Setting Up Office 365 SMTP Settings (Updated Guide) (2024)

Want to set up Office 365 SMTP settings for your email account?

In this article, I’ll cover everything you need to know about your Office 365 SMTP settings.

But first, let me clear something up:
Since Office 365 is a suite of tools, you’ll use Microsoft Outlook — the email client in MS Office — to edit your account settings.

In addition to teaching you how to set up the SMTP server on Outlook.com, I’ll also tell you how you can set up POP and IMAP too. If you aren’t familiar with these protocols, I’ll also give you a quick overview of SMTP, IMAP, and POP.

This Article Contains:

(Click on the links below to jump to a section of your choice.)

  • Office365 SMTP
    • Office 365 SMTP Settings
    • How To Set Up SMTP in Microsoft Outlook
    • How To Set Up POP and IMAP in Microsoft Outlook
  • SMTP, POP, and IMAP Basics
    • What is SMTP?
    • How Does SMTP Work?
    • What are POP and IMAP?

Just want the SMTP setting to configure email in Microsoft Office without any of the additional details?
Here they are:

Office 365 SMTP Settings

These are the settings for the SMTP AUTH client submission method.

SMTP server: smtp.office365.com

Port Number: 587

Encryption method: STARTTLS

Username: Your Office 365 email address

Password: Your Office 365 password

Once you set up these SMTP server settings, you’ll be good to go.

For the rest of us, let’s get started!

How To Set Up SMTP in Microsoft Outlook

Let’s now see how you can set up the SMTP setting for the Microsoft Office 365 mail server.

First, you’ll need an Office 365 or Exchange Online plan.

Once that’s covered, there are several ways to configure your account settings to ensure your mail flow through your personal Office 365 mailbox or even a shared mailbox.

You can:

  • Use direct send: This method involves setting your MX endpoint as the server. You’ll have to find your MX record from the Admin Center.
  • Use SMTP client submission, aka SMTP AUTH or SMTP authentication (that’s what we’ll be covering)
  • Use a dedicated relay (SMTP connector) that’s configured with your public IP address to send emails through the Office 365 SMTP relay.

Note: If you’re confused about what SMTP is, feel free to skip ahead to the section where I’ve explained it. After you’ve got that background, you can come back here to set things up in your Outlook application.

Why Use The SMTP Client Method?

The SMTP client submission (authentication) method is the best to use with the Microsoft Outlook application.

Here are the problems with the other two methods:

  • While the Direct Send method has higher sending limits, it only supports internal email communication — you can’t use it for contacts outside your organization.
  • If you use a line-of-business (LOB application), it must feature a static IP address to authenticate Office365 through the relay server method.

Here’s why the SMTP AUTH client submission method is better:
Unlike Direct Send, the SMTP AUTH mail configuration allows you to send mail to people inside and outside your organization.

Additionally, by using the SMTP authentication method, your IP address doesn’t need to be static like it would with the relay server method — giving you a lot more functionality!

If you’re handling an organization’s email, you can even change the SMTP AUTH settings for individual mailboxes from the Exchange Admin Center. You can access the Admin Center from right inside Office 365.

How to Set Up Office 365 SMTP Settings Using the SMTP Client Submission Method

Once you log in to the Microsoft Outlook mail app, use the toolbar and navigate to File > Account Settings > Server Settings.

Then, click on Outgoing Mail to set up your SMTP Outgoing Server settings.

Setting Up Office 365 SMTP Settings (Updated Guide) (1)

Office 365 SMTP Settings

SMTP server address: smtp.office365.com

Port Number: 587

Encryption method: STARTTLS

Username: Your Office 365 email address

Password: Your Office 365 app password

Remember not to use a custom IP address as the mail server as they aren’t supported by Office 365; stick with the given DNS name.

If your SMTP client doesn’t connect to the given DNS, you might get an error about the Exchange Online Server.
If you run into this problem, ensure your server name is set as smtp.office365.com and not a regional Exchange Online Server server like smtp-apacnorth.outlook.com.

And if Port 587 isn’t available, you can also use Port 25 — but ensure that your ISP or firewall hasn’t blocked the port you’re planning to use.

Back to Contents

How To Set Up POP & IMAP in Microsoft Outlook

Just setting up your SMTP mail settings isn’t enough to receive incoming emails in your mail client.

