Email guide
Outlook Not Syncing With an AOL Mail Account: Setup and Troubleshooting for Business Users
Many established businesses still have an AOL address on their letterhead, invoices or supplier records, often one that has been in use for years. Connecting it to Outlook alongside the company mailbox keeps everything in one place, but AOL's sign-in security means the standard password won't work. Most sync failures trace back to that one requirement.
Connection settings
| Setting | Incoming (IMAP) | Outgoing (SMTP) |
|---|---|---|
| Server | imap.aol.com | smtp.aol.com |
| Port | 993 | 465 (SSL/TLS) or 587 (STARTTLS) |
| Username | The full AOL email address | |
| Password | An app password generated in AOL account security settings | |
Step-by-step
Generate an app password
The account owner signs in to AOL Mail in a browser and opens Account info → Account security, then generates an app password for a mail application. The password is displayed once. Treat it with the same care as any other business credential and do not store it in plain text.
Add the account in Outlook
In classic Outlook, choose File → Add Account; in the new Outlook, go to Settings → Accounts → Email accounts → Add account. Enter the AOL address, choose IMAP if prompted, and paste the app password when asked for a password.
Enter server settings if detection fails
If Outlook cannot detect the settings, enter the values from the table above and make sure the outgoing server is set to require authentication using the same username and app password.
Resolve repeated password prompts
A password prompt that keeps returning almost always means Outlook is using the normal AOL password, or an app password that has since been revoked. Generate a new app password, update it in Outlook's account settings, and restart Outlook.
Resolve sending failures
If mail arrives but won't send, check the outgoing port and encryption pairing (465 with SSL/TLS, or 587 with STARTTLS) and confirm outgoing authentication is enabled. A network firewall that restricts outbound mail ports can also block sending from the office while it works from elsewhere.
Recommendation: plan a move to your company domain
A personal-provider address carries risks a business address doesn't. The account is tied to one person's sign-in rather than the organization, it can't be centrally managed or recovered by an administrator, and it isn't covered by the security and retention policies applied to the rest of your email. For those reasons we recommend moving business correspondence to an address on your own domain.
A typical transition keeps the AOL account active, sets an automatic reply or forward to the new address, migrates existing mail into the company mailbox, and updates customers, suppliers and printed material over a few months.