This guide applies to Microsoft Outlook 2003 for Windows. The screenshots shown here were taken using Windows XP.
There are separate guides for Microsoft Outlook 2010 and Microsoft Outlook 2007.
Having trouble setting up your email?
Why not have Plusnet Assist do it for you instead? It'll also help you fix problems with broadband, wireless and email - find out more.
Please note: Plusnet Assist is not currently available for Apple OS X or Linux systems.
Follow these instructions to set up your Plusnet or hosted domain email address.
If this is the first time you've opened Outlook 2007, the Welcome to Outlook 2007 Startup window will appear automatically. Click Next twice and continue to step 3.
Otherwise, go to Tools on the top bar and select Email Accounts.

Select Add a new email account and click Next.

Select either POP3 or IMAP and click Next (I don't know what to choose).

Fill in your account details (see below the screenshot if you need help with this).
- Your Name: Enter your name (or the name you'd like people to see when you send them email)
- E-mail Address: Enter the address you're setting up, this could be a Plusnet address (yourname@username.plus.com) or a hosted domain address (yourname@yourdomain.co.uk)
- User name & Password: Use the username and password for this email address (I don't know what these are)
- Incoming mail server: For POP3, this is mail.plus.net, for IMAP this is imap.plus.net
- Outgoing mail server (SMTP): relay.plus.net
Click Next when you've finished entering these details.
That's everything you need to do, so click Finish.

Click Send/Receive and your email will be downloaded to your Inbox.
If you have any questions about your email service or you experience any problems, please see the Related Articles at the bottom of the page.
That's all you need to do. If you have any questions about your email service or you experience any problems, please see the Related Articles at the bottom of the page.
Your email username and password
Setting up for the first time?
- Email username: Your Account username
- Email password: Your Account password
Your Account username and password are the ones you use to log in to this website.
Setting up an additional Plusnet email address?
- Email username: Your mailbox username (in the format username+mailboxname)
- Email password: Your mailbox password
If you're not sure what these are, check the email we sent after the new address was created.
Should I choose POP3 or IMAP?
It's up to you! Below are the main differences between the two.
If you're not sure what to choose, go with POP3. It's widely used and suitable for most peoples needs.
| POP | IMAP |
|---|---|
Everything sent to your email address is stored on our mail system until you connect and download it with Microsoft Outlook 2003. As messages are downloaded to your computer, they are removed from our mail system. After downloading, messages are stored on your computer until you delete them. With POP3, your messages are kept in one place and you can read messages (that you've already downloaded) when you're not connected to the Internet. |
Everything sent to your email address is stored on our mail system until you delete it. For this reason, IMAP is better if you need check your mail from other computers or devices. Any changes made to your messages (moving them between folders, marking them as read, deleting, etc) will be seen immediately on every computer or device that you check your email with. As your messages are kept on our mail system, you'll need to be connected to the Internet to read them. |
This page last updated 31st January 2012

