Cannot get e-mails to Outlook365

pinkfloydian

I use Outlook365 on my desktop PC for my e-mails. I currently use POP3.

For about 10 days, I have been getting a prompt for username/password when I try and retrieve e-mails and although the input is correct, I am unable to import my mails.

As fas as I can see, this is a global issue, and althouigh I have been in contact with Micreosoft, they have been unable/unwilling to help.

Any ideas as to how I can resolve?

Tommy

28064212

Retrieve emails from where? Who is your email provider?

pinkfloydian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122701452#Comment_122701452

Outlook is the e-mail app from Microsoft

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122701489#Comment_122701489

That's not what they asked, though - who actually provides your email service?

Credentials being rejected is going to be on their side; it is exceptionally unlikely that Microsoft managed to break that in Outlook.

28064212

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122701489#Comment_122701489

I'm aware. That's the application that is pulling down the emails. Who is your email provider?

pinkfloydian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122701500#Comment_122701500

I have a *******@outlook.com e-mail address. The e-mails are delivered from Microsoft's servers (outlook.office365.com).

Glaceon

You might need to remove the account and re-add it as an Exchange or Outlook.com account instead of POP3. They've been putting restrictions on POP3 due it not supporting modern authentication.

28064212

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122701518#Comment_122701518

Have you checked that POP is still enabled in your Outlook.com settings? Settings > Mail > Forwarding and IMAP

Have you checked that the settings for your account in the Outlook app are as per https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/pop-imap-and-smtp-settings-for-outlook-com-d088b986-291d-42b8-9564-9c414e2aa040 .

In particular: "Authentication Method: OAuth2/Modern Auth"

pinkfloydian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122701534#Comment_122701534

I'm aware of that, but it is not as simple as people think. If Microsoft issued a guidance for POP3 users giving a step-by-step process for migrating over in light of the new authentication requirements, that would be of enormous help. However, this is Microsoft we are dealing with and they clearly have not thought through the implications of the change, or the impact on their customers. They've known this was coming for a long time and they just seem unprepared (or just don't care).

I've searched the web and as far as I can see, there must be thousands of people impacted, so I'm clearly not alone.

I had a level 2 Microsoft technician have a look, but as usual, he was clueless and has "escalated" to Level 1, but I've not heard anything from them in over a week.

My big issue is that that data file (.pst) associated with POP3 does not just contain e-mails, but also Contacts and Tasks. I rely heavily on Tasks and would be in trouble if I lost them. I'm not prepared to take a punt that "everything will work fine" if I migrate, unless there is an article that I can read from Microsoft (or other authoratitive source) that lays out the full procedure for migrating from POP3.

In the absence of such detail, I am seeking help from wherever I can, hence my first post.

pinkfloydian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122701498#Comment_122701498

……….for POP3 - it's broken!

Addmagnet

Can you log in via a web browser to the online version (at outlook.live.com) to see your emails? Just to make sure that both you and Microsoft agree about what your password is! If you can log in there, your next step might be to remove the account from Outlook and then try to add it back again.

Be aware, if you're using the POP3 protocol, removing your email account from Outlook may also remove all your previous emails from your pc, as I believe what POP3 kinda does is push the email from the server to your machine, so there is no longer a copy of that email on the server. (IMAP on the other hand just sends a copy of the email to your machine and retains the original email on the email server until you explicitly delete it from the server.)

I'm saying two things here:

1. Make a backup of your emails on your pc you want to keep, just in case, before deleting your account from Outlook.
2. Consider using IMAP as your protocol, it's more useful if you have multiple devices that you check emails on (pc, smart phone, tablet, etc.), and as the emails are stored on the server you can delete and re-add your account to your mail apps on all your devices as many times as your heart desires. Every time you re-add your account, the client will just get a fresh copy of your mails.

I understand there may be nuances regarding POP3 & IMAP that I may have missed or explained poorly, if so, I apologise.

Glaceon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122701625#Comment_122701625

Exchange is the recommended method for Outlook.com accounts as it offers more features. The cleanest way would be to create a new Outlook profile, set it up as an Outlook.com account (leaving the old one in place as a safety measure), and then import the PST and move the mail across.

pinkfloydian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122701625#Comment_122701625

Thanks Addmagnet.

