How to read Hotmail accounts in Apple Mail and uninstall HTTPmail plugin

You’ve probably or will be soon finding out Microsoft is stopping HTTP email access support. For some of us, that was the only way we could access Hotmail or other Microsoft mail accounts from Macs. Fortunately, they now allow us to access those accounts through pop3, for free. (At least US old accounts like mine)

If you installed HTTPmail plugin for Apple Mail, you’ll probably know how to uninstall it, or find the way to the /Users/yourname/Library/Mail/Bundles folder to delete it. Anyway, keep reading to prevent losing the “sent” emails.

IF you don’t, this help is for you:

It’s probable that someone else installed the plugin for you, or you just bought/inherited the computer as it is. Now it must be freezing up or just falling in an infinite “loading…” loop, trying to get your hotmail, MSN or Live accounts.

Taking Apple Mail out of the loop

First of all, if your Mail is not responding after a while of trying to read those accounts, control-click those mailboxes and select “take… account Offline”, while the application still responds.

Setting up the new Hotmail, Live or MSN account in Apple Mail

Now you have to re-setup your accounts in a different way: pop3. For that, go to preferences, Accounts tab, and click the plus sign at the left bottom. In there fill out the information provided at https://windowslivehelp.com/solutions/settings/archive/2009/01/06/send-and-receive-windows-live-hotmail-emails-from-a-mail-client.aspx

Now try sending an email. If it goes out normally, skip the following paragraph.

If the test email didn’t make its way out, you’ll be taken to a window to change the outgoing server (SMTP). Select the one from your Internet provider. That won’t make those emails using your ISP email as the sender, but will use that delivery system because it’s blocking Microsoft’s.

Backing-up “sent” emails

“Sent” emails are stored in your computer and will be deleted as soon as you remove the now-useless mail account. Send an email from your new account to reveal the “sent” folder for that account, go to your OLD hotmail “sent” folder and drag & drop all the emailes into the new “sent” account -where that test email you just sent is.

Deleting the old account

After you saved all your sent emails, go to preferences/accounts and use the MINUS sign to delete the old accounts. That will delete the folders in your hard drive. Close Mail and delete the folders mentioned above. Here’s a more friendly explanation. All the emails will be back from server only if you had it set up so, so check the new emails coming with the first synchronization and compare the new with the old accounts email lists, before to finally delete the old accounts. My advice is you to keep them there a few weeks, just in case.