Add Windows Live Hotmail to Your Gmail Account

It’s no secret that millions of folks have turned their allegiance to Google’s awesome online email service, Gmail. However, if you’re like me, you’ve probably begrudgingly kept that old Hotmail account around for reasons that cannot be defined by human words.

Until now, we’ve had to login our old Hotmail accounts every month or so to check mail from friends (if we can still call them that!) who refuse to update their contact list, and to keep Hotmail from erasing our account data because of the lack of activity.

Well, Hotmail has finally decided to add POP3 support. This means we can now add and receive our Hotmail emails in our beloved Gmail accounts or any mail client that supports POP3.

First off, let’s take a look at the info:

• POP Server: pop3.live.com
• SMTP Server: smtp.live.com
• Incoming Port: 995
• Outgoing Port: 25
• SSL Required? Yes
• Authentication Required? Yes
• TLS/SSL Required? Yes
• User Name: Your Full Email Address/Windows Live ID (Example: geekinspired@hotmail.com)
• Password: The password you use to login to your Hotmail account

Add Hotmail To Gmail
In your Gmail account, click on the Settings link in the top right corner, then choose Accounts from the secondary list of options.

Send Mail with Hotmail Address
Under the Send mail as area, click on the link to Add another email address you own (Even though you might not want to send mail through your Hotmail address, Gmail wants you to go ahead and add this info). From the pop-up menu that appears, simply enter your name and your Hotmail address. A verification code will then be sent to your Hotmail address, so you’ll need to login to your account (one last time!) and get that code. Once the code is verified, you’re all setup to send mail through your Hotmail account.

Get Mail From Hotmail
Next we’ll want to take a look at the Get mail from other accounts area and click on the Add a mail account you own link. You’ll get a new pop-up where you’ll add your Hotmail address again. Click Next and enter in your username, password, POP server (pop3.live.com), port number (995), and make sure to check the option that says “Always use a secure connection (SSL) when retrieving mail.” The other options on this screen are optional.

Click the Add Account button and that’s it. You’re all set! Of course, you might want to send a test email from your Gmail to your Hotmail account to verify that everything’s working correctly.

Of course, after you do this it’s pretty much guaranteed that your so-called friends will finally update their contact list with your Gmail info. So, enjoy catching all of your Hotmail spam in your Gmail inbox!