using Apple Mail on my Mac. I have tried all of the above and nothing works. Gmail and my work email function perfectly on Apple Mail. I guess the time has come to ditch Hotmail and migrate to Gmail.

Jul 16, 2012 9:08 PM in response to Csound1

Csound1

Re: Can't setup Hotmail Pop account in mail app

Feb 10, 2011 1:46 PM ( in response to MusioMan)

These settings work:

POP server: pop3.live.com (Port 995)
POP SSL required? Yes
User name: Your Windows Live ID, for example yourname@hotmail.com
Password: The password you usually use to sign in to Hotmail or Windows Live
SMTP server: smtp.live.com (Port 25 or 587)
Authentication required? Yes (this matches your POP username and password)
TLS/SSL required? Yes

Unibody MBP, 13", Mac OS X (10.6.6), Hybrid HD "

Works for me. Thanks!

ccrow13

Level 1

0 points

Jul 3, 2013 5:29 PM in response to Csound1

Thanks! That really helped!

Aug 5, 2013 6:15 AM in response to MusioMan

ccrow13,

It has nothing to do with the stuff that has been said.

Just go to hotmail in your web browser, click on "Account Settings" > "Security Info" > disable the "Two-step verification" which is a feature that you probably have active in your old hotmail account.

Once you disable it, you will be able to setup the account. No worries.

After setting up the account, you can enable the Two-step verification once again with no issues.

Your new account worked because the Two-step verification comes disabled by standard

Best Regards,

Csound1

Level 9

60,033 points

Aug 5, 2013 6:19 AM in response to aztec_god

You responded to a 2 year old question, Two step verification did not exist then.

Read the dates prior to answering.

bulger

Level 1

0 points

Sep 28, 2013 6:04 AM in response to MusioMan

Hi I had the same problem - if you have enabled 2-step verification since its introduction you need to obtain an 'App' password. You can locate this in your hotmail/outlook account settings > Options > Account Details > Security Info > App Passwords > Create New

Use the generated App Password = 16 characters

Worked for me!

Hope this helps someone!

Dec 23, 2013 4:21 PM in response to bulger

This worked for me. Thanks! Never even suspected that would be the case. Your password is your password, right? Except when Microsoft says it's not...

Feb 18, 2014 2:44 PM in response to MusioMan

Hi all I have tried all of the different steps above, I keep getting prompted for my password and keep getting told that macmail is unable to verify my email. I have followed all the steps and even tried changing my "outlook" hotmail.co.uk password to something shorter. I have used the manual setup with all the same information listed above and I even checked my two-step verification settings, which are switched off....any ideas/advice? I am not technically minded but can follow instuctions when laid out so if this has already been explained in the post and I have not understood please bear with me. Thanks!😊

Mar 7, 2014 10:04 AM in response to MusioMan

To enable my account I just went on my hotmail account options and chose the "Connect devices and apps with POP". This helped my problem and I didn't need to create a new password or a new email. 🙂

Can't setup Hotmail Pop account in mail app