// WINDOWS LIVE MAIL STOPPED WORKING?
Windows Live Mail not working?
It keeps asking for your password, won’t connect, or your Hotmail has stopped arriving. Windows Live Mail hasn’t been updated since 2017, and Microsoft’s own email stopped accepting it in 2024. Here’s how to keep your old emails safe, and what to use instead. Rated 4.9 on Google.
- ● Keep your old emails
- ● Free replacements
- ● Windows specialists since 1995
/01 — WHY IT STOPPED
Why Windows Live Mail stopped working
Windows Live Mail was a free Microsoft program from the Windows 7 days. Microsoft stopped supporting it on 10 January 2017, so it has had no fixes, security or otherwise, since.
- Hotmail, Outlook.com, Live and MSN addresses: in 2016 it lost its direct link to Microsoft’s email, and on 16 September 2024 Outlook.com stopped accepting plain passwords from programs that can’t use Microsoft’s modern sign-in. Windows Live Mail can’t, so it can no longer collect Microsoft email at all. Your email is still there: sign in at outlook.com in your web browser.
- BT, Sky, Plusnet, TalkTalk and others: it may still connect for now, but it gets no security fixes, and any change at your provider can stop it overnight.
- Gmail and Yahoo: these need an app password in any email program, made in your account’s security settings.
Microsoft no longer offers Windows Live Mail anywhere, so a website offering a download isn’t Microsoft, and the copy would get no security fixes. The answer is to move to a program that’s still looked after.
// FIX IT WITH ME · STEP BY STEP
Move off Windows Live Mail, step by step
The steps from this guide, one at a time, in the order that fixes the most cases fastest. Tell it what happened and it shows the next step. Nothing here leaves your device.Last reviewed 13 October 2026
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01Check POP or IMAP
Right-click the account in Windows Live Mail, choose Properties, then the Servers tab.
Is that step done? -
02Back up the Windows Live Mail folder
Copy the folder at %localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail to a USB stick.
Is that step done? -
03Export your contacts
In Contacts, choose Export, then Comma separated values (.CSV).
Is that step done? -
04Set up the new program
Add your email address to Techies One Mail, the new Outlook, Thunderbird or webmail.
Is that step done? -
05Check your emails arrived
With IMAP they appear by themselves. With POP, keep the backup and ask for help moving them.
Is that step done?
Rather have it done for you? Remote help from £20, or in person across Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole, Ringwood and the New Forest, with no call-out fee.
Sorted{mins}. Nice work.
Keep the old PC and the USB stick until every email is in the new program.
Emails only on this PC, or stuck? That is a remote job.
With your permission we connect to your screen and sort it in one session. Usually the same day, remote help from £20, and no fix, no fee.
Windows Live Mail not working? - the fix order (365techies.co.uk/windows-live-mail-not-working/) 1. Check POP or IMAP: Right-click the account in Windows Live Mail, choose Properties, then the Servers tab. 2. Back up the Windows Live Mail folder: Copy the folder at %localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail to a USB stick. 3. Export your contacts: In Contacts, choose Export, then Comma separated values (.CSV). 4. Set up the new program: Add your email address to Techies One Mail, the new Outlook, Thunderbird or webmail. 5. Check your emails arrived: With IMAP they appear by themselves. With POP, keep the backup and ask for help moving them. Still stuck? 365 Techies fix it remotely: 01202 775566 - https://365techies.co.uk/remote-support/// ANOTHER WAY · OUR FREE EMAIL PROGRAM
A simple replacement for Windows Live Mail
Our free Techies One Mail for Windows PCs is a simple email program made for people moving from Windows Live Mail and Outlook Express, with the settings for BT, Sky, Plusnet, Gmail and Outlook.com built in.
- Free, from 365 Techies, the family IT firm that wrote this guide
- Signed by 365 Techies Ltd, and it tells you when there’s an update
- Big, clear buttons, and warnings about scam emails
- Your email goes straight between your PC and your provider: we never see it or your passwords
It can’t open emails that Windows Live Mail kept only on this PC (the older POP setting): keep the backup folder, or ask us to move them. See what it does, with pictures.
Download Techies One Mail, freeRather we set it up? 01202 775566
FOR WINDOWS 10 AND 11 PCs · VERSION 0.22.0 · 27 MB · NOT FOR MAC, IPHONE OR ANDROID
At a glance
| Why it stopped | Windows Live Mail got its last update in 2017. Since 16 September 2024 Hotmail and Outlook.com no longer let it sign in. |
|---|---|
| Other email addresses | BT, Sky and others may still connect for now, but the program gets no security fixes. |
| Can I download it again? | No. Microsoft doesn’t offer it any more; a site offering it isn’t Microsoft. |
| Before you change anything | Check whether your emails are only on this PC, and copy its Windows Live Mail folder to a USB stick. |
| What to use instead | Our free Techies One Mail, webmail in your browser, the new Outlook, or Thunderbird. |
| Hotmail users | Your email is safe at outlook.com: sign in there in your web browser. |
// NEED THIS FIXED RIGHT NOW?
