Manual Setup - Outlook 2016 / 2019 / Office 365 (Classic) – POP3 or IMAP Setup
Overview
This guide explains how to set up your email account in Outlook 2016, Outlook 2019, or Office 365 (Classic) on Windows. These versions use the classic ribbon interface and support both POP3 and IMAP.
POP3 vs IMAP – which should I choose?
- POP3 (recommended for most users)
- Downloads a copy of your email to your computer.
- Keeps a backup on your device so you can store messages for as long as you like.
- Helps save disk space on the server.
- You can still leave messages on the server for a few days so other devices can download them.
- IMAP (recommended if you use multiple devices heavily)
- Keeps email on the server and syncs folders across all devices.
- What you read, move, or delete on one device is mirrored on the others.
- Uses more server storage because messages stay on the server.
Note: Emails stored in your Inbox and Sent folders are automatically retained for 180 Days and other systems folders (Trash/Spam etc) are retained for 30 days to help manage disk usage. To keep messages longer, use POP3 to download your email and save a local copy or when using IMAP move messages into a custom folder such as “Saved Email”.
Mail server settings
Replace {YOUR-SERVER-ID} with the server ID shown in your welcome email.
Incoming mail (POP3)
- Protocol: POP3
- Server:
{YOUR-SERVER-ID}.ourcontrolpanel.com
- Port: 995
- Encryption: SSL/TLS
- Username: Your full email address (
address@example.com)
- Password: Your email password
Incoming mail (IMAP)
- Protocol: IMAP
- Server:
{YOUR-SERVER-ID}.ourcontrolpanel.com
- Port: 993
- Encryption: SSL/TLS
- Username: Your full email address (
address@example.com)
- Password: Your email password
Outgoing mail (SMTP)
- Server:
{YOUR-SERVER-ID}.ourcontrolpanel.com
- Port: 465
- Encryption: SSL/TLS
- Authentication: Required
- Username: Your full email address (
address@example.com)
- Password: Your email password
Step 1 – Open Outlook and start the Add Account wizard
- Open Outlook on your Windows computer.
- Click the File tab in the upper-left corner.
- On the Info screen, click Add Account.
Step 2 – Enter your email address
- In the Add Account window, type your full email address (for example
address@example.com).
- Click Connect.
Step 3 – Choose POP or IMAP
- When Outlook asks you to choose an account type, select:
- POP – if you want to download messages and save server space (recommended for most users), or
- IMAP – if you need full syncing between multiple computers and devices.
Step 4 – Enter incoming mail settings
Use the correct settings below based on the option you selected in Step 3.
Example: POP3 incoming settings
- Server:
{YOUR-SERVER-ID}.ourcontrolpanel.com
- Port: 995
- Encryption method: SSL/TLS
Example: IMAP incoming settings
- Server:
{YOUR-SERVER-ID}.ourcontrolpanel.com
- Port: 993
- Encryption method: SSL/TLS
POP3: Leave a copy of messages on the server (recommended 7–14 days)
If you choose POP3, Outlook will normally download email to your computer and then remove it from the server. If you use more than one device (for example a phone and a computer), you should set Outlook to “Leave a copy of messages on the server” so your other device has time to download the same email.
We recommend setting this to 7–14 days.
How to enable this in Outlook 2016 / 2019 / Office 365 (Classic)
- Click File > Account Settings > Account Settings…
- Select your POP3 account and click Change.
- Click More Settings….
- Go to the Advanced tab.
- Under Delivery:
- Check Leave a copy of messages on the server.
- Check Remove from server after X days and set it to 7–14 days.
- Click OK → Next → Finish.
Tip: If you want to save server space, do not set the number of days too high.
Step 5 – Enter outgoing (SMTP) settings
- Outgoing server (SMTP):
{YOUR-SERVER-ID}.ourcontrolpanel.com
- Port: 465
- Encryption method: SSL/TLS
- My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication: checked
- Use same settings as my incoming mail server: selected
[Optional screenshot: SMTP settings with SSL/TLS and authentication enabled]
Click Next or Finish. Outlook will test the settings and, if successful, your account will be added.
Step 6 – Test your email
- Send an email to your own address to confirm you can send and receive.
- If you are using POP3, verify that messages are still available on other devices for the number of days you configured.
Troubleshooting
- Outlook keeps asking for your password: Confirm you are using the correct email password, or reset it in your hosting/email control panel and update Outlook.
- Cannot send email: Make sure SMTP is using port 465 with SSL/TLS and that “My outgoing server requires authentication” is turned on.
- Certificate / SSL warning: Verify you are connecting to
{YOUR-SERVER-ID}.ourcontrolpanel.com. If the name matches your provider’s instructions, you can usually accept the certificate.
- Mailbox full / quota errors: POP3 helps free server space, but IMAP users may need to archive or delete older mail or increase their mailbox size.
