Set Up Your AOL or AIM Mail Account With Mac OS X Mail

mail icon

  1. Open up Mail in your dock or in your applications folder.
  2. Once Mail is open go to File > Add Account.
  3. In the General Information window, choose IMAP from the Account Type menu.
  4. For the Account Description, put down whatever you want (ex. AOL Mail).
  5. For the Email Address put your AOL or AIM email address. (ex. MasonSklut@aol.com or MasonSklut@aim.com)
  6. Click Continue.
  7. In the Incoming Mail Server, type in “imap.aol.com” or “imap.aim.com”.
  8. In the User Name, type in your AOL or AIM screen name. (ex. MasonSklut)
  9. For the Password, type in your AOL or AIM password.
  10. Click Continue.
  11. For the Outgoing Mail Server, type in “smtp.aol.com” or “smtp.aim.com”.
  12. Check the Use Authentication box.
  13. In the User Name, type in your AOL or AIM screen name. (ex. MasonSklut)
  14. In the Password box, type in your AIM or AOL password.
  15. Click Continue.
  16. Done!

screenshots: 1 2 3-6 7-10 11-15

26 Responses to “Set Up Your AOL or AIM Mail Account With Mac OS X Mail”

  1. Mason Sklut Says:

    September 22nd, 2006 at 8:04 pm

    Readers,
    If you have used the AOL Service Assistant to setup AOL on your Mac or you get the “can’t send using server” message, you must change the Server Port to 587 in order to send/receive emails within Mac OS X Mail.

    - Mason

  2. Steve Says:

    July 17th, 2007 at 11:33 am

    This instruction was clear and simple, and worked perfectly. Great job, and thank you so much!

  3. Scott Says:

    July 18th, 2007 at 8:47 am

    This step by step process made everything a breeze.

    THANKS

  4. Walt Says:

    July 25th, 2007 at 3:08 pm

    Thanks, very clear info….you rock.

  5. Andy Says:

    August 2nd, 2007 at 2:37 pm

    Great info, it is really straight forward!

  6. Catherine Says:

    August 17th, 2007 at 2:59 pm

    Amen – Very clear and works so well. Thanks so much.

  7. Anthony Says:

    September 1st, 2007 at 5:48 pm

    Very straight forward, it was clear, and it works!!!

    Thanks a lot!

  8. Kristine Says:

    November 22nd, 2007 at 4:28 am

    Thank you for the great info – very helpful!!

  9. Chris Says:

    December 2nd, 2007 at 7:46 pm

    Everything works now. Thanks for all the help.

  10. Chris Says:

    February 18th, 2008 at 8:03 am

    When I use Entourage or Outlook to view my emails they are taken from the inbox of my AOL account and then I cannot view them again when I try to use Mac OS X Mail. I marked them as unread to try to keep them new but still they have disappeared from Mac OS X Mail’s Inbox and the AOL inbox.

    Any ideas on how to fix this would be very much appreciated.

  11. Char Says:

    February 23rd, 2008 at 10:21 am

    AWESOME! straight forward directions. Works great, thanks!

  12. Au Pair Says:

    March 20th, 2008 at 10:04 am

    Very nice website. My English is not so well, so I do not understand it well, but it looks very good. Thanks.

  13. Cassy Says:

    May 2nd, 2008 at 11:17 pm

    These directions helped me FINALLY set up my AIM account!!! Easy as 1, 2, 3 ! Took 2 minutes!

    THANK YOU!

  14. Emeka Says:

    July 22nd, 2008 at 10:35 pm

    Thanks a lot. I will donate when I get some money! Thanks!

  15. MacPie Says:

    August 5th, 2008 at 10:56 pm

    Thank you sooooo much! So simple. Lifesaver.

  16. Sophie Says:

    January 3rd, 2009 at 9:07 am

    Thank you so much!
    This helped me a lot, I could not figure it out at all before, but this was so simple and useful. Thank you!

  17. Ray Powell Says:

    September 30th, 2009 at 3:34 pm

    I just wish you had come up on the Google list first. Nothing worked until I followed your no-nonsense guide.

  18. Mason Sklut Says:

    October 4th, 2009 at 8:19 am

    Thanks Ray.

  19. Tony Says:

    March 20th, 2011 at 1:21 pm

    Is there any reason my inbox does not show up in the Mail software? Everything else shows up! Thanks.

  20. Mason Sklut Says:

    March 20th, 2011 at 7:50 pm

    Tony,

    I’ve got no idea for why your inbox doesn’t appear in Mail. Is it possible you have an overstuffed mailbox? Messages will “disappear” if that’s the case. Otherwise, I’m not entirely sure why that is happening.

    Best,
    Mason

  21. Richie Says:

    June 16th, 2011 at 8:19 am

    I’m still having trouble sending emails… even changed my server port to 587. If I do that I get a time out message for port 587… If I change it back it keeps telling me error 54. Any advice? This is driving me insane not being able to send emails from my laptop.

  22. Mason Sklut Says:

    June 16th, 2011 at 12:17 pm

    Richie, you could try setting it up with POP. This may help pin-point the problem.

    Best,
    Mason

  23. Rich Says:

    June 20th, 2011 at 12:10 pm

    WOW! It worked, been trying to make AOL mail merge with my Mail (off and on, more off) for 3 years, but your directions worked the first time… BRAVO!

  24. Mason Sklut Says:

    June 30th, 2011 at 4:47 pm

    Hey Rich,

    I’m glad you got your email all set up and working!

    Best,
    Mason

  25. Adele Druck Says:

    April 4th, 2012 at 7:10 pm

    Hi, I hope you are still out there. Your instructions seem simple but I hesitate to reinstall AOL mail. I have had it on my Mac for about 5 years and suddenly a few days ago it stopped working. It is in accounts under Preferences in Mail, but just doesn’t work. Should I set it up again even though it is there?
    Thanks for any help you can give.

    Adele

  26. Mason Sklut Says:

    April 20th, 2012 at 6:17 pm

    Adele,

    Personally, I wouldn’t recommend setting up AOL mail (the application) on your Mac again. Try following my instructions again, and let me know if you still have issues.

    Best,
    Mason

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