Skip the DIY — call 01202 775566 and we can be looking at your screen within minutes. You watch everything we do, and most problems on this page are fixed in one short remote session. (Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm.)
/02 — BEFORE YOU CHANGE ANYTHING
Keep your old emails safe first
Where your old emails live decides how careful you need to be:
- IMAP (the usual setting now): your emails are kept with your email provider, so they appear in any new program, folders and all.
- POP (common with older set-ups): emails were downloaded and kept only on this PC. If the PC or the program goes, they go too.
To check, right-click your email account in Windows Live Mail, choose Properties, then the Servers tab: it says whether the incoming server is POP3 or IMAP. Then:
- Copy the Windows Live Mail folder to a USB stick. In File Explorer’s address bar, type %localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail and press Enter, go up one level, and copy the whole Windows Live Mail folder to the stick.
- Save your contacts. In Windows Live Mail’s Contacts, choose Export, then Comma separated values (.CSV), and save the file to the same stick.
- Keep the old PC and program until your emails are safely in the new program.
/03 — WHAT TO USE INSTEAD
What to use instead
- Techies One Mail (free, from us): a simple email program for Windows PCs, made for people moving from Windows Live Mail and Outlook Express, with the settings for BT, Sky, Plusnet, Gmail and Outlook.com built in.
- Webmail in your browser: outlook.com for Hotmail, gmail.com, or your provider’s website. Nothing to install, and it works on any computer.
- The new Outlook: free with Windows 11 and works with most email addresses, though it looks very different from Windows Live Mail.
- Thunderbird: free, from Mozilla, with lots of settings for people who like to tinker.
Our Techies One Mail page compares them side by side, with what each costs and what it can’t do.
/04 — YOUR OLD EMAILS
Getting your old emails into the new program
- IMAP: add your email address to the new program and your emails appear by themselves, folders and all.
- POP, emails only on this PC: new programs, Techies One Mail included, can’t sign in to fetch these, because they aren’t on the server any more. Keep the backup folder from step 2; OE Classic, whose maker says it can bring in Windows Live Mail’s files, is one way to open them again; or ask us to move them for you.
- Just a few important emails? Drag them from Windows Live Mail into a folder in File Explorer: each is saved as its own file that you can open later.
/05 — WHEN TO CALL US
When to call us
If your emails are only on this PC, or you’d rather not risk losing them, ring 01202 775566 or text 07520 615332, Monday to Friday, 9 to 5. With your permission we connect to your Windows PC, check it for free, tell you the price before we start, and move your emails and contacts to the new program while you watch.
FAMILY-RUN SINCE 1995 · ★ 4.9 ON GOOGLE · 200+ COMPUTERS UNDER OUR CARE · NO FIX, NO FEE · SAME-DAY REMOTE SUPPORT
// GOOD QUESTIONS
Frequently asked
Why has Windows Live Mail stopped working?
It has had no updates since 2017, and since 16 September 2024 Hotmail and Outlook.com no longer accept its sign-in. Other providers may still connect for now, but it gets no security fixes.
Can I still download Windows Live Mail?
No. Microsoft doesn’t offer it any more. A website offering it isn’t Microsoft, and the copy would get no security fixes.
Will I lose my old emails?
Not if your account uses IMAP: they’re kept with your provider. If it uses POP, they’re only on this PC, so copy the Windows Live Mail folder to a USB stick before you change anything, and ask us if you need them moved.
What is the best replacement for Windows Live Mail?
For something simple, our free Techies One Mail or webmail in your browser. The new Outlook comes free with Windows 11, and Thunderbird suits people who like plenty of settings.
Does Windows Live Mail still work with Gmail?
Gmail needs an app password in any email program, made in your Google account’s security settings. Even if it connects, Windows Live Mail gets no security fixes, so it’s worth moving.
Can you move my emails for me?
Yes. With your permission we connect remotely, check it for free, tell you the price before we start, and move your emails and contacts while you watch.
// Still stuck?
Rather we moved it for you?
We check it free, tell you the price before we start, and move your email and contacts to a new program while you watch. Call 01202 775566 or text 07520 615332.
We’ll fix it with you
- Checking the problem is free
- Fixes from £20, agreed before we start
- We phone first, and you watch every step
Stop it happening again
- A full service every six weeks, written up
- Every program kept up to date
- Unlimited remote help when you need it
Plans from £18.25 a month per computer · cancel any time
Mon–Fri 9–5 · family-run since 1995 · rated 4.9 on GoogleKeep your old emails →