Question :

I have been abroad for some weeks and was using my MacBook and Hotmail-account there, and when I returned home, I could no longer connect to my Hotmail-account from macOS Mail-app… also, in my recovery/alternate eMail-address, I have gotten a warning eMail form the Microsoft account team that reads :

---

Microsoft account

Verify your account

We detected something unusual about a recent sign-in for the Microsoft account [your Hotmail address]. For example, you might be signing in from a new location, device, or app.

To help keep you safe, we’ve blocked access to your inbox, contacts list, and calendar for that sign-in. Please review your recent activity and we’ll help you secure your account. To regain access, you’ll need to confirm that the recent activity was yours.

[blue button reading “Review recent activity”]

Thanks,

The Microsoft account team

---

When I click the blue button to verify my Hotmail-account, everything seems to go okay, but when I tried to access my Hotmail-mailbox using the macOS Mail-app, I got an error message that the connection could not be made…

What can I do to fix this ?

Answer :

For some reason your Hotmail-account settings in macOS have been messed up.

To fix this, do this :

• open Mail-app
• click on “Mail” (top-left, next to the Apple icon in the macOS menu bar) and in the pulldown menu that appears, click on “Preferences”
• in the window that opens, click on the Accounts-tab (in-between the “General” and “Junk Mail” tabs)
  • NOTE : do NOT click on “Accounts” in the Mail-app pulldown menu !! …as clicking on “Accounts” from the Mail-app pulldown menu will take you to the “Internet Accounts” settings in System Preferences, and NOT to the Account settings in the Mail-app !! …the two are not the same !!
• the window will now be names “Accounts” and show a list of your eMail-accounts on the left
• in the list on the left, click on your Hotmail-account
• then, click on the “Server Settings” tab, and correct your settings to this :
  • Incoming Mail server (IMAP)
  • User Name: [your Hotmail address]
  • Password: [your Hotmail password]
  • Host Name: map-mail.outlook.com
  • [put checkmark in checkbox] Automatically manage connection settings
  • “Advanced IMAP Settings”-button
  • Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP)
  • Account: smtp-mail.outlook.com
  • User Name: [your Hotmail address]
  • Password: [your Hotmail password]
  • Host Name: smtp-mail.outlook.com
  • [leave checkbox unchecked] Automatically manage connection settings
  • Port: 25 [put checkmark in checkbox] Use TLS/SSL
  • Authentication: Password
• after having made sure your settings are okay, exit the Mail Preferences window by clicking on the red dot (top-left)
• now, your Hotmail should work again as expected in Mail-app
  • to check, you can send a test mail form a different mail-address to your Hotmail-account and vice-versa 😉

enjoy !