Question Please Help: @outlook.com email server and port question
Question Please Help: @outlook.com email server and port question
I have been working with a standalone version of Quickbooks Desktop Pro, specifically the 2019 edition. It serves my small service business, where I send out invoices and statements at month’s end. Because it's an older, self-contained program, I feel entitled to keep using it indefinitely. On the Reddit Quickbooks community there are users still relying on this version without certain features, such as bank linking. However, my needs are limited to emailing invoices and statements—no need to download banking data. I had configured it to use an Outlook account and manually set the server name and port number for years. Recently, QBDT Pro is reporting issues, repeatedly prompting for the password I already know is correct. Might this indicate that Outlook has changed its server settings or abandoned this older configuration? Any guidance would be invaluable.
Server Name: smtp-mail.outlook.com
Server Port: 587
It is more probable that Outlook.com has ceased backing a legacy protocol tied to the outdated Quickbooks version. Only Microsoft can definitively confirm this.
If you're using port 587, it's a POP/SMTP account. The SMTP server is smtp-mail.outlook.com, with port 587 and STARTTLS encryption. The POP server is outlook.office365.com on port 995 using SSL/TLS. Verify in the "Settings-Mail" section of Outlook if POP is enabled—this is for POP, not IMAP. IMAP is used for sharing and syncing emails across devices like phones, PCs, tablets, or laptops.
You're wondering if Server Name smtp-mail.outlook.com and Port could have been turned off. I checked for recent updates and didn't find any news about it. It seems other users might face similar problems with different programs, not just older versions of Quickbooks.
I've also noticed that the Microsoft forum is having issues allowing logins, so it might be worth checking there as well.
I'm no expert in this stuff. I would assume I need to use POP, not IMAP?
And I would think that my Quickbooks Desktop 2019 uses the smtp-mail.outlook.com on it's own. It's not communicating with any other programs on my Windows 10 PC to send an email.
The SMTP setup was something we had to do in the early 2000s and then having to set that up seemed to fade out, probably for this IMAP that you mention. But my version of Quickbooks still allows SMTP setup.
I guess I could put in the POP Server and Port that you show here and see what that does.
Wish this forum allowed posting pictures and I would share screenshots of my Quickbooks setup screens. But they are pretty simple. Just a place for the Server Name and Port.
Also I'm not using a paid version of Outlook. Outlook emails were and still are like Gmail, free and you log in online via a browser, or the phone app. Not sure if there is a free app for Windows 10 that I am using. I don't pay for Office. There also I'm using a stand alone version from 2010 really only for Word.
Thanks for your input!
It’s conceivable Outlook has adjusted its security configurations or stopped supporting older manual configurations. Microsoft often refreshes its email protocols, necessitating contemporary authentication techniques such as OAuth, which could account for your password no longer being accepted. Verify Outlook's present server settings and confirm you're utilizing the appropriate SMTP server and port (587 is typically suitable for TLS). You might also need to activate "less secure apps" or employ an app-specific password if two-factor authentication is in use. Upgrading to a newer Outlook version or QuickBooks could help ensure better compatibility.