Tutorial · Email in Outlook
Outlook POP3 tutorial for your Primcast mailbox
This Outlook POP3 tutorial connects your Primcast mailbox to Outlook with four values: the server name from your panel, POP3 on port 995, SMTP on port 465, and your full email address as the user name.
The steps cover the new Outlook for Windows, classic Outlook and Outlook for Mac, plus fixes for the errors you are most likely to see.
- Incoming
- POP3 · your server name · 995Encryption: SSL/TLS
- Outgoing
- SMTP · your server name · 465Encryption: SSL/TLS. Or port 587 with STARTTLS.
- User name
- you@yourdomain.comThe full email address, every time.
- Password
- The mailbox's own passwordOutgoing mail signs in with the same user name and password.
Your server name is in the panel, for example ny1.hosting.primcast.com. Step 01 shows where.
Find your Outlook POP3 settings in the panel
Every value Outlook asks for is on one card in your Primcast dashboard. Open it before you start so you can copy instead of type.
Where the settings live
- Sign in and open the Web Hosting tab.
- Pick your hosting account and go to Mail.
- Scroll to Connect a mail app. It lists the incoming and outgoing servers with their ports and security, and each server name has a copy button.
- No mailbox yet? Use Add a mailbox on the same page and choose its password there.
The values, in a table
| Server | Port | Security |
|---|---|---|
| Incoming (POP3) | 995 | SSL/TLS |
| Outgoing (SMTP) | 465 | SSL/TLS |
| Outgoing (submission) | 587 | STARTTLS |
| Incoming (IMAP) | 993 | SSL/TLS |
Use the server name from the Connect a mail app card, not mail.yourdomain.com. Our certificate covers the server name, so Outlook connects without a certificate warning.
POP3 or IMAP: pick the one that fits how you read mail
Both work with your mailbox and both use the same user name and password. The difference is where your mail ends up.
POP3
Mail moves to one computer
Outlook downloads each message and keeps it on your PC. It suits you if you read mail in one place and want your mailbox on the server to stay small, since stored mail counts toward your hosting storage.
Messages you read in Outlook may not show up in webmail or on your phone afterwards.
IMAP
Mail stays in sync everywhere
Your mail stays on the server and every device shows the same folders. Choose IMAP if you also read mail on a phone, a second computer or in webmail.
The steps below are the same. Pick IMAP instead of POP and use port 993.
Set up POP3 in the new Outlook for Windows
Microsoft lists POP among the account types the new Outlook supports. Menu names shift a little between updates, so look for the closest match if a label differs.
- Open Settings (the gear icon), then Accounts and Email accounts.
- Select Add account, type your full email address and select Continue.
- When Outlook asks what kind of account it is, choose POP.
- Enter the mailbox password. For the incoming server, paste your server name with port 995 and SSL/TLS.
- For the outgoing server, paste the same server name with port 465 and SSL/TLS. Use your full email address and the same password to sign in.
- Select Continue, then send yourself a test message.
The new Outlook syncs accounts from other providers through the Microsoft cloud. If you would rather your mail travel only between your PC and our server, classic Outlook (next step) connects to us directly.
Set up POP3 in classic Outlook
These steps apply to classic Outlook in Microsoft 365 and in Outlook 2024, 2021 and 2019. Outlook usually cannot find your settings by itself, so choose manual setup right away.
Add the account
- Go to File and select Add Account.
- Type your full email address, open Advanced options, tick Let me set up my account manually and select Connect.
- Choose POP.
- Incoming mail: your server name, port 995, and tick This server requires an encrypted connection (SSL/TLS).
- Outgoing mail: the same server name, port 465, encryption method SSL/TLS. Leave Secure Password Authentication (SPA) unticked.
- Select Next, enter the mailbox password, select Connect and then Done.
Two settings worth checking
Open File, Account Settings, Account Settings, select the account, then Change and More Settings.
Outgoing Server tab: tick My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication and keep Use same settings as my incoming mail server. Without it, you can receive but not send.