I use my phone, my browser and Microsoft365(Outlook app) to read my e-mails (really only my phone and Microsoft365). I am able to read my e-mails on Outlook on my web browser. Microsoft confuse things by referring to their web application as Outlook.com (this is not the desktop application)

I would love to switch to IMAP, but my concerns mentioned in post #9 above still stand. I need a detailed step-by-step, including e-mail, People, Tasks migration.

L1011

You don't want IMAP, you want native exchange.

pinkfloydian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122701767#Comment_122701767

Thanks for the guidance.

Do you know of any reliable reference documentation that deals with migration from POP3. I have 2 main areas of concern.

I keep a clean inbox and sent items folders, so not too worried as there are only a couple in each.

My first concern is Tasks (mainly) and People. Can these be migrated as part of setting up a new exchange service?

As part of the clean inbox, I have quite a substantial "Personal Folders" folder (separate .pst file). Can this also be easily migrated?

L1011

You'll need to export contacts and tasks as those are non standard items stored on the PC, once imported to an Exchange mailbox they will live there and be accessible on all devices. I have used nirsoft tools for this in the past, if I get a chance I'll try find the specific ones later

You can still connect a PST file to Outlook with Exchange. However this functionality is being removed from Outlook entirely in the future. I would suggest moving these mails back to the main mailbox as exchange does not have the hideous performance issues of POP3 when dealing with large mailboxes

pinkfloydian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122701823#Comment_122701823

OK, so the first step is for me to understand the steps and the sequence of events (as there may be some dependencies). I have no idea how to import to an Exchange mailbox, so I'll also need step-by-step there.

I assume I can create a new Profile in Outlook on my desktop and set up as Exchange and if things don't go as planned, I can delete and revert to the profile that is POP3 based and start again??????

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122701861#Comment_122701861

Outlook will likely have significant problems with them both being the same email address, so you'd need to get rid of the old profile first. Hence the need to export

pinkfloydian

OK, thanks for all the help guys.

I'm more worried about data loss/corruption now than before.

1. I need to set up on desktop and laptop.
2. I need to ensure sync to my phone.
3. I need to bring is Contacts ("People" in Outlook)
4. I need to bring in Tasks (cannot afford to lose or corrupt this data)
5. I need to bring in Personal Folders (an absolute must), stored separately in PST file.
6. I probably need to make some changes to my Outlook.com settings as I seem to remember that there is a field that identifies currently as POP somewhere in there.
7. These are only the actions that I can identify off the top of my head - there may be others I have not considered.
8. MOST IMPORTANTLY, I need to ensure that any actions are done in the correct sequence.

Is anybody aware of any expert in this area that would be willing to come and assist. I'm in North County Dublin.

L1011

Contact import export - you are on Classic Outlook

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/import-or-export-contacts-in-outlook-bb796340-b58a-46c1-90c7-b549b8f3c5f8#PickTab=Classic_Outlook

I think Tasks work the exact same way, just selecting Tasks not Contacts when exporting and importing

Your PST file should not be deleted when removing the old profile, but best to disconnect it from the profile first.

You won't need to change anything on outlook.com, Exchange always works whether POP/IMAP are turned on or not

pinkfloydian

Thanks L1011

I am on New Outlook, but I NEVER use this as an everyday way of managing my e-mails. In fact, I ONLY use it to check my Junk Mail, as these would not be synced to Outlook365 for desktop (my daily driver for e-mail)

My Contacts and Tasks are ONLY stored within the .PST file created on my PC and are not stored in Outlook.com (New, or Classic)

I have 2 e-mail accounts and there are therefore 3 .PST files on my PC (+1 Archive) , linked to my Outlook.365 desktop app

PST_1 = Email account 1 (default) - this includes E-Mails, Tasks & Contacts

PST_2 = Email account 2

PST_3 = Personal Folders

PST_4 = An archive, I use to keep old important e-mails

Your observations in post #20 are appreciated, but only convince me further that I need professional assistance, as I now need to add to my list of issues as to whether my initial setup (Exchange) should be done in Outlook New first or in my Outlook365 desktop app.

Glaceon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122702171#Comment_122702171

New Outlook doesn't support PST files. So you'd need to use the classic one.

pinkfloydian

UPDATE:

Thanks to everybody for their support/assistance.

I'm sorted!

I used Copilot(AI) in Microsoft Edge browser and it walked me through the entire process and answered every question that I threw at it (which were many)

Amazing!

If anybody is interested, I have a document with my questions and Copilot answers.