Change from imap to pop3 on office 2024 home and business outlook classic

Question

I purchased MS Office Home and Business 2024 for install on new computer. I was unable to install POP3 email(Yahoo) on the Outlook Classic...it would fail to connect...and contacted MS support. The support rep indicated that Outlook Classic did not support POP3 and installed IMAP which has proven unsatisfactory...I prefer to have all my information and mail stored locally. Since having IMAP installed I have seen information indicating that POP3 can be installed on Outlook Classic. I need help going back from IMAP to POP3.

Answer 1

Hi Thomas McCabe,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A.

Outlook (classic) does support POP3. If a Yahoo POP setup “fails to connect,” it’s usually due to Yahoo authentication/security requirements (often needing an App Password) or incorrect POP/SMTP ports/encryption—not because POP is unsupported.

Step 1: Add the Yahoo account as POP3 (keep IMAP temporarily for comparison)

In Outlook (classic):

1. Go to File > Add Account
2. Enter your Yahoo address
3. Select Advanced options > Let me set up my account manually > POP

Use Yahoo’s official POP settings:

• Incoming (POP): pop.mail.yahoo.com — Port 995 — SSL
• Outgoing (SMTP): smtp.mail.yahoo.com — Port 465 (SSL) or 587 (TLS)
• Username: full email address

Note: If Outlook rejects your normal Yahoo password, generate and use a Yahoo App Password. 

When you enter the App Password in Outlook, make sure to check “Remember password” so Outlook keeps the credential after restarting (Yahoo app passwords are one-time shown, so it’s best not to rely on re-entering it later).

Step 2: Make POP behave the way most people expect (don’t accidentally “pull mail off the server”)

POP can download mail locally and may remove it from the server depending on settings. If you also use Yahoo webmail or a phone/tablet:

• Go to Account Settings > Change > More Settings > Advanced
• Check Leave a copy of messages on the server (recommended for multi-device access)

(You’ll still have local storage in Outlook via the PST, but this prevents surprises across devices.)

Step 3: Verify the POP mailbox is working before removing IMAP

Now you can compare them side-by-side:

• Confirm POP is sending/receiving
• Confirm mail is being stored locally as expected (POP will generally download to a local data file)

If everything looks good, then remove the old IMAP account:

1. File > Account Settings > Account Settings
2. Select the Yahoo IMAP account > Remove

(Optional safety step) If you have mail in the IMAP mailbox you want to keep as a local backup, export it first: File > Open & Export > Import/Export > Export to .pst

If it still won’t connect

If POP still fails even with the correct server settings and an App Password, please share the exact Outlook error message (especially the last line). That will help identify whether it’s authentication, ports/encryption, or stored credentials.

Please let me know if this proves useful to you, or if you would like further assistance.

I'm looking forward to your reply.

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Answer 2

To change your email setup from IMAP to POP3 in Outlook Classic, you will need to create a new POP3 email account profile. Here are the general steps to do this:

1. Open Outlook and go to File.
2. Select Account Settings, then click on Account Settings again.
3. In the Email tab, click on New to create a new account.
4. Choose Email Account and click Next.
5. Select POP3 as the account type.
6. Enter your name and email address, then fill in the server information:
   • Incoming mail server: pop.mail.yahoo.com (for Yahoo)
   • Outgoing mail server (SMTP): smtp.mail.yahoo.com
7. Enter your Yahoo email credentials (username and password).
8. Click on More Settings and go to the Advanced tab to set the port numbers:
   • Incoming server (POP3): 995 (check the box for SSL)
   • Outgoing server (SMTP): 465 or 587 (check the box for SSL)
9. Click OK, then Next, and finally Finish to complete the setup.

After setting up the POP3 account, you may want to remove the IMAP account if you no longer need it. Make sure to back up any important emails before making these changes.

If you encounter any issues during setup, ensure that your internet connection is stable and that you have the correct server settings for Yahoo POP3.

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References:

• Connect to IMAP, POP, or SMTP servers
• Connect Customer Engagement (on-premises) to IMAP, POP, or SMTP servers