Advanced tab: under Delivery, Leave a copy of messages on the server decides whether webmail and your phone still see a message after Outlook downloads it. Turn it on if you want that, and set how many days the copy stays.
Set up POP3 in Outlook for Mac
Microsoft added POP accounts to the new Outlook for Mac in version 16.50, so any current copy can do it.
- Open Outlook, then Settings and Accounts, and select the + button to add an account.
- Type your full email address. When Outlook offers a choice of account type, pick POP.
- Fill in the same values as on Windows: server name, port 995 with SSL/TLS in, port 465 with SSL/TLS out, your full address and the mailbox password.
- Add the account and send yourself a test message.
If Outlook will not connect
Almost every failed setup comes down to one of these. Find what you see and try the fix next to it.
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| Outlook keeps asking for the password | Check that the user name is the full email address. If you set a new mailbox password in the panel, Outlook needs that new one. |
| You receive mail but cannot send | Turn on authentication for the outgoing server and use port 465 with SSL/TLS. If your network blocks 465, try 587 with STARTTLS. |
| Sending is refused for one address | A mailbox can send only as its own address or as a forwarder address in the same hosting account. Create that forwarder in the panel first. |
| A certificate warning appears | You typed mail.yourdomain.com or similar. Replace it with the server name from the Connect a mail app card. |
| Outlook says it cannot find your settings | That is normal for our mailboxes. Choose manual setup and type the values yourself, as in steps 03 to 05. |
| Mail vanished from webmail and your phone | POP3 moved it to Outlook. Turn on Leave a copy of messages on the server, or switch the account to IMAP. |
| Nothing signs in, not even webmail | Open the mailbox settings in the panel and check that Block sign-in is off. |
Still stuck? Our AI chat answers in seconds and can look at your account with you, and a person from our team takes over whenever you ask.
Outlook POP3 questions, answered
01What are the POP3 settings for Outlook?
For a Primcast mailbox, incoming mail is POP3 on port 995 with SSL/TLS and outgoing mail is SMTP on port 465 with SSL/TLS, both on the server name shown in your panel. The user name is your full email address and the password is the mailbox password.
02How do I use POP3 in Outlook?
Add a new account, choose manual setup, pick POP as the account type and enter the incoming and outgoing servers with their ports. Outlook then downloads new mail to your computer each time it checks the server.
03Does the new Outlook support POP3?
Yes. Microsoft lists POP among the account types the new Outlook for Windows supports, and Outlook for Mac has supported POP since version 16.50. Classic Outlook supports it as well.
04Which outgoing SMTP port should I use?
Use port 465 with SSL/TLS. If your network blocks it, use 587 with STARTTLS. Older guides gave ports 80 and 3535, which do not work with our mail server, and port 25 is meant for servers passing mail to each other, not for mail apps.
05Should I pick POP3 or IMAP?
Pick IMAP if you read mail on more than one device or in webmail, because it keeps everything in sync. Pick POP3 if Outlook on one computer is where you read mail and you want to keep your mailbox on the server small.
06What are the POP3 settings for Hotmail and Outlook.com?
Microsoft gives outlook.office365.com on port 995 with SSL/TLS for incoming mail and smtp-mail.outlook.com on port 587 with STARTTLS for outgoing mail. POP is off by default: turn it on in Outlook.com under Settings, Mail, Forwarding and IMAP. These are Microsoft's servers, not ours.
07Can I still set up POP3 in Outlook Express?
We do not recommend it. Outlook Express has not been updated since Windows XP and was replaced by Windows Mail in Windows Vista. Use a current version of Outlook, or another up-to-date mail app, with the settings on this page.
08I forgot my mailbox password. What now?
Set a new one in the panel: open Web Hosting, then Mail, and select Password next to the mailbox. Then enter the new password in Outlook when it asks.
Want email on your own domain?
Primcast web hosting includes mailboxes, forwarders and webmail next to your website, with free SSL and nightly backups, all managed from the Web Hosting tab.