As you might have already heard Microsoft has finally added IMAP support to Outlook.com for those software and outdated devices that yet don’t support Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) protocol to sync email clients to Outlook servers.

So now, if you are a Thunderbird user and you want to set up an Outlook.com account using IMAP settings, here are the steps you need to follow in Windows 8 (but it should also work with previous versions of the operating system):

Instructions

  1. While in Thunderbird, from the menu button in the top-right corner, choose Options, and then Account Settings

  2. Click Account Actions, enter your email account information, and choose Add Mail Account.

  3. Enter your account information (e.g., Outlook, Hotmail, Live, etc.).

  4. Click Continue.

  5. Then click Manual config.

  6. Set the Incoming server settings as follows:

  • Server hostname: imap-mail.outlook.com
  • Port: 993
  • SSL: SSL/TLS
  • Authentication: Normal password
  1. Set the Outgoing server settings as follows:
  • Server hostname: smtp-mail.outlook.com
  • Port: 587
  • SSL: STARTTLS
  • Authentication: Normal password
  1. Click Done and that’s pretty much all you have to do.