People + email

Set up or delete an email account

Some email accounts include not just email, but contacts, calendars, to-dos, and other features that may also appear on your phone when you add the account. You can add as many accounts as you'd like, but you'll want to pay extra attention to which Microsoft email account you set up first.

Note

If your contacts are stored in Outlook on your PC, you may need to import them into a Microsoft account or another online service before you can sync them to your phone. To learn more, see Import contacts onto my new phone.

To set up the first Microsoft account on your phone

If you use Hotmail, Outlook.com, or Live.com for email, your email account is also a Microsoft account (formerly Windows Live ID). The first Microsoft account you add will be the one you use to get apps, get your Xbox gamerscore and avatar, play Xbox Music, chat with Messenger, and do any of the other things on your phone that require a Microsoft account. So if you use a different email address to do any of those, you'll probably want to sign in with that one first, and then add your primary email account later. If you're not sure which Microsoft account you should use to sign in first, see Which Microsoft account should I use?

  1. In the App list, tap Settings Settings icon, and then tap Email + accounts.

  2. Tap Add an account > Microsoft account.

  3. On the Before you sign in screen that appears, tap Next to continue.

  4. Enter your email address and password, and then tap Sign in.

    Your Microsoft account email, contacts, calendar, photos, and feeds will be synced to your phone.

    Notes

    • Once you add a Microsoft account on your phone, there's no way to change it without resetting your phone. So you'll want to make sure you pick the best one for you. If you need help deciding, see Which Microsoft account should I use?
    • If you set up any other Hotmail, Live.com, or Outlook.com accounts on your phone, photos in those accounts won't be synced to your phone, and you won't be able to use those accounts to play Xbox games or use Xbox Music.

To set up a Hotmail account

The option to set up a Hotmail account just as an email account will only appear after you've added your first Microsoft account. You can also use the Hotmail option to set up Outlook.com, Live.com, or MSN.com accounts.

  1. In the App list, tap Settings Settings icon, and then tap Email + accounts.

  2. Tap Add an account > Hotmail.

  3. Enter your email address and password, and then tap Sign in.

    Your email, contacts, and calendar will be synced to your phone.

To set up an Outlook.com account

  1. In the App list, tap Settings Settings icon, and then tap Email + accounts.

  2. Tap Add an account > Outlook.

  3. Enter your email address and password, and then tap Sign in.

    If you haven't yet signed in with a Microsoft account, you'll be asked if you want to use this account in the Store, with Messenger, and with Xbox. If you do, tap Yes, and this will become your primary Microsoft account on your phone. If not, tap No.

    If you make this your Microsoft account, your email, contacts, calendar, photos, and feeds will be synced to your phone. Otherwise, only your email, contacts, and calendar will be synced.

To set up a Google account

  1. In the App list, tap Settings Settings icon, and then tap Email + accounts.

  2. Tap Add an account > Google.

  3. Enter your email address and password, and then tap Next.

  4. Do one of the following:

    • If you just want to set up email, tap Email only, and then tap Sign in.
    • If you have contacts and a calendar with your Google Mail account that you want to add on your phone, tap Email, contacts, and calendar, and then tap Sign in.

    Notes

To set up a Yahoo! Mail account

  1. In the App list, tap Settings Settings icon, and then tap Email + accounts.

  2. Tap Add an account > Yahoo! Mail.

  3. Enter your email address and password, and then tap Sign in.

    Your Yahoo! Mail email will be synced to your phone.

To set up a Microsoft Exchange or Office 365 email account

You can set up email accounts on a Microsoft Exchange Server (many work accounts use this), accounts that use Exchange ActiveSync (including Outlook Web App), and Office 365 accounts.

  1. In the App list, tap Settings Settings icon, and then tap Email + accounts.

  2. Tap Add an account > Outlook.

  3. Enter your email address and password, and then tap Sign in. If the phone finds your account settings, your email, calendar, and contacts will be synced to your phone, and you can skip to step 6. If not, continue to the next step.

  4. On the Outlook screen, do the following:

    For this field Do this

    Email address

    Make sure that your email address is correct.

    Password

    Tap Show password, and then verify that the password is correct.

    User name

    Verify that the user name is correct. For example, if your work email account is on Microsoft Exchange Server and your email address is kevinc@contoso.com, you would type kevinc for the user name.

    Domain

    Type the domain name for your account. The domain is part of the information you might use to log on to your PC. For example, if you log on as DomainName\kevinc, type DomainName for the domain name.

    If you're using an Outlook Web App account or a hosted Microsoft Exchange account, you typically don't have a domain. In that case, leave the Domain box empty.

  5. If the correct settings still aren't found, tap Advanced, do the following, and then tap Sign in:

    • In the Server box, type the server address. This is the web address that you use to access your email in a web browser using Outlook Web App. If you don't know the address, you can search Help in Outlook for instructions, or ask your company's support person.
    • Tap Show all settings, and then make sure that the Server requires encrypted (SSL) connection setting is correct. If you're not sure, ask your company's support person.
  6. If your company offers Lync and you don't already have the Lync app on your phone, you'll be asked if you want to download the app from the Store. To learn more about Lync, see Use Lync on my phone.

  7. If the Create a new password message appears after a few moments, do the following:

    1. Tap Set, and then enter a password that meets the security requirements in the New password box.
    2. Tap the Confirm password box and type the same password, and then tap Done.

To set up an email account from an Internet Service Provider (ISP)

If you have an email address that you set up yourself, or that doesn't use one of the accounts listed above, your account is through an ISP.

  1. In the App list, tap Settings Settings icon, and then tap Email + accounts.

  2. Tap Add an account > Other account.

  3. Enter your email address and password, and then tap Sign in.

    Note

    • If the settings aren't found, make sure both the email address and password are correct, and then tap Try again. If the settings still aren't found, tap Advanced, and then skip to step 5 in the next procedure.

To enter email account settings manually (advanced)

To enter account settings manually, you'll need to know information such as the email account type (POP or IMAP) and the incoming email server address. The complete list of things you'll need is in the table below. You can usually find this information on your email provider's website.

  1. In the App list, tap Settings Settings icon, and then tap Email + accounts.

  2. Tap Add an account > Advanced setup.

  3. Enter your email address and password, and then tap Next.

  4. Tap Internet email.

  5. Do the following:

    For this field Do this

    Account name

    Type a descriptive name for the account. This is the account name that will appear on your phone.

    Your name

    Type your name. This is the name of the sender in the email messages that you send from this account.

    Incoming email server

    Type the name of the incoming email server. This typically includes POP or IMAP (depending on the type of email account). An incoming email server address might look like either of these: imap.contoso.com or incoming.contoso.com

    Account type

    Choose POP3 or IMAP4.

    User name

    Type your user name.

    Password

    Type your password.

    Outgoing (SMTP) email server

    Type the name of the outgoing email server. The outgoing email server name typically includes SMTP. For example: smtp.contoso.com

    Outgoing server requires authentication

    Verify that this setting is correct.

    Use the same user name and password for sending email

    Verify that this setting is correct.

  6. Tap Advanced settings, verify that all settings are correct, choose your download settings, and then tap Sign in.

To delete an email account

  1. In the App list, tap Settings Settings icon, and then tap Email + accounts.

  2. Tap and hold the account you want to delete, tap Delete, and then tap Delete again.

Related topics

Tell us what you think