No mail alert on Hotmail account
I've got a Hotmail account configured in Outlook but I don't get an alert when I receive a new mail message.
How can I get this to work?
Hotmail accounts will not display any new mail alerts unless the Hotmail folder set is configured as the default delivery location.
Before we continue, make sure you are making the connection to your Live/Hotmail/MSN mailbox via the Outlook Hotmail Connector.
Download: Outlook Hotmail Connector (I list the latest versions here)
Once you've done that we can use the Hotmail storage folder as the default delivery location.
Outlook 2003
Tools-> E-mail Accounts-> View or change existing e-mail accounts-> section at the bottom; Deliver new e-mail to the following location-> select name of Hotmail storage folder-> Finish
Accept the info message that you get and restart Outlook.
Outlook 2007
File-> Data File Management-> select name of Hotmail storage folder-> Set as Default
Accept the info message that you get and restart Outlook.
Outlook 2010
File-> Account Settings-> Account Settings…-> tab Data Files-> select name of Hotmail storage folder-> Set as Default
Note: Actually, Outlook 2010 will give an alert for messages delivered to the inbox of your Hotmail account as well, even if it is not set as the default. I’ve added instructions for Outlook 2010 for completeness purposes.
Use Windows Live Messenger
If you do not want to set your Hotmail account as the default delivery folder but still want to receive alerts when you receive a new message in Hotmail you can also install Windows Live Messenger and sign in with your Hotmail account.
Just signing in is enough. You don't actually need to have buddies configured in it if you don't like it as your IM application.
