How to Read POP Mail in Windows 8
Aug 22, 2012 05:16 PM EDT by 
Millions of users have email accounts that rely on POP3 mail servers. Many ISPs even give their users POP accounts by default, but don’t tell that to Microsoft as the company steadfastly refuses to support POP3 in Windows 8′s built-in email.
You have no particular obligation to use the built-in Windows Mail, but it is currently the only email client for Modern UI. You can install any of dozens of desktop email applications including Windows Live Essentials mail, Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird. However, if you want to use the built-in Mail with a POP account, there’s a workaround that involves routing your messages through an online service such as Gmail, Hotmail or Outlook.com.
The steps below describe how to use Outlook.com to retrieve your POP inbox in Windows 8′s Mail.
- Log in to Outlook.com. If you don’t have a Microsoft account, create one.
- Select More mail settings from the settings menu in the upper right corner of the screen. An options screen appears.
- Click Sending / receiving email from other accounts under Managing Your Account. Another screen appears.
- Click Add an email account under the You Can Receive Email from These Accounts header. A screen with boxes for your email address and password will appear.
- Click advanced settings.
- Configure your email settings by entering your POP server name, checking or unchecking SSL and choosing other options as necessary. Click Next when done.
- Select an Outlook.com folder for your POP mail or have it come to your inbox. We recommend having it come to your inbox. Click Save when done.
- Verify your email address by clicking a link that comes in a confirmation email that Microsoft sends to your POP account. Your Outlook.com account should now show all the messages that are stored in your POP account.
- Select Accounts under Settings in the Windows 8 Mail app.
- Select Outlook
- Enter your Outlook.com username and password then click Connect.
More Windows 8 Tips
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- How to Shut Down Windows 8 In Just One Click
- How to Add a User the Right Way in Windows 8
- How to Make Window 8′s Desktop More Touch Friendly
- How to Search the Web Faster in Windows 8
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October 29th, 2012 at 11:22 am
Hi
Thanks for the info. I have my POP3 mail account routed to Outlook.com I have added the account into Mail app. When it tries to connect I receive error: cannot connect to email …@…. I have SSL turned off. It should be straightforward but it isn’t
What am I doing wrong?
November 1st, 2012 at 6:26 am
I tried the gmail and that was a big mistake for me. I used my gmail account that I had on my work phone. I lost all of my rules I had on my old account and my work phone started getting all kinds of emails. I was over 1100 emails by the time I switched back to win 7 and straightened it out. I think I’ll wait a long while before I try 8 again.
November 1st, 2012 at 12:13 pm
Hi, just like Conrad, it doesn’t work along with many other bugs. Must be massive problem for Micros**t.
November 2nd, 2012 at 1:02 am
I can get my POP3 mail in outlook.com but I can not get Windows 8 mail to accept outlook.com
November 2nd, 2012 at 5:19 pm
Glad I stumbled onto this latest gotch about W8! Damn in W7 x64 Ultimate I have tons of email addys set with Rules to direct incoming to folders via Time Warner cable, roadrunner. So I’m supposed to use Outlook.com or whatever. Rats to that beta testing. I’d be flooded with incoming traffic and spam until rebuild Rules if even can.
One thing after another. Leaving things alone until much much later it seems.
November 4th, 2012 at 5:57 pm
Same here, I set up the outlook.com to get my pop3 Verizon.net mail, bit windows 8 mail will not accept the outlook.com. I was on the phone with a Microsoft rep for TWO HOURS!! He had no iadea what he was doing. I finally got him to transfer me to an outlook specialist and I got the complimentary dial tone.
November 4th, 2012 at 6:03 pm
I was also told I will never be able to access my vista window mail backup from my old PC (vista, it has a bad mother bd.). I really need that info and some of my addresses, I’m wondering if I purchase MS office outlook if that might save me. It would be worth the $200 if it would.
November 8th, 2012 at 7:04 pm
Had my pop3 mail server install the outlook combination through “other account” instead of Outlook and it works fine, although i can’t create folders for my messages yet…I updated to make life simpler not more complicated.
