How to Set Up Email on Windows 11

To set up email on Windows 11, open Start, select Outlook, and enter your email address when Outlook asks for it. To add another account later, go to View > View settings > Accounts > Your accounts and select Add Account. Outlook takes you to your provider’s sign-in page, so you usually don’t need to type any server settings.

Applies to: Windows 11 with the new Outlook for Windows, plus classic Outlook (Microsoft 365, Outlook 2024, 2021, 2019 and 2016). Checked against Microsoft Support on October 7, 2026.

What you need before you start

• Your email address and password. If you aren’t sure of the password, sign in to your email on the provider’s website first. That way you know the password works before you bring Outlook into it.
• An internet connection. Outlook has to reach your provider to sign you in and download your messages.
• Your phone or other sign-in method. If your account uses two-step verification, you’ll be asked for a code during setup.
• The Outlook app. Microsoft says the new Outlook is pre-installed on new Windows devices and on PCs running Windows 11 version 23H2 or later. If you don’t have it, see the Microsoft Store section below.

Microsoft lists these account types as supported in the new Outlook: Microsoft accounts such as Outlook.com and Hotmail.com, work or school accounts, Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, and other accounts that connect through IMAP. IMAP is a standard way for an email app to read a mailbox that stays on the provider’s servers.

Windows Mail is gone, so use Outlook

Older Windows 11 guides tell you to open the Mail app and pick Add account. Those steps no longer work. Microsoft ended support for Windows Mail, Calendar and People on December 31, 2024, and says those apps can no longer send and receive email. The new Outlook for Windows is now the mail app that comes with Windows 11, and the steps below are for that app.

If you still have messages or contacts saved only in the old Mail app, Microsoft says they remain exportable. Its page Windows Mail, Calendar and People are becoming new Outlook explains what moved and what you may need to export yourself.

How to add an email account in the new Outlook

These steps work for your first account and for any account you add later.

1. Select Start and open Outlook. If it isn’t pinned to the Start menu, look in All apps. The first time it opens, Outlook may show privacy screens and then ask for your email address. If it does, follow the prompts and skip to step 5.
2. On the View tab, select View settings. If your Outlook window has a File tab, you can select File > Account info instead. The Settings window opens.
3. Select Accounts > Your accounts. You see a list of the accounts already in Outlook.
4. Under Email accounts, select Add Account.
5. Pick a suggested account from the dropdown menu, or type a different email address, and then select Continue.
6. If prompted, enter the password for the account. Your provider may also ask for a verification code or for permission to let Outlook read your mail.
7. Select Done. The new mailbox appears in the folder list on the left, and your messages start to download.

Microsoft’s own walkthrough, with a picture of the dialog box, is in Add an email account to Outlook for Windows.

Extra steps for Gmail, Yahoo and iCloud

Microsoft notes that some non-Microsoft providers, including Gmail, Yahoo and iCloud, may need you to change settings on their own websites before the account can be added. The sign-in also looks a little different because it happens on the provider’s page, not inside Outlook.

Gmail

Follow the main steps and enter your Gmail address. After you select Continue, complete Google’s sign-in prompts. When the Google permissions window appears, select Allow, and then select Done in Outlook. If you would rather keep using Gmail in a browser, you can instead set Gmail as the default email in Windows 11 so that email links open there.

iCloud

Enter your iCloud address and select Continue. On Sync your iCloud account, select Continue again. Your browser opens so you can sign in to your Apple Account. If you use two-factor authentication, enter the code sent to one of your trusted devices. On the Apple Account permissions window, select Allow. A Success! window confirms the account was added.

Yahoo and other providers

Enter the address and follow the prompts. If Outlook says “Please create an app password for Outlook on your email provider’s site,” see the troubleshooting section below.

If Outlook isn’t on your PC

You can get the new Outlook from the Microsoft Store.

1. Open the Microsoft Store app and find the new Outlook for Windows.
2. Select Get. Outlook begins downloading.
3. When the download finishes, select Open.
4. If your accounts aren’t added automatically, follow the prompts to add your account.

How to add an account in classic Outlook

Classic Outlook is the desktop app that comes with Microsoft 365 and Office. Its steps are different, so don’t mix them with the ones above. If the new Outlook steps don’t match what you see, you are probably using classic Outlook.

