Outlook and Microsoft 365 mailbox sending solves the same customer-trust problem as Gmail: review request emails come from the customer's real address instead of the agency sender.
This guide is specifically about the customer-side Outlook flow. Agency-side SMTP remains covered in the SMTP for Agencies guide.
What you need first
- An Outlook.com, Hotmail, or Microsoft 365 account
- An App Password issued by Microsoft (not the normal account password). Microsoft 365 (business) mailboxes additionally require a tenant admin to enable Authenticated SMTP (SMTP AUTH) — the wizard reports error 5.7.139 when it is off.
- The customer plan must have `Email Provider` enabled
| Account type | Daily limit |
|---|---|
| Outlook.com or Hotmail | Around 300 emails per day |
| Microsoft 365 | Higher limits possible depending on the Microsoft 365 tier (vendor-dependent) |
What the agency has to do first
From the agency side, go to `Business -> Billing & Revenue -> Custom Plans`, edit the customer plan, then open `Features & Options -> Campaigns` and enable `Own Email Provider` under `Campaign Channels`.
Prepare the password
Consumer Outlook.com and Hotmail mailboxes need an App Password when two-step verification is on. Microsoft 365 business mailboxes always need an App Password AND Authenticated SMTP (SMTP AUTH) enabled by their admin — an App Password alone will not work, and the wizard will report error 5.7.139.
What the customer setup flow looks like
Like the Gmail flow, this setup is intentionally stripped down so business owners do not have to think about SMTP hosts, ports, or encryption.
The customer finds it at `Manage -> Settings -> Email` inside their own account.
- Choose Outlook from the two large provider cards
- Enter the Outlook or Microsoft 365 email address
- Enter the account password or App Password
- Verify the connection and send a test email
This is a customer-side screen. Because you are in your agency account, you can reach it two ways: go to `Business -> Customers -> Manage Customers` and click `Open dashboard` on the customer — you go into their dashboard with nothing locked, even features their plan hides, and a bar at the top shows whose dashboard you are in (handy for done-for-you setups or granting access beyond a plan); or choose `View as customer` on the same page to see their dashboard exactly as they see it, with their plan's limits. If your sidebar shows the `Agency` / `Customer` switcher, the `Customer` tab plus the location switcher is a shortcut to the same place.
What happens after setup
Once Outlook is connected, that mailbox takes priority in the 3-tier email routing system and review request emails start going out from the customer mailbox.
- Recipients see the customer's real Outlook or Microsoft 365 address
- This usually improves trust and open rates
- Customer-owned Outlook sending does not consume the normal customer plan email credits
Common issues
- Using the normal password when 2FA requires an App Password
- Hitting Outlook.com daily limits on smaller accounts
- Shared mailbox sending limits being exhausted across too many uses
- Microsoft 365 tenants with Authenticated SMTP (SMTP AUTH) turned off — a Microsoft 365 admin must enable it; an App Password cannot bypass it (error 5.7.139)