Yahoo Mail SMTP Settings

Yahoo's free consumer webmail, reached over IMAP or POP with a generated app password.

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Yahoo Mail mail settings

Outgoing mail (SMTP)

SMTP server

smtp.mail.yahoo.com

Port. STARTTLS

587

Port. SSL/TLS

465

Security

SSL/TLS on 465 (recommended) or STARTTLS on 587.

Incoming mail (IMAP)

IMAP server

imap.mail.yahoo.com

Port. SSL/TLS

993

Incoming mail (POP3)

POP3 server

pop.mail.yahoo.com

Port. SSL/TLS

995

Sending limits & login

Daily send limit

About 500 emails per day.

Authentication

Requires an app password: Yahoo blocks your normal password over SMTP/IMAP/POP.

App password

Generate one at login.yahoo.com > Account Security > Generate app password.

Yahoo requires an app password for all third-party mail clients.

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Find the SMTP, IMAP and POP3 server settings for any email provider. Free, with no signup, every field copies with one click.

Yahoo Mail SMTP, IMAP and POP3 settings

Yahoo Mail is the free consumer mailbox at yahoo.com, and it is stricter about outside apps than most. Your normal Yahoo password will not work in Outlook or Thunderbird, because Yahoo blocks older sign-in methods and expects a generated app password instead. Yahoo also refuses to publish its sending limits on purpose, so the only warning you get is a message telling you how long to wait.

For incoming mail, use the IMAP server imap.mail.yahoo.com on port 993, or POP3 at pop.mail.yahoo.com on port 995. Pick the exact values from the tool above and copy them straight into your mail client.

Checked against Yahoo Mail's own documentation: help.yahoo.com. Ports and limits change, so check there too if something will not connect.

Yahoo Mail settings at a glance

One card with every server and port on it. Right click to save it, or share the page and this is the preview people see.

Yahoo Mail mail server settings. SMTP server smtp.mail.yahoo.com on port 587 STARTTLS or 465 SSL/TLS. IMAP server imap.mail.yahoo.com on port 993. POP3 server pop.mail.yahoo.com on port 995.

What to enter as your Yahoo Mail username and password

Wrong credentials, not a wrong port, are the usual reason a Yahoo Mail connection fails. These are the exact values to type.

Username

Your full Yahoo email address, for example name@yahoo.com

Password

A Yahoo app password: the randomly generated code, not the password you use on yahoo.com

Get your app password

How to set up Yahoo Mail in a mail client

The exact path through Yahoo Mail's own settings, in order.

  1. 1

    Generate a Yahoo app password

    Sign in at https://login.yahoo.com/account/security, then under "External connections" click Create app password, type a name for the app and click Generate password.

  2. 2

    Copy the code before you close the box

    Yahoo shows the app password once. It stays valid even after you change your main Yahoo password, so the only way to cancel it later is to delete it on the same page.

  3. 3

    Set incoming mail to imap.mail.yahoo.com

    Port 993 with SSL required. If your app only speaks POP, use pop.mail.yahoo.com on port 995 with SSL instead.

  4. 4

    Set outgoing mail to smtp.mail.yahoo.com

    Port 465 or 587, SSL required, and turn on the setting that says the outgoing server requires authentication.

  5. 5

    Enter your full address and paste the app password

    The username is the whole address, name@yahoo.com, and the password field takes the generated code rather than the password you type on yahoo.com.

  6. 6

    Send yourself a test message

    If it fails, sign in at mail.yahoo.com in a browser first, clear any prompts Yahoo shows you there, then try the app again.

What Yahoo Mail looks like filled in

Every mail client asks for the same handful of fields. Here they are with Yahoo Mail's values already in place.

Account settings: Yahoo Mail

Outgoing mail server (SMTP)

Server

smtp.mail.yahoo.com

Port

465

Encryption

SSL/TLS

Authentication

Required

Username

Your full Yahoo email address, for example name@yahoo.com

Password

A Yahoo app password: the randomly generated code, not the password you use on yahoo.com
Incoming mail server (IMAP)

Server

imap.mail.yahoo.com

Port

993

Encryption

SSL/TLS

An illustration of the fields, not a screenshot of any one app. Field names differ slightly between Outlook, Apple Mail and Thunderbird; the values do not.

Yahoo Mail SMTP settings in Thunderbird

The outgoing server dialog with Yahoo Mail's details entered. Outlook and Apple Mail ask for the same four things under slightly different names.

Thunderbird SMTP Server settings for Yahoo Mail: server name smtp.mail.yahoo.com, port 465, connection security SSL/TLS, authentication method normal password.

Which port should you use for Yahoo Mail?

SSL/TLS on 465 (recommended) or STARTTLS on 587.

587

STARTTLS

Starts as a plain connection, then upgrades to an encrypted one. The modern standard for sending.

465Recommended

SSL/TLS

Encrypted from the first byte. Widely supported and a good choice when 587 is blocked.

25Not supported

Plain SMTP

Meant for server-to-server relay. Home networks and cloud hosts block it, so do not use it to send from a client.