Why?
Your SMTP settings only deal with outgoing mail flow — not the emails you receive!
(more on this later in the article)

To receive an email, your IT admin needs to set up your POP or IMAP server settings.

But if you don’t want to ask your network admin to set up POP or IMAP server settings, here’s what you need to do in MS Office:

Open the Microsoft Office Outlook App and from the toolbar, go to File > Account Settings > Server Settings.
Then, set up POP and IMAP settings. Don’t forget to set up SSL or TLS encryption.

Here are the mail settings you need:

1. IMAP Server Settings

Setting Up Office 365 SMTP Settings (Updated Guide) (2)

Server name: outlook.office365.com

Port Number: 993

Encryption: SSL/TLS

2. POP Server Settings

Server name: outlook.office365.com

Port Number: 995

Encryption: SSL/TLS

That’s all you need to do to set up your POP Settings and IMAP settings!

Back to Contents

SMTP, POP, IMAP Basics

Now that we’ve gone over how to set up Office365 SMTP, POP and IMAP settings, let’s explore more about these email protocols.

Wait… what’s a protocol?
A protocol is a method of exchanging communication/information between email accounts.

Here’s a quick overview of SMTP, POP, and IMAP:

1. What is SMTP?

A Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is used to send emails from one server (like the Office 365 SMTP server) to another. Most email providers use an outgoing mail server with SMTP to send emails over the internet.

SMTP works with a Mail Transfer Agent (SMTP relay) to send your emails to the right mailbox and computer. An SMTP relay guarantees that an email you send arrives in the recipient’s mailbox.

Think of it this way:
SMTP is like the postal service. It’s what you use to send your messages to every external recipient.

Only this time, you won’t have to worry about finding envelopes or stamps!

2. How Does SMTP Work?

SMTP uses a set of codes and commands that simplify the process of sending emails among email servers.

When you send out an email through an SMTP email system, it’s transferred through several SMTP relay systems and computers before it reaches its destination (a recipient’s mailbox).

It’s basically like your mail getting sorted through multiple post offices and postal workers before it finally ends up in the hands of your recipient!

However, as SMTP only transmits text, you can’t use it to send attachments.

To overcome this, Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) encode all non-text data into a text format before sending them through an SMTP relay server.

Tons of email services like SMTP.com and Mailjet offer their own SMTP service to customers — these help people send emails without having to set up an SMTP server manually.

3. What are POP and IMAP?

When it comes to configuring emails, you need more than SMTP systems alone.
Remember, your Office 365 SMTP server is only used to send emails.

POP3 and IMAP are two incoming server protocols used to receive emails.

Here’s how the IMAP protocol and POP3 protocol work:

A. POP3

Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) is an email protocol that is widely used to receive email.

In POP3, your emails are downloaded from the server and stored locally on your device.
This way, you can access your emails even if you’re offline — you only need to be online to download them!

B. IMAP

Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) is the most commonly used protocol for receiving email. The IMAP protocol saves all emails onto its servers instead of downloading them to your local storage.

Whenever you want to check your email, your mail client contacts the server and loads the email regardless of the device’s IP address. With IMAP, you can check your emails from anywhere, with any device, on any IP address.

The difference between the IMAP protocol and POP3 is that POP3 downloads your emails from the server for permanent local storage. IMAP, however, simply leaves them in the server and just caches them locally — sort of like cloud storage.

As there’s no permanent downloading and local storage involved, IMAP is faster and more efficient than POP3.

C. POP and IMAP vs. SMTP

POP, IMAP, SMTP — all this sounds super confusing!

But it’s very simple: SMTP is used as a protocol to send outgoing emails, while IMAP and POP are both protocols used to fetch incoming mail.

Back to Contents

Wrapping Up

Setting up SMTP settings in Outlook is an essential process that’ll help you send out emails to internal and external recipients.

And the easiest way to do it is through the client SMTP submission method.

You can follow the steps I covered above to easily set up SMTP as well as POP and IMAP settings to send and receive emails from your business domain.

See why GMass has 200k+ users and 6,500+ 5-star reviews

Email marketing. Cold email. Mail merge. Avoid the spam folder. Easy to learn and use. All inside Gmail.

