How to add an email account to Mail on a Mac
2 min read · 7 steps · Updated 3 October 2026
Open the Mail app and choose Mail, Add Account from the menu bar. Type your email address, or click choose from a list and pick your provider, then click Continue and sign in when asked. Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, Exchange and most other accounts set themselves up. Your mail then appears in one inbox.
The Mail app on a Mac can collect every email address you have, private, work and old ones, in a single window. Adding an account takes about a minute, because Mail knows the server settings of the common providers and only needs you to sign in.
Menu names are from recent versions of macOS, where the settings app is called System Settings.
Step by step
Open Mail
Click the Mail icon in the Dock, the blue envelope, or press Command-Space, type Mail and press Return. The first time you open it, Mail asks straight away which account to add.
Choose Add Account
In the menu bar at the top of the screen, click Mail and then Add Account.
Enter your address or pick a provider
Type the email address you want to add. Or click choose from a list and select the provider: iCloud, Microsoft Exchange, Google, Yahoo, AOL or Other Mail Account.
Click Continue and sign in
Follow the instructions on the screen. For Google and Microsoft accounts, a sign-in page of the provider opens, where you enter your password and confirm with your second step if you use one. Mail never sees that password.
Choose what to sync
Many accounts offer more than mail: contacts, calendars, notes. Leave Mail selected and tick the others only if you want them on this Mac.
For other providers: enter the settings by hand
With Other Mail Account, enter your name, email address and password. If Mail cannot find the servers, it asks for the incoming server (IMAP or POP) and the outgoing server (SMTP). Your provider lists these on its help pages. Choose IMAP unless you have a reason not to: it keeps the mail in step on all your devices.
Check the inbox
The new account appears in the sidebar under Inbox. Click Inbox for all accounts together, or the small arrow next to it to see one account alone.
Good to know
An account that is already set up on the Mac for Contacts or Calendar can be switched on for Mail: choose Mail, Accounts, click the account and select Mail.
To pause an account without deleting it, choose Mail, Settings, click Accounts, select the account and untick Enable this account.
To remove an account, select it in the same place and click the minus button. The messages disappear from the Mac but stay on the provider's server and in webmail. If you are not sure they are on the server, move the ones you need to a mailbox under On My Mac first.
When mail stops arriving: Mail not working on a Mac: 7 fixes to try. The same on the phone: how to add an email account to an iPhone.
In short: Mail, Add Account, type the address or choose the provider, Continue, sign in, keep Mail ticked. Other providers: name, address, password, then IMAP and SMTP servers if asked.
- Mail User Guide: Add and manage email accounts in Mail on Mac
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