1. Select File > Add Account.
2. Enter your email address and select Connect.
3. If prompted, enter your password again, then select OK > Finish.

Enter server settings by hand (classic Outlook)

Use this only when automatic setup fails and your provider has given you its server names, port numbers and encryption settings. Always take these from the provider’s own help pages or from your IT administrator.

1. Select File > Add Account.
2. Enter your email address, select Advanced options, check Let me set up my account manually, and select Connect.
3. Select your account type. Microsoft says that most of the time you’ll choose IMAP.
4. On the Account settings screen, check the incoming and outgoing server settings. Many are filled in for you. Correct any that differ from what your provider lists, then select Next.
5. Enter your password and select Connect.

Check that it worked

Look at the folder list on the left side of Outlook. Each account has its own name and its own Inbox. Send a short message from the new account to another address you own, then reply to it. If both messages arrive, sending and receiving work. A large mailbox can take several minutes to finish downloading, so older mail may appear gradually.

Choose your main account

If you added more than one account, you can pick the primary one. Go to View > View settings > Accounts > Your accounts, select Manage beside the account, and under Account details select Set as primary account. Select Return to accounts page or close the Settings window when you finish.

Remove an account

Open the same Your accounts page, select Manage beside the account, and select Remove. This takes the account out of the Outlook app and deletes its offline copy from the PC. It doesn’t delete the email account itself, so you can still sign in on the provider’s website.

Warning: for Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud and other non-Microsoft accounts, Outlook asks whether to remove the account from this device only or from all devices. Microsoft warns that Remove from all devices also removes the data Outlook stored in the Microsoft Cloud, and that items that existed only there, such as some calendar entries, might be permanently lost. If you are unsure, remove it from this device only.

Troubleshooting email setup

• The steps don’t match your screen. You may have classic Outlook. Use the classic steps above.
• Outlook asks for an app password. The message reads “Please create an app password for Outlook on your email provider’s site.” An app password is a separate password that your provider generates for use in an email app in place of your regular one. Create it on the provider’s website, copy it, and paste it where Outlook asks for the account password. For an AOL address, our guide to syncing AOL Mail with Windows 11 shows where AOL creates one.
• You forgot the password. Reset it with your provider first. For a Microsoft account, use Microsoft’s password reset page. For a work or school account, use your organization’s reset process or ask your IT administrator.
• Outlook keeps asking for the password. Microsoft’s checklist: make sure Caps Lock is off, check that the user name is your full email address, and consider whether you recently changed the password with your provider or whether it has expired.
• A work or school account won’t add. Your organization controls which apps can connect. Contact your IT administrator; they may need to approve the app or give you different instructions.
• Mail isn’t arriving in classic Outlook. Check your internet connection, then look for Working Offline on the Send/Receive tab and turn it off.
• Folders or messages don’t sync after a manual setup. The wrong account type may have been chosen. Remove the account and add it again, letting Outlook detect the type.

Microsoft collects more fixes in Troubleshoot Outlook email setup.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still use the Windows 11 Mail app?

No. Microsoft ended support for Windows Mail, Calendar and People on December 31, 2024, and those apps can no longer send or receive email. Use Outlook for Windows.

Does adding my account to Outlook change my email address?

No. Your address, your password and your mailbox stay with your provider. Outlook is only the app you read and write mail in, and you can still use the provider’s website or your phone at the same time.

Can I add more than one email account?

Yes. Repeat the main steps for each address. Every account gets its own section in the folder list, and you can choose which one is primary.

How do I tell new Outlook from classic Outlook?

Try the new Outlook steps first. If you can’t find View settings on the View tab, but File > Add Account is there, you have classic Outlook.

Do I need to know my IMAP or SMTP server settings?

Usually not. For Outlook.com, Gmail, Yahoo and iCloud, Outlook sends you to the provider’s sign-in page and sets up the rest. Server settings matter mainly for smaller providers, and you should get them from that provider.

Is removing an account from Outlook the same as deleting it?

No. Removing it only takes it out of the app. To close an email account for good, you have to go through your email provider.

Once your mail is flowing, learn what to do when a message goes out with a mistake in our guide on how to edit a sent email in Outlook on Windows 11.