November 9th, 2012 at 1:04 am
Anyone know how to SEND email through a POP account? There seems to be no way to set an outgoing server, but in their basic setup instructions they mention being able to choose the POP account in the drop down next to your name in the compose window. My POP account doesn’t show up, and I don’t really see how it could without the outgoing server being set somewhere.
November 14th, 2012 at 5:03 pm
This is the worst mail app i have ever seen.
December 2nd, 2012 at 1:55 pm
I need help, big time. Under Settings, I do not have Mail. I can’t add Outlook as an app. can someone help please?
December 3rd, 2012 at 11:28 am
Its amazing how a big company like microsoft can throw out support of an old but very used standard. They want all us to move to web mail. Bery bad…
December 7th, 2012 at 5:40 pm
1. Download Windows Essentials: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=3945
2. Open the Windows Live Mail
3. Add a new email account (as above)
4. Right click on the Windows 8 Mail icon and “Unpin” it
5. Open All Apps in Windows 8 find the Windows Live Mail
6. Right click on it and click “Pin to task bar”
Now you have an icon on the main Windows 8 start screen that opens your Verizon mail account.
December 8th, 2012 at 2:42 am
When I try to download live mail windows 8 says there’s a newer version already installed but I can’t find any version of live mail on the computer
December 10th, 2012 at 11:21 pm
I am sooo frustrated with many aspects of Windows 8. I also have been able to print an email from it either. Was trying to print out a coupon from Staples – it opened the coupon into another window and there is NO option to print it – at least that I could find. And Toshiba Level 2 couldn’t help me on any of my problems either. Also, no way to “Search” your emails either. What a huge step backwards.
December 10th, 2012 at 11:22 pm
Should read “UNABLE TO PRINT AN EMAIL…”
December 27th, 2012 at 5:28 pm
This is typical arrogance by Microsoft. I’ve been reading about other operating systems, but have been afraid of “leaving the nest”, but this type of stupid is certainly a strong push!!
December 28th, 2012 at 11:21 pm
We purchased a Surface tablet running windows 8 RT. I could not believe the arrogance of Microsoft when I tried to configure the E-mail client for pop and saw that message. Also I can not use our printer because it also is not supported and there are no plans to support it. This printer is an HP and is not that old. Also there were other issues with the tablet itself. For these reasons, we are returning it to Microsoft and will go with something that is not Windows 8 based.
January 2nd, 2013 at 2:36 pm
What do you mean… “don’t tell that to Microsoft”?? Obviously everybody needs to keep telling them because they don’t know! Actually I learned years ago it doesn’t help because, why would they care to give users what users want? It was commonly decided at least 10 years ago that the thing users want is for the computer to do it automatically without asking what they want.
That’s why I don’t use Microsoft if I can help it, but makes working for uninformed employers very difficult. Now I’m here trying to set up my employers new computers with standard email but it is trying to force me to first create a microsoft live email account for every user! No way to create our real accounts without it on the included mail client but I still refuse to give ms the false publicity they always have to force out of users.
January 3rd, 2013 at 2:24 pm
Time to check out Apple I guess …. If we have to change everything and re learn anyway !!!
January 4th, 2013 at 7:33 pm
Well, if Microsoft does not give a dawn about its users. Then, Let boycott Windows 8/Windows RT.
Let see how Microsoft likes it.
So, Please stop complaining. JUST BOYCOTT, then stick with the one that works for us.
January 7th, 2013 at 6:31 am
There are several ‘other’ email clients around, many of them are freeware. To name afew: Thunderbird, Eudora OSE, Claw Mail, The Bat, and many more. Forget about Microsoft! Start usiing something else, but do not forget: with Apple things do NOT get any better. They don’t give a f*ck about you as a end user, just like MS.
