Here are solutions to some common problems with Windows Mail.

I can't receive e‑mail.

There are several possibilities:

• Ensure that you computer is properly set up to connect to the Internet by starting your web browser and trying to open a webpage. If you can't connect to the webpage, your Internet connection might not be working properly.
• If this is your first time trying to receive e‑mail from this e‑mail account on this computer, Windows Mail might not be properly set up to access your account. You should check your e‑mail account properties to ensure that your account information was entered properly.

To verify your e‑mail account information

1.     Open Windows Mail.

2.     Locate the account information you were given by your e‑mail service provider. If you need help finding this information, see Where to find your e‑mail account information.

3.     Click the Tools menu, and then click Accounts.

4.     Under Mail, click your e‑mail account, and then click Properties.

5.     Click the Servers tab. Check that the various entries under Server Information and Incoming Mail Server match the account information from your e‑mail provider.

Note

• If all of the information was already correct, your password authentication settings may be incorrect. Select the Log on using Secure Password Authentication check box, or, if the check box is already selected, clear it.

6.     After making changes, click OK, and then click Close to close the Internet Accounts dialog box.

7.     Click Send/Receive to try to retrieve your e‑mail again.

• If your account information is correct and you still can't send or receive e‑mail, you may need to set Windows Mail to use a secure connection to your e‑mail server.

To enable a secure connection to your e‑mail server

1.     Open Windows Mail.

2.     Click the Tools menu, and then click Accounts.

3.     Under Mail, click your e‑mail account, and then click Properties.

4.     Click the Advanced tab.

• If you're having problems receiving e‑mail, under Incoming mail, select the This server requires a secure connection (SSL) check box.
• If you're having problems sending e‑mail, under Outgoing mail, select the This server requires a secure connection (SSL) check box.

Note

• If the setup information from your e‑mail provider states that you need to change the port numbers for a secure connection, enter the port numbers provided by your e‑mail provider in the Incoming mail box for the incoming port, and the Outgoing mail box for the outgoing port.

5.     After making changes, click OK, and then click Close to close the Internet Accounts dialog box.

6.     Click Send/Receive to try to retrieve your e‑mail again.

• If you're connected to a corporate network, the company's firewall could be blocking access to your e‑mail provider. Check with your system administrator to see if your firewall settings can be adjusted, or if firewall client software is available that will allow you to access your e‑mail.

I can receive, but not send, e‑mail messages.

If you can successfully receive e‑mail messages, but can't send messages, then Windows Mail is having problems connecting to the outgoing e‑mail server that's used to send messages. These are likely possibilities:

• If you've never been able to send e‑mail successfully using Windows Mail, your e‑mail account is probably not set up properly. First, follow the steps to verify your e‑mail account information in the "I can't receive e‑mail" section of this help topic. If you verify that your e‑mail account information is entered properly, you might need to change your authentication settings so that when sending mail, you sign in using your e‑mail user name and password. Check with your e‑mail provider to see if it requires authentication for sending e‑mail.

To use authentication when sending e‑mail

1.     Open Windows Mail.

2.     Click the Tools menu, and then click Accounts.

3.     Under Mail, click your e‑mail account, and then click Properties.

4.     Click the Servers tab, and then, under Outgoing Mail Server, select the My server requires authentication check box.

5.     If the account information that you use to send e‑mail is not the same information that you use to receive messages, click Settings, click Log on using, and then enter the user name and password that you use to send e‑mail.

• Many Internet service providers (ISPs) require you to be directly connected to their network to use their outgoing e‑mail servers. If you're using a mobile PC and connect to the Internet using a different ISP (such as when using a wireless connection in a hotel), you may be able to receive, but not send, e‑mail. Some ISPs will allow you to send e‑mail when connected to a different provider if you use authentication when sending. Follow the steps above to use authentication when sending e‑mail. If your ISP doesn't allow this, you'll need to find out the name of the outgoing mail server for the ISP you're currently using, and then change the settings in Windows Mail to use it.

To change the outgoing mail server settings

1.     Open Windows Mail.

2.     Click the Tools menu, and then click Accounts.

3.     Under Mail, click your e‑mail account, and then click Properties.

4.     Click the Servers tab, and then enter the new mail server in the Outgoing Mail (SMTP) box.

5.     If the new outgoing mail server requires authentication, under Outgoing Mail Server, select the My server requires authentication check box.

6.     Click Settings, click Log on using, and then enter the user name and password for the outgoing mail server.

I can't view or save an attached file.

Windows Mail blocks access to certain types of attachments that can potentially be harmful to your computer. For instructions on how to access blocked files, see Why can't I view an attachment in Windows Mail?

The links don't work in a message I received.

If Windows Mail determines that a message might be a phishing e‑mail, it blocks access to all links in that message. If you're certain that the message is legitimate and you want to enable links in the message, open the message, and then, on the Information bar, click Unblock to enable links in the message.

When I click an e‑mail link in my web browser, it opens another e‑mail program instead of Windows Mail.

This means that another program is set as the default e‑mail program. If you want the message to open in Windows Mail instead, you need to set Windows Mail as the default e‑mail program.

To set Windows Mail as the default e‑mail program

1.     Open Windows Mail.

2.     Click the Tools menu, and then click Options.

3.     Click Make Default next to This application is NOT the default Mail handler. If the Make Default button is not available, then Windows Mail is already set as your default e‑mail program.

Note

• The Make Default option do not work properly In Windows 10, Windows 8.1 and Windows 7. To configure Windows Mail as the default e‑mail client, see Make Windows Mail the default e-mail program.

When I search for e‑mail, not all of the messages matching my search show up in the results.

When Windows Mail downloads a message, it immediately adds the e‑mail addresses and message title to the search index. However, the body of the message is indexed along with all of your other Windows files, and may not be added to the index immediately. Wait a few minutes and try your search again.

Also, Windows Mail only searches the currently selected folder for messages. For example, if you select the Sent Items folder, messages in the Inbox, Outbox, and other folders won't be included in the search results.