Last verified: Mar 2024

Is Hotmail phasing out?

Hotmail, created in 1995, has a loyal user base of more than 364 million users. Many of them were concerned when Hotmail.com was acquired by Microsoft and officially discontinued in 2013.

So should you be worried when using an @hotmail.com email account? Though you can't use the hotmail.com website anymore, all service functionality is available as usual through outlook.live.com. In this article, Microsoft explains the advantages that come with this transition.

However, there is one small downside: It's not as easy anmore to find the current Hotmail IMAP settings. But we've got you covered! Scroll down to find the correct Hotmail email settings at a glance!

Easy Hotmail Email Setup:

With the current Hotmail email settings below, you can easily set up your Hotmail.com email address in any email client.

👍 If you wish to migrate your emails from or to Hotmail, simply use the Hotmail IMAP settings for the email migration!

Hotmail IMAP Settings

Simply add your Hotmail email address into your email software with the recommended IMAP settings:

IMAP Server	outlook.office365.com
IMAP Port	993
IMAP Security	SSL / TLS
Username	Your full Hotmail email address
Password	Your Hotmail password

Hotmail SMTP Settings:

To be able to also send emails via your Hotmail address, you need to add the following Hotmail email settings in your email client for outgoing emails:

SMTP Server	smtp-mail.outlook.com
SMTP Port	587
SMTP Security	STARTTLS
Username	Your full Hotmail email address
Password	Your Hotmail password

Hotmail POP3 Settings:

In case you choose POP3 over IMAP to set up your Hotmail email account in your email client, simply use the following settings for POP3:

POP3 Server	outlook.office365.com
POP3 Port	995
POP3 Security	TLS
Username	Your full Hotmail email address
Password	Your Hotmail password

When is it better to use POP3 instead of IMAP?

Deciding between POP3 and IMAP configurations for your Hotmail email account requires careful consideration. By selecting POP3 for your account, emails are fetched from the server and saved on your device. You gain the ability to access your messages offline, making it ideal for situations where internet connectivity is limited or unreliable. Furthermore, POP3 allows you to save disk space on your email Hotmail account, mitigating concerns about storage limitations.

However, if you frequently switch between multiple devices to access your email account, IMAP becomes the better option. IMAP ensures that your emails remain synchronized across all devices, granting you easy access and seamless management of your messages.

Email Migration to / from Hotmail:

Need to migrate your emails to Hotmail or from Hotmail to another provider? That's actually very easy! All you need is a reliable migration tool like MailJerry and your Hotmail IMAP settings. So let's get started!

➡️ Download our email migrator or start your migration directly in the browser.

➡️ Launch MailJerry and select "New Migration".

➡️ Select the account type and fill in the email credentials for your existing email account in the "Existing Address" fields.

➡️ In the "New Address" section, input the IMAP settings for your new email account (e.g., the Hotmail imap settings provided above).

➡️ Begin your migration by clicking on "Start Migration."

Wait for the email migration from / to Hotmail to complete.
🎉 Congratulations! You can now access your previous emails in your new email account!

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Is Hotmail phasing out?