TRY GMASS FOR FREE

Download Chrome extension - 30 second intall!
No credit card required

Setting Up Office 365 SMTP Settings (Updated Guide) (3)

Ajay is the founder of GMass and has been developing email sending software for 20 years.

Love what you're reading? Get the latest email strategy and tips & stay in touch.

Setting Up Office 365 SMTP Settings (Updated Guide) (2024)

FAQs

What is the default SMTP server for Office 365? ›

IMAP and SMTP with OAuth2 Server Settings
SettingIMAP (incoming)SMTP (outgoing)
Server Nameoutlook.office365.comsmtp.office365.com
Port Number993465 or 587
Encryption MethodSSL/TLSSTARTTLS
Authentication MethodOAuth2OAuth2
1 more row
1 Jul 2022

How do I find my Office 365 SMTP settings? ›

Find your Exchange mailbox server settings

In Outlook Web App, on the toolbar, select Settings. > Mail > POP and IMAP. The POP3, IMAP4, and SMTP server name and other settings you may need to enter are listed on the POP and IMAP settings page.

Does SMTP Office 365 com still work? ›

While no longer supported, our servers still allow clients to use those older versions of TLS when connecting to the SMTP AUTH endpoint (smtp.office365.com). In 2022, we plan to completely disable those older TLS versions to secure our customers and meet those security and compliance requirements.

How do I test SMTP authentication in Office 365? ›

Technical : How to test Office 365 SMTP server using Powershell
  1. Step 1: Run Powershell.
  2. Step 2: Enter your Office 365 User Details.
  3. $msolcred = get-credential.
  4. Step 3: Send Mail.

Do I need to enable SMTP authentication in Office 365? ›

Just remember that Microsoft 365 disables SMTP authentication by default, so you'll need to enable it for each mailbox that you want to use via the Microsoft 365 admin center.

What is the name of the email server in Microsoft Office 365? ›

outlook.office365.com

How do I find my SMTP server address? ›

Android email app

Go to Settings > select the account you'd like to connect to Prowly > under Server settings you should see Outgoing mail and Incoming mail. Tap on Outgoing mail to see SMTP settings, Incoming mail will give you IMAP settings.

How do I find my SMTP server name? ›

Windows:
  1. Open up a command prompt (CMD.exe)
  2. Type nslookup and hit enter.
  3. Type set type=MX and hit enter.
  4. Type the domain name and hit enter, for example: google.com.
  5. The results will be a list of host names that are set up for SMTP.

How do I find my Office 365 SMTP username and password? ›

OFFICE 365 SMTP SETTINGS
  1. Server Address: smtp.office365.com.
  2. Username: Your Office 365 Address (e.g. example@yourdomain.com)
  3. Password: Your Office 365 Password.
  4. Port Number: 587 (With TLS)
  5. Authentication: Required.
  6. Sending Limits: 10,000 Emails a day.

Is SMTP being phased out? ›

SMTP AUTH will still be available when Basic authentication is permanently disabled on October 1, 2022. The reason SMTP will still be available is that many multi-function devices such as printers and scanners can't be updated to use modern authentication.

What SMTP server does Outlook use? ›

When you need to add your Outlook.com account (or Microsoft account / Hotmail account / Live.com account / MSN account) to another mail app (like Gmail), you'll need to use the following SMTP settings: SMTP Server Name: smtp.office365.com. SMTP Port Number: 587.

Why is Microsoft 365 blocking my emails? ›

Microsoft 365 puts a block on sending “bulk email” because if your computer or your email account is compromised the criminals are likely to try to email all your contacts. They may also try to use your compromised account to spam a huge email list of their own.

How do I check if my SMTP is authenticated? ›

To test SMTP authentication via telnet, complete the following steps: Open the terminal and connect with the mail server using the telnet server name and access command — mail.port25.com in the example above. Greet the server with EHLO or HELO, enter AUTH LOGIN, and wait for the computer's response.

How do I know if my SMTP is working fine? ›

DETAIL
  1. From the Windows Start Menu select Start->Run and enter CMD as the application to open. Select OK.
  2. At the command prompt, enter the following: telnet mail.mailenable.com 25. The remote mail server should respond with an initiation string similar to the following: ...
  3. Type the word QUIT and then press enter.
12 Nov 2019

How do I fix SMTP authentication? ›

SMTP connection can't be established If you have turned on the 2-factor authentication for your email account so you either need to turn it off or generate an app password for your email account. That app password can be used in your SalesHandy account to connect the email account via SMTP method.