January 8th, 2013 at 2:22 am
I have 1 gig worth of important emails in specific folders that I’ve exported from my old laptop using the Windows Live Mail feature. Problem is, I can’t seem to import them into outlook.com on my new windows 8 laptop. When I try to install Windows Live Mail or Windows essentials on the laptop it won’t allow it. Says I need to restart my computer due to the fact that it’s already installed….which it isn’t.
Any ideas on how to import the folder from Windows live mail into the new windows outlook on my new laptop?
thanks!
February 6th, 2013 at 12:54 am
This is the most asinine stupidity since, well, Win8 itself. Switch to Kubuntu and use Thunderbird or Kmail – Windows is dead, and you’re fools to keep using it.
February 10th, 2013 at 4:47 pm
Windows 8 did not include many programs that were in previous Windows OS’s. Download Windows Essentials FREE from MS and you can pick and choose which programs you want. I had the same trouble with e-mails but this download solved all the problems. You can now select a photo from you camera software, right click it, then get a sub-menu to e-mail same. Also, with newspaper articles or something you highlight from the internet
February 15th, 2013 at 10:20 am
there are a lot of other email solutions out there including ms’ own outlook client and many missing things are in live essentials which is free. i’m running outlook 2013 (free right now) and download my mail through there. i only use the basic metro mail for quick previews and such.
February 19th, 2013 at 12:48 pm
Hi, just wanted to let you know how I solved the email problem on my new windows 8 all in one PC. I was able to send and receive my email on my rr homepage as web mail but I had saved hundreds of old emails and put the file on the desktop. Unfortunately windows 8 cannot open them because they are from a POP 3 type account. Windows 8 referred me to the APP store for apps to open .eml. There were 5 apps, 4 free ones and one $1.49 one. I tried them all and none worked correctly, and most had really bad reviews. A week or so later, I went back to the app store on a whim and there was now a 6th app available, “eM Client”. I downloaded it and boom, it opens all the old email, all of the attachments, it looks a lot like outlook, and I can easily print. After loading eM Client, I no longer have to go through internet explorer and get web mail as it is now my default email program. Also, i had looked on line at numerous sites that showed various long winded, complex fixes for the pop problem, and I chose not to try. So I recommend “eM Client” to anyone having this problem. You can’t get it from the app store directly, you have to get it from the mfg’s website. I chose the free one but they do have a proffesional version for $49.95. Bottom line, it worked, and it was an easy fix.
February 25th, 2013 at 5:48 pm
Leave to Microsoft to design an operating system that doesn’t work with their OWN email program, Outlook, arguably the most popular email program out there. You’d *think* they’d design a live tile that worked with Outlook as a selling feature! You would be wrong. Brain scientists and rocket surgeons, the lot of them –
February 27th, 2013 at 5:58 am
Our win 8 computer is not saving any settings when we log back on.
We only have the one user account, with Outlook and Itunes loaded. When we log back in we have to re-configure both from scratch as if they were newly installed!
We have not bothered to load anything else because, we are not game to.
When we look on our user acc. properties and want to change to administrator, we get NO “trust this pc” option.
We use the option “Sign in without a Microsoft account.” as well.
What is going on??
March 13th, 2013 at 4:33 am
i can’t not an any pop3 mail, so sad
May 30th, 2013 at 2:23 am
Everyone complaining gives me a headache. The Windows Mail app is pretty handy. It is not Outlook, but for viewing and sending mail it works fine. Also, POP mail is old so just deal with it. I used this workaround and was seeing my POP mail within a few seconds.
I have all of my accounts now within the Windows Mail App. Love it!
June 7th, 2013 at 1:04 pm
I HATE HATE HATE windows 8 !!!!!!!
June 7th, 2013 at 3:52 pm
And… I’m old too but I still work fine just like POP mail did !
June 12th, 2013 at 6:03 pm
Windows 8 is actually worse than vista. by far the biggest fail from Microsoft on the desktop. Not supporting POP is just one of the 100 annoyances in this OS. I work in corporate IT and we are NOT going to standardize on this OS. Sorry Microsoft that is 6500 operating systems staying at W7. fine for the surface, epic fail on the desktop!