Incoming and Outgoing Mail Server Settings for Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, GMail, MSN, AOL and more

Incoming and Outgoing Mail Server Settings for Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, GMail, MSN, AOL and more

*Update, 23rd of August 2009: Hotmail can now be connected to Microsoft Outlook as any POP email account. To do so, you need to download the Microsoft Office Outlook Connector.

*Update, 29th of August 2006: the Google Gmail service offers a SMTP server (outgoing mail server) for Gmail accounts. To use the Google Gmail SMTP server, use the following information:
    Google Gmail Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP): smtp.gmail.com
    The Gmail SMTP server requires authentication (use the same settings as for the incoming mail server)
    The Google Gmail SMTP Server requires an encrypted connection (SSL) on port 465.

dots Why & when do I need these settings?


Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, GMail and other providers are basically email services designed to provide you with email mailbox accesss directly from the web. However, going online and logging on to their sites is not always the most convenient way for reading and sending emails.

On the other hand, you have the alternative to send and receive emails through such a mailbox by using a local email client software, such as Outlook Express, Microsoft Outlook, Thunderbird, etc. In order to properly use it, you need to configure your email software with the incoming and outgoing mail servers of your email provider (Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo! Mail or else).

dots Mail Server Settings



  • Hotmail Settings


  • As other web based email services, Hotmail is using the HTTP protocol for connecting you to your mailbox. If you want to send and receive Hotmail emails using an email client software, then your software must support Hotmail HTTP access for your email account. Some email clients, such as Outlook Express or Microsoft Outlook, offer builtin support for Hotmail accounts, so you only have to select HTTP when you are asked to select your email account type and select Hotmail as the HTTP Mail Service Provider.

    Mail Server Settings for Hotmail using the Microsoft Outlook Connector

    If you are using Microsoft Outlook & the Outlook Connector, you can define your Hotmail account just like any regular POP3 email account:
      Hotmail Incoming Mail Server (POP3) - pop3.live.com (logon using Secure Password Authentification - SPA, mail server port: 995)
      Hotmail Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP) - smtp.live.com (SSL enabled, port 25)
  • Yahoo! Mail Settings


  • Yahoo Mail offers standard POP3 access for receiving emails incoming through your Yahoo mailbox, by using your favorite email client software. To setup your email client for working with your Yahoo account, you need to select the POP3 protocol and use the following mail server settings:
      Yahoo Incoming Mail Server (POP3) - pop.mail.yahoo.com (port 110)
      Yahoo Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP) - smtp.mail.yahoo.com (port 25)
    POP Yahoo! Mail Plus email server settings
      Yahoo Plus Incoming Mail Server (POP3) - plus.pop.mail.yahoo.com (SSL enabled, port 995)
      Yahoo Plus Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP) - plus.smtp.mail.yahoo.com (SSL enabled, port 465, use authentication)
  • Google GMail Settings


  • The Google GMail service offers email client access for retrieving and sending emails through your Gmail account. However, for security reasons, GMail uses POP3 over an SSL connection, so make sure your email client supports encrypted SSL connections.
      Google Gmail Incoming Mail Server (POP3) - pop.gmail.com (SSL enabled, port 995)
      Outgoing Mail Server - use the SMTP mail server address provided by your local ISP or smtp.gmail.com (SSL enabled, port 465)
  • MSN Mail Settings


  • The MSN email service allows you to use the MSN POP3 and SMTP servers to access your MSN mailbox.
      MSN Incoming Mail Server (POP3) - pop3.email.msn.com (port 110, using Secure Password Authentication - SPA)
      MSN Outgoing Mail Server - smtp.email.msn.com (select "My outgoing server requires authentication")
  • Lycos Mail Settings


  • The Lycos Mail Plus service allows you to use POP3 and SMTP servers for accessing your Lycos mailbox.
      Lycos Mail Incoming Mail Server (POP3) - pop.mail.lycos.com (port 110)
      Outgoing Mail Server - smtp.mail.lycos.com or use your local ISP SMTP mail server
  • AOL Mail Settings


  • The AOL email service is a web based system, designed for managing your AOL mailbox via HTTP IMAP access. Unlike Hotmail, you can use any email client to access your AOL mailbox, as long as it supports the IMAP protocol.
      AOL Incoming Mail Server (IMAP) - imap.aol.com (port 143)
      AOL Outgoing Mail Server - smtp.aol.com or use your local ISP SMTP mail server
  • Mail.com Mail Settings


  • The Mail.com email service allows you to use POP3 and SMTP servers for accessing your Mail.com mailbox.
      Mail.com Mail Incoming Mail Server (POP3) - pop1.mail.com (port 110)
      Outgoing Mail Server - use your local ISP SMTP mail server
  • Netscape Internet Service Mail Settings


  • The Netscape e-mail system is web-based, which means you can access their e-mail from any Internet connection. Netscape Internet Service also supports AOL® Communicator, Microsoft® Outlook, Microsoft® Outlook Express, and other POP3 e-mail software. The outgoing mail server needs SSL support, so make sure your email client software supports SSL connections over the SMTP protocol.
      Netscape Internet Service Incoming Mail Server (POP3) - pop.3.isp.netscape.com (port 110)
      Netscape Internet Service Outgoing Mail Server - smtp.isp.netscape.com (port 25, using a secure SSL connection)
  • Tiscali Mail Settings


  • The Tiscali email service allows you to use POP3 and SMTP servers for accessing your Tiscali mailbox.
      Tiscali Incoming Mail Server (POP3) - pop.tiscali.com (port 110)
      Outgoing Mail Server - use your local ISP SMTP mail server
  • Freeserve Mail Settings


  • The Freeserve email service allows you to use POP3 and SMTP servers for accessing your Freeserve mailbox.
      Freeserve Incoming Mail Server (POP3) - pop.freeserve.com (port 110)
      Outgoing Mail Server - use your local ISP SMTP mail server
  • Supanet Mail Settings


  • The Supanet email service allows you to use POP3 and SMTP servers for accessing your Supanet mailbox.
      Supanet Incoming Mail Server (POP3) - pop.supanet.com (port 110)
      Outgoing Mail Server - use your local ISP SMTP mail server
    If your email client does not support Hotmail as a Mail Service Provider or if it simply doesn't work with your mail server settings, you can use a 3rd party solution like Hotmail Popper, IzyMail, POP Peeper or Email2Pop. When using such tools, you should define your Hotmail account as a POP3 account and you will need to define your incoming mail server will as 'localhost' (or 127.0.0.1).