What is the difference between SMTP and SMTP AUTH? ›

SMTP Authentication, often abbreviated SMTP AUTH, is an extension of the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) whereby a client may log in using any authentication mechanism supported by the server. It is mainly used by submission servers, where authentication is mandatory.

Can I use SMTP without authentication? ›

Senders need to authenticate and prove that they have a valid account. If they don't, the server will reject their request. All of this is possible with SMTP authentication, also known as SMTP AUTH.

Is Office 365 POP or IMAP? ›

Settings users use to set up POP3 or IMAP4 access to their Exchange Online mailboxes
ProtocolServer namePort
POP3Outlook.office365.com995
IMAP4Outlook.office365.com993
SMTPSmtp.office365.com587
9 Sept 2022

Is Office 365 email the same as Outlook? ›

Office 365 is a cloud-based suite of productivity apps like Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and more. Microsoft 365 is a bundle of services including Office 365, plus several other services including Windows 10 Enterprise.

Is SMTP address same as email address? ›

In other words, SMTP is the protocol that allows you to send and receive emails. Every SMTP server has a unique address and needs to be set up in the mail client that you are using. If you are using SMTP host Gmail for example, then the SMTP address is smtp.gmail.com.

How do I create a SMTP server address? ›

Configure the SMTP Server
  1. Open the IIS Manager: In Start, search for inetmgr6.exe, and open it.
  2. Expand the computer name. ...
  3. In the Access tab, select the Relay button.
  4. Select Add. ...
  5. In the Delivery tab, select Outbound Security. ...
  6. In the Delivery tab, select Outbound connections. ...
  7. In the Delivery tab, select Advanced.
31 May 2022

How do I set up SMTP server for email? ›

Using Your ISP's SMTP
  1. Check your ISP's site for its SMTP information. ...
  2. Open your email program and go to your Account Settings or Settings. ...
  3. Find your SMTP or "Server Settings" and input the information from your ISP. ...
  4. Click "OK" or "Apply" to save your changes.

How can I get my SMTP server port username & password? ›

How can I find out my SMTP User Name and SMTP Password?
  1. Log in to your account in the Secure SMTP Control Panel.
  2. From the top menu select 'SMTP Accounts'.
  3. Select the required SMTP account from the list, and click the 'Edit' button.
  4. On the 'Edit SMTP Account' page you can change your SMTP User Name and SMTP password.

Where can I get my SMTP email server address user and password? ›

Your SMTP Server, Port and User depend on the mail service your company is using. For example, if your company is using gmail as mails service then you will be able to find all SMTP settings here. The password is either from your email or from your domain.

What is an outlook SMTP username and password? ›

Server Address: smtp-mail.outlook.com. Username: Your Outlook Email Address (e.g. example@outlook.com) Password: Your Outlook Password.

What will replace SMTP? ›

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) recently published the specifications for JSON Meta Application Protocol (JMAP), a modern open standard replacement for IMAP and SMTP, that makes communicating with email servers faster and more secure.

What can I use instead of SMTP? ›

Top 10 Alternatives to SMTP.com
  • Sendinblue.
  • Mailgun.
  • Mailchimp Transactional Email (formerly Mandrill)
  • Intuit Mailchimp.
  • Netcore Email API (formerly Pepipost)
  • Constant Contact.
  • Twilio SendGrid Email API.
  • Emarsys.

Are there alternatives to SMTP? ›

Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME): These are other common secure alternatives to SMTP protocols used to secure emails with end-to-end- encryption.

How do I fix my SMTP server in Outlook? ›

How to fix issues with sending email (SMTP)
  1. Open the settings for your email in the application or device you are using.
  2. Locate the outgoing SMTP server and its settings.
  3. Check the current outgoing port and change it to 26 or 587.
  4. Make sure any username and password fields are filled in if shown.
  5. Save changes and test.

How do I fix my outgoing mail server in Outlook? ›

Start Outlook.
  1. Start Outlook.
  2. On the Tools menu, click Account Settings.
  3. Select the email account from the list and click Change.
  4. On the Change E-mail Settings window, click More Settings.
  5. Click the Outgoing Server tab and check the My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication option.

