Thunderbird and Microsoft email (Office365, Hotmail, outlook.com, etc)

Thunderbird can be used as a client for all of Microsoft's email services (Hotmail, Outlook.com, Windows Live Mail, Office 365, Microsoft 365, etc.) henceforth referred to as Microsoft email. Thunderbird will download messages from the Microsoft server and store them on your local system. Similarly, Thunderbird can be used to compose messages which are sent through Microsoft's mail servers. You can still use Microsoft's web-based application (for example outlook.com) - Thunderbird will query the server and synchronize messages.

Configuring servers

Microsoft accounts are configured automatically in Thunderbird using Thunderbird Account Hub.

Enter your Microsoft email address (for example: tbtesttb@hotmail.com) and password when prompted, and Thunderbird will configure the server settings for you. Whether you are using IMAP or POP, Thunderbird will automatically configure the server settings for you.

For more details please refer to Account Hub for Thunderbird Desktop.

If Thunderbird cannot configure the server settings automatically or you wish to override the automatic configuration, you can manually configure or modify the server settings.

• As of late 2026, here is a screenshot of the IMAP server settings in the Account Hub:

  

• And here is a screenshot of the POP server settings in the Account Hub:

  

Manually Configuring IMAP and POP accounts

To manually configure or modify Microsoft email account settings:

1. Click Thunderbird app menu ☰ > Account Settings. The Account Settings dialog window will be displayed.
2. Select your Microsoft email account from the list on the left.
3. In the left panel, below your Microsoft email account name, click on Server Settings. The server settings will be displayed in the right panel.

IMAP mail account settings

Configure the server settings according to the settings provided by your Microsoft account administrators. Here are some typical settings as of this writing.

• Server Name: outlook.office366.com
• Port: 993
• User Name: your username (for example: tbtesttb@hotmail.com)
• Connection security: SSL/TLS
• Authentication method: OAuth2

POP mail account settings

Configure the server settings according to the settings provided by your Microsoft account administrators. Here are some typical settings:

• Server Name: outlook.office366.com
• Port: 995
• User Name: your username (for example: tbtesttb@hotmail.com)
• Connection security: SSL/TLS
• Authentication method: OAuth2

Configuring the SMTP outgoing server

Configure the server settings according to the settings provided by your Microsoft account administrators. Here are some typical settings:

• At the bottom right, click Edit outgoing server….
  • Server Name: smtp-mail.outlook.com
  • Port: 587
  • Connection security: STARTTLS
  • Authentication method:OAuth2
  • User Name: your username (for example tbtesttb@hotmail.com)