How to Sync Your Hotmail Account With macOS Mail

This article explains how to receive messages sent to your Hotmail email address with macOS Mail. While Hotmail was discontinued, users with Hotmail email addresses access their messages from Outlook.com, which Mail can access automatically. Instructions cover the Mail app in macOS Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra, and Sierra.

Setting Up Mail on Your Mac for Hotmail

If you have an active Hotmail email address, you can set it up quickly in Mac Mail.

1. Click the Mail icon on your Mac's Dock.

   

2. From the Mail menu, select Add Account.

   

3. Select Other Mail Account in the screen that opens and click Continue. Depending on your macOS version, you may have to select Mail Account in the next screen.

   

4. Enter your name, Hotmail email address, and password in the fields provided for them. Select Sign In.

   

5. Leave Mail and Notes checked in the list of available services. Click Done.

   

6. Look in the Mailbox sidebar at the left of the Mail window. Open the Inbox if it is closed by clicking the arrow next to it to see the available Mailboxes. Click the new Hotmail mailbox to access your Hotmail account in Mail. If it is a new account, you'll have only a welcoming email. If it is an older account, the number next to Hotmail in the Mailboxes list indicates the number of emails in the inbox.

   

You can read and respond to mail and send new mail using your Hotmail email address from inside the Mail application on your Mac.

How to Get a New Hotmail Account

If you don't have a Hotmail address, it isn't too late to get one. Microsoft considers Hotmail to be legacy email, but the company still supports it. To sign up for a new Hotmail account:

1. Go to Microsoft.com in a browser and click Sign In at the top of the website to open a sign-in window, but don't sign in even if you have an account.

   

2. Where the sign-in screen says "No account? Create one," click Create one.

   

3. On the Create Account screen, click Get a new email address and then enter your desired email address in the format Username@hotmail.com by typing a name and selecting @hotmail.com from the drop-down arrow that appears at the right of the name field. You may have to try several times to find an email address that isn't already taken. Click Next.

   

4. Enter a password for your new Hotmail account and select Next.

   

5. Enter your first and last names, your country, and birthday in subsequent windows, clicking Next after filling in the requested information in each screen.

   

6. Enter the CAPTCHA code and click Next to create your account.

   

7. Outlook.com opens on your new Outlook Mail screen. 

   

How to See if Your Hotmail Account Is Still Active

If you already have a working Hotmail email address, your mailbox is located at Outlook.com. Check there first to make sure your account is still active. If you haven't used your Hotmail email address for a year or so, it may have been deactivated.

Log in to Outlook.com with your Hotmail email address and password. Confirm your Hotmail email address is active. If you don't see it, it probably isn't. Don't worry. You can set up a new Hotmail address.