Does Outlook use IMAP or SMTP? ›

Outlook.com supports IMAP / SMTP

Using desktop email applications can improve your workflow. They typically offer more options, and your email is still available on your computer when you're disconnected from the internet.

Why are my outgoing emails being blocked in Outlook? ›

"Your message couldn't be delivered because you weren't recognized as a valid sender. The most common reason for this is that your email address is suspected of sending spam and it's no longer allowed to send email. Contact your email admin for assistance."

Why is my Gmail not working with Outlook 365? ›

Enable IMAP Access in Gmail Settings

Log into your Gmail account and click on a small gear in the right top corner of the window. Select See all settings. After that, go to the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab. You need to make sure the IMAP Status is set to Enabled.

How do I set up an outgoing SMTP server? ›

Windows® Mail (PC)
  1. From the Tools menu, select Accounts.
  2. Under Mail highlight your E-mail account and click Properties.
  3. Click the Servers tab and make sure that "My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication" is checked.
  4. Click the Advanced tab, change the outgoing server port: 465 or 587 for SSL.
  5. Click OK.

How do I find my POP and SMTP settings? ›

If you're trying to add your Outlook.com account to another mail app, you might need the POP, IMAP, or SMTP settings for Outlook.com.
...
Enable POP access in Outlook.com
  1. Select Settings. > View all Outlook settings > Mail > Sync email.
  2. Under POP and IMAP, select Yes under Let devices and apps use POP.
  3. Select Save.

How do I find my SMTP username and password? ›

The procedure is simple. You need to open your mail client, go to the SMTP configuration panel, and flag the option “Authentication Required”. Then choose the type you prefer, set a username and password, and switch your server port to 587 (recommended).

How do I find my email SMTP server name? ›

Windows:
  1. Open up a command prompt (CMD.exe)
  2. Type nslookup and hit enter.
  3. Type set type=MX and hit enter.
  4. Type the domain name and hit enter, for example: google.com.
  5. The results will be a list of host names that are set up for SMTP.

What should my outgoing SMTP server be? ›

Which port should you use for SMTP? Ports 25, 465, 587, or 2525 for SMTP have all been considered standard SMTP ports at some point, but only 587 or 2525 really should be considered for modern use.

How do I enable SMTP authentication in Office 365? ›

Enable SMTP AUTH for specific mailboxes
  1. Open the Microsoft 365 admin center and go to Users > Active users.
  2. Select the user, and in the flyout that appears, click Mail.
  3. In the Email apps section, click Manage email apps.
  4. Verify the Authenticated SMTP setting: unchecked = disabled, checked = enabled.
28 Sept 2022

How do I fix my outgoing SMTP server? ›

Android
  1. Open the Email application.
  2. Press Menu and select Settings.
  3. Select Account Settings.
  4. Click on the email account you want to edit.
  5. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click More Settings.
  6. Select Outgoing Settings.
  7. Check the Require sign-in option.

Should I use POP or SMTP? ›

Use POP if you want to access your mail from only one device. SMTP is a protocol used in sending e-mail and is usually used in conjunction with one of the other two protocols, POP or IMAP for receiving emails.

What is the difference between SMTP and POP? ›

SMTP is a push protocol, while POP3 is known as a pop protocol. SMTP sends the email from the sender's device to the receiver's mailbox, and POP3 retrieves and organizes emails from the receiver's mail server to the receiver's computer.

Is POP and SMTP the same? ›

SMTP (“Simple Mail Transfer Protocol”) is used for sending and delivering from a client to a server via port 25: it's the outgoing server. On the contrary, POP (“Post Office Protocol”) allows the user to pick up the message and download it into his own inbox: it's the incoming server.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Horacio Brakus JD

Last Updated:

Views: 6016

Rating: 4 / 5 (51 voted)

Reviews: 82% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Horacio Brakus JD

Birthday: 1999-08-21

Address: Apt. 524 43384 Minnie Prairie, South Edda, MA 62804

Phone: +5931039998219

Job: Sales Strategist

Hobby: Sculling, Kitesurfing, Orienteering, Painting, Computer programming, Creative writing, Scuba diving

Introduction: My name is Horacio Brakus JD, I am a lively, splendid, jolly, vivacious, vast, cheerful, agreeable person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.