Accessing AOL Email in macOS

While it's absolutely possible to get your AOL emails through a web browser, most operating systems support an offline email client that can send and receive email through AOL too. Macs, for example, can use the Mail app to open and send AOL email.

There are two ways to do this. One is to use POP, which fetches your messages for offline access so you can read all your new emails. The other is IMAP; when you mark messages as read or delete messages, you get to see those changes reflected in other email clients and online through a browser.

How to Set up AOL Mail on a Mac

It's your choice which method you use, but choosing one over the other isn't any more difficult or hard to configure.

IMAP

1. Select Mail > Preferences... from the menu.
2. Go to the Accounts tab.
3. Click the plus button (+) under the accounts list.
4. Type your name under Full Name:.
5. Enter your AOL email address under the Email Address: section. Make sure to use the full address (e.g. example@aol.com).
6. Type your AOL password in the text field when asked.
7. Choose Continue.
   
   If you're using Mail 2 or 3, make sure Automatically set up account is checked, and then click Create.
8. Highlight the newly created AOL account under Accounts.
9. Go to the Mailbox Behaviors tab.
10. Make sure Store sent messages on the server is not checked.
11. Select Quitting Mail under Delete sent messages when:.
12. Close the Accounts configuration window.
13. Click Save when asked Save changes to the "AOL" IMAP account?.

POP

1. Select Mail > Preferences... from the menu.

1. Go to the Accounts tab.
2. Click the plus button (+) under the accounts list.
3. Type your name under Full Name:.
4. Enter your AOL email address under the Email Address: section. Make sure to use the full address (e.g. example@aol.com).
5. Type your AOL password in the text field when asked.
6. Make sure Automatically set up account is not checked.

1. Click Continue.
2. Make sure POP is selected under Account Type:.
3. Type pop.aol.com under Incoming Mail Server:.
4. Click Continue.
5. Type AOL under Description for the Outgoing Mail Server.
6. Verify that smtp.aol.com is entered under Outgoing Mail Server:, Use Authentication is checked, and your username and password have been entered.
7. Click Continue.
8. Click Create.
9. Highlight the newly created AOL account under Accounts.
10. Go to the Advanced tab.
11. Ensure that 100 is entered under Port:.
12. You can optionally do the following:
    
    Pick the desired setting under Remove copy from server after retrieving a message:.
    
    You can keep all mail on the AOL server without running out of storage. If you let macOS Mail delete messages at all, they will not be available in AOL Mail on the web or for download on other computers (or via IMAP).
13. Close the Accounts configuration window.