To boot, in Mac OS X Mail, setting up an AOL email account could barely be easier. You can choose between POP, which fetches you recently received messages for offline access without much fuss, and IMAP, which affords you online access to all your new and archived AOL mail in all your folders.
Access AOL Email in Mac OS X Mail Via IMAP
To set up an AOL email account in Mac OS X Mail using IMAP (which allows seamless access to all your online folders):
- Select Mail | Preferences... from the menu.
- Go to the Accounts tab.
- Click the + button under the accounts list.
- Type your name under Full Name:.
- Enter your AOL email address (e.g. "example@aol.com" — not including the quotation marks) under Email Address:.
- Now type your AOL password under Password:.
- In Mail 2 and 3:
- Make sure Automatically set up account is checked.
- Click Create.
- In Mail 4:
- Click Continue.
- Highlight the newly created AOL account under Accounts.
- Go to the Mailbox Behaviors tab.
- Make sure Store sent messages on the server is not checked.
- Select Quitting Mail under Delete sent messages when:.
- Close the Accounts configuration window.
- Click Save when asked Save changes to the "AOL" IMAP account?.
Access AOL Email in Mac OS X Mail As a POP Account
To add an AOL account to Mac OS X Mail using POP (which downloads newly arriving emails in a simple and efficient fashion):
- Select Mail | Preferences… from the menu.
- Go to the Accounts tab.
- Click the + button under the accounts list.
- Enter your name under Full Name:.
- Put your AOL email address (e.g. "example@aol.com") in the Email Address: field.
- Type your AOL password under Password:.
- Make sure Automatically set up account is not checked.
- Click Continue.
- Make sure POP is selected under Account Type:.
- Type "pop.aol.com" under Incoming Mail Server:.
- Click Continue.
- Type "AOL" under Description for the Outgoing Mail Server.
- Verify smtp.aol.com is entered under Outgoing Mail Server:, Use Authentication is checked and your user name and password have been entered.
- Click Continue.
- Now click Create.
- Highlight the newly created AOL account under Accounts.
- Go to the Advanced tab.
- Make sure "110" is entered under Port:.
- Optionally:
- Pick the desired setting under Remove copy from server after retrieving a message:.
- You can keep all mail on the AOL server without running out of storage. If you let Mac OS X Mail delete messages at all, they will not be available in AOL Mail on the Web or for download on other computers (or via IMAP).
- Close the Accounts configuration window.
