Adding IMAP email account to Outlook for Mac

Good day Nynke, and I appreciate the clear explanation of your concern.  

Just to gently clarify before we go any further, this is a user‑to‑user support forum. I don’t have the ability to access or investigate individual accounts because this is a user to user support forum. Moderators and contributors, including external Microsoft employees, do not have access to internal systems or the ability to directly take action on Microsoft product features. However, I truly hope I can help review your situation, offer some guidance, and support you in finding the right next steps as best as possible.   

The error message "Unable to sign in. Try again or create an app password for this account" usually points to an authentication requirement from the email provider rather than an Outlook issue. In many cases, the provider requires extra verification, such as two factor authentication, or no longer allows sign in with a regular password for email apps. 

As for the information about disabling Microsoft Sync, that guidance is likely outdated. New Outlook for Mac supports IMAP accounts directly and handles synchronization automatically once the account is added successfully, so the main focus should be understanding why the authentication is failing.  

Also, if you cannot switch to Legacy Outlook, that is expected because the option is only available for work or school accounts and is not supported for personal accounts. In some cases, the option may also be unavailable if it has been disabled by your organization's IT administrator. 

Please see the following workarounds that will help you verify the issue:  

Make sure your operating system and Outlook app are fully updated to the latest version.   

Step 1: Set up an app password, as required by your email provider 

Sign in to your email provider's account security portal. 

Check whether two factor authentication or multi factor authentication is enabled. 

If enabled, create a new app password for Outlook. 

Copy the generated app password. 

Open Outlook for Mac. 

Add the IMAP account again. 

When prompted for a password, enter the app password instead of your regular account password. 

Complete the account setup process. 

In the article Add an email account to Outlook for Windows | Microsoft Support, please refer to the "App password" section for additional guidance. 

Step 2: Verify the IMAP and SMTP settings 

If the account still cannot be added, please confirm that all mailbox settings are correct:

• Verify the incoming IMAP server name with your email provider. 
• Verify the outgoing SMTP server name. 
• Confirm whether the username should be your full email address or a specific account name. 
• Confirm that SSL or TLS is enabled for both incoming and outgoing connections. 
• Verify the correct port numbers for both IMAP and SMTP. 

Add the account again in Outlook using the exact settings provided by the email provider. 

Step 3: Confirm mailbox access requirements with the email provider 

If the issue persists after completing the steps above, please contact your email provider or organization's IT administrator to confirm the following: 

• IMAP access is enabled for the mailbox. 
• The provider requires OAuth authentication instead of a traditional username and password. 
• App passwords are supported and available for the account. 
• SMTP access is enabled. 

If this is a work or school mailbox managed by an organization, please contact your IT administrator to confirm whether app passwords are permitted. In some environments, app passwords are disabled by policy and the account must be added using the authentication method required by the organization. 

Note: In case you do not know who is your IT admin, kindly refer to this article: How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin? - Microsoft Support  

Additional information is available in the following resource: Add an email account to Outlook for Mac | Microsoft Support 

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions or need further support, please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time. 

Thank you for your patience and understanding. 

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Hi,

I am having the same issue, I have other IMAP Emails in Outlook for Mac, and they are syncing and working fine but I'm trying to add a new one. At first I got it to add, but it never synced new mail, so I deleted it to try and add it again, now it won't even add it. I have tried everything and every work around and it's just not working. At this point is there any support for Mac?