Connect outlook desktop to MS365 mailbox using imap

Question

Hi team,

we are scheduling migration from current email provider to MS365.

Our email account is configured for pop3s/smtps access and many folders are used under the account configuration. The best should be to add the MS365 mailbox to the same profile using IMAP and copy folders and messages from one account to the other. But every attempt to add the MS365 account was unsuccessful.

IMAP and POP3 are enabled for my mailbox, MFA is disabled for my user in Entra ID.

During configuration of the new account the password is not accepted but I am using same credentials used to login successfully to outlook web access.

Is there something I missed during configuration of the account.

Any advice?

Nick

Answer 1

Hi @Nicola Papapicco

Welcome to our forum!

Here are a few things you might want to check:

1. IMAP and POP3 Settings: Double-check that IMAP and POP3 are indeed enabled for your mailbox. If you are using an M365 account of the outlook.com, you can refer to this linkto check it up. If not, you may refer to the article: Enable or disable POP3 or IMAP4 access to mailboxes in Exchange Server | Microsoft Learn.
2. Password Issues: Ensure that there are no special characters in your password that might be causing issues during the configuration. Sometimes, certain characters can cause problems with authentication.
3. Server Settings: Make sure you are using the correct server settings for IMAP and SMTP. For MS365, the settings are usually:
   • IMAP server: outlook.office365.com
   • IMAP port: 993
   • IMAP encryption method: SSL/TLS
   • SMTP server: smtp-mail.outlook.com
   • SMTP port: 587
   • SMTP encryption method: STARTTLS

If all above do not work, it is proposed that please create a new profile, re-add your account to the new profile and check if the same issue still occurs.  

Hope it helps! 

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Answer 2

To connect your Outlook desktop application to a Microsoft 365 mailbox using IMAP, follow these detailed steps:

Steps to Set Up IMAP in Outlook

1. Open Outlook: Launch the Outlook desktop application on your computer.
2. Add Account:
   • Click on the File tab in the top left corner.
     • Select Add Account.
     1. Manual Setup:
        • Enter your Microsoft 365 email address.
          • Before clicking Connect, check the box labeled Let me set up my account manually.
          1. Choose Account Type:
             • In the account setup wizard, select IMAP as your account type.
             1. Enter Server Settings: Fill in the following server settings:
                • Incoming Mail Server: outlook.office365.com
                  • Port: 993
                    • Encryption Method: Select SSL/TLS
                      • Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP): smtp-mail.outlook.com
                        • Port: 587
                          • Encryption Method: Select STARTTLS
                          1. Authentication: Enter your Microsoft 365 email address and password. Ensure that you are using OAuth2 for authentication, as basic authentication is being deprecated.
                          2. Complete Setup: Click Next. Outlook will test the connection to ensure everything is configured correctly. If successful, you will see a confirmation screen.
                          3. Finish Configuration: Click Finish to complete the setup process.

Additional Notes

• Ensure that IMAP access is enabled in your Microsoft 365 settings. You can do this by logging into your Microsoft 365 account and checking under the mail settings for any options related to IMAP access.
• If you encounter any connection issues, verify that your credentials are correct and that you are connected to the internet.
• For troubleshooting, check for any recent activity that might indicate a security block on your account; you may need to confirm that it was you trying to connect.

By following these steps, you should be able to successfully connect your Outlook desktop application to your Microsoft 365 mailbox using IMAP. To connect your Outlook desktop application to a Microsoft 365 mailbox using IMAP, follow these detailed steps:

Steps to Set Up IMAP in Outlook

1. Open Outlook: Launch the Outlook desktop application on your computer.
2. Add Account:
   • Click on the File tab in the top left corner.
     • Select Add Account.
     1. Manual Setup:
        • Enter your Microsoft 365 email address.
          • Before clicking Connect, check the box labeled Let me set up my account manually.
          1. Choose Account Type:
             • In the account setup wizard, select IMAP as your account type.
3. Enter Server Settings: Fill in the following server settings:
   • Incoming Mail Server: outlook.office365.com
     • Port: 993
       • Encryption Method: Select SSL/TLS
         • Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP): smtp-mail.outlook.com
           • Port: 587
             • Encryption Method: Select STARTTLS
4. Authentication: Enter your Microsoft 365 email address and password. Ensure that you are using OAuth2 for authentication, as basic authentication is being deprecated.
5. Complete Setup: Click Next. Outlook will test the connection to ensure everything is configured correctly. If successful, you will see a confirmation screen.
6. Finish Configuration: Click Finish to complete the setup process.

Additional Notes

• Ensure that IMAP access is enabled in your Microsoft 365 settings. You can do this by logging into your Microsoft 365 account and checking under the mail settings for any options related to IMAP access.
• If you encounter any connection issues, verify that your credentials are correct and that you are connected to the internet.
• For troubleshooting, check for any recent activity that might indicate a security block on your account; you may need to confirm that it was you trying to connect.

By following these steps, you should be able to successfully connect your Outlook desktop application to your Microsoft 365 mailbox using IMAP.

Answer 3

Hi team,

sorry for my late answer. I didn't receive any notice there was an answer to this post.

Unfortunately all attempts to configure outlook client (Outlook for MS 365 ver. 2408), using IMAP failed. It keeps asking indefinitely the password during configuration.

I tried disabling security defaults in Entra ID. All protocols are enabled for my mailbox (Get-CasMailbox). Disabled modern authentication for Exchange Online (Set-OrganizationConfig -OAuth2ClientProfileEnabled $false). Added a new profile, used manual configuration to set imap connection.

Nothing worked, I don't know how to troubleshoot this issue and what I'm missing on that.

Thank you

Answer 4

Hi @Nicola Papapicco

Thanks for response.

As i know: Until September 16th, users signing into Outlook.com through Basic Authentication may experience recurring password prompts in Outlook and other third-party email applications. This is a known issue. After September 16th, users attempting to connect their Microsoft accounts through Basic Authentication will fail to do so.

More information: Modern Authentication Methods now needed to continue syncing Outlook Email in non-Microsoft email apps - Microsoft Support 

I am afraid that it is not supported to add a M365 account as IMAP account directly now, however, you may refer to the article Can't connect to Outlook with POP/IMAP and Modern authentication - Exchange | Microsoft Learn and have a try.

Hope it helps! 

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Note: Please follow the steps in our [documentation] to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.