Why your Yahoo Mail connection is failing

The failures people actually hit with Yahoo Mail, and what fixes each one.

"Server password has changed" or "Authentication failed" the moment the app connects

Yahoo disables outdated sign-in methods by default and returns these two errors when an app uses one. Generate an app password on the Yahoo Account Security page and paste that in place of your account password.

A 553 error when you try to send from the client

Yahoo names an unverified extra sending address as the cause of a 553 from a third-party app. Open Yahoo Mail settings, then verify or delete the extra address listed there, and send again.

Only new mail appears; years of older email never download

Point the incoming server at export.imap.mail.yahoo.com on port 993 with SSL. That is Yahoo's download-everything server, and a large mailbox can take days to finish.

The client worked, then quietly stopped connecting on a new network

Yahoo names ports 995, 465 and 587 as the ones firewalls, antivirus tools and ISPs commonly block. Check those three before changing any settings.

The Create app password option is missing, or generating one keeps failing

Yahoo only offers app passwords in a browser you have signed into for several days running, and never in a private or incognito window. Use your everyday browser, signed in normally, and note that Yahoo support cannot override this check.

Yahoo Mail sending limits

Yahoo states it does not disclose how many recipients or messages you can send at once, in order to enforce anti-spam rules; when you hit a limit the notice usually says how long to wait.

Max attachment

25 MB of attachments per message, applied to both incoming and outgoing mail

Yahoo Mail servers by region and plan

Yahoo Mail does not use one set of hostnames everywhere. Match the row to your account.

Region or planSMTPIMAPPOP3
One-time download of an entire mailbox into a clientsmtp.mail.yahoo.com (port 465 or 587, SSL)export.imap.mail.yahoo.com (port 993, SSL)Not applicable

Yahoo Mail quirks by mail client

Apple Mail

Yahoo's fix for a broken account is to remove it and re-add it, choosing the Yahoo provider logo so the app uses Yahoo's own sign-in rather than a stored password.

Gmail app

Remove the account under Profile icon then Manage Accounts, re-add it and tap Yahoo in the provider list so the secure sign-in is triggered.

Outlook

Yahoo tells Outlook.com users to sign in with an app password the first time they connect the account.

Sending cold email through Yahoo Mail

About 500 emails per day. Requires an app password: Yahoo blocks your normal password over SMTP/IMAP/POP.

Those caps make single-mailbox sending fine for personal mail but a poor fit for cold outreach at volume. Emailchaser spreads sending across warmed inboxes and manages deliverability, so you can scale without burning Yahoo Mail accounts.

Other consumer email providers

Setting up more than one mailbox? These sit in the same category as Yahoo Mail.

Common questions about Yahoo Mail SMTP settings

What are Yahoo Mail's SMTP settings?


Yahoo Mail's outgoing (SMTP) server is smtp.mail.yahoo.com. Use port 587 (STARTTLS) or 465 (SSL/TLS). SSL/TLS on 465 (recommended) or STARTTLS on 587. Sign in with your full email address and password (or app password).

What is Yahoo Mail's IMAP or POP3 server?


Yahoo Mail's incoming IMAP server is imap.mail.yahoo.com on port 993 (SSL/TLS). If you prefer POP3, use pop.mail.yahoo.com on port 995.

Which port should I use for Yahoo Mail?


Use port 587 with STARTTLS wherever it's offered, it's the modern standard for authenticated sending. Port 465 with SSL/TLS is a solid alternative. Avoid port 25, which most networks block for client sending. Yahoo Mail's recommended value is above.

Why won't my Yahoo Mail SMTP connection work?


Check authentication first: Requires an app password: Yahoo blocks your normal password over SMTP/IMAP/POP. Generate one at login.yahoo.com > Account Security > Generate app password. Then confirm the host, port and security method match exactly, a 587/SSL or 465/STARTTLS mismatch will fail to connect.

Can I send bulk or cold email through Yahoo Mail?


Not at scale. About 500 emails per day. Providers throttle bursts to fight spam, so pushing cold email through one mailbox hits limits and wrecks deliverability. High-volume outreach belongs on dedicated infrastructure that spreads sending across warmed inboxes, which is what Emailchaser does.

I changed my Yahoo password. Why does the old app password still work?


App passwords are separate credentials from your account password. Yahoo says they stay active even after you reset the main password. The only way to invalidate one is to delete it on the Yahoo Account Security page, under the list of app passwords.

Should I use port 465 or 587 for Yahoo's outgoing server?


Yahoo documents both for smtp.mail.yahoo.com. Port 465 wraps the whole session in SSL from the start, while 587 begins unencrypted and upgrades to TLS. Use whichever your app offers, and if one is blocked on your network, switch to the other.

How many emails can I send a day through Yahoo?


Yahoo will not say. It states outright that the number of recipients and messages is undisclosed so that spammers cannot work around it. If you are blocked, the message you get usually includes the wait time, and Yahoo points regular bulk senders at a dedicated bulk email service instead.

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