You can finally use Outlook and OE to read email from your AOL email account.

AOL users have been plagued for years by an outdated email system that lacked basic features offered by Outlook and other email clients. But on April 5 America Online began offering IMAP access to AOL email (Keyword: Open Mail Access). Today I'll show you how to use any IMAP-capable email program, including Outlook, Eudora, Entourage, and Outlook Express, to read and write your AOL email. Hallelujah!

Set up your new account as usual. Here are the AOL IMAP and SMTP server addresses.
  • imap.aol.com (port 143)
  • smtp.aol.com (port 587)


Use your AOL screen name and password (not AIM password) to log in. The SMTP server requires authentication to send mail. Don't worry. A helpful AOL member has a page set up to walk you through everything.