How to STOP Outlook Hotmail config forcing signin to Office 2019

Topic

New Reply

New computer.  Windows 10 Pro x64 20H2.  Office 2019 Home & Business perpetual license.

Best I remember, on my old computer, which is no longer functional, I had Outlook configured with my Hotmail account among other email accounts and was NOT logged into Office.

I did NOT, nor do I want to, log into Office.  It is another topic of discussion about WHY I don’t believe Microsoft deserves one byte of my personal data.

Installing Office 2019 Home & Business via click to install x64.  As soon as I finish adding the configuration for Hotmail/Live/Outlook.com to Outlook, a popup asks for my password, despite already having to enter that information in settings.

If I enter the password, instantly I am logged into Office (in all apps) under that email/password.

If I close the popup, Outlook will NOT download any new email from Hotmail/Live/Outlook.com and I expect I can not upload new mail.  EVERY TIME I open Outlook, the popup comes back.

Using backup software, restore system to before Office install.  Windows Update config change = turn off get updates for other Microsoft apps when get Windows updates, pause all updates for 2 weeks.  To make sure things don’t change while testing

Using HomeBusiness2019Retail 16.0.10730.20102.img dated 2018-12-20, install.  Am able to configure and use Hotmail in Outlook without logging into Office.  Expect updates will stop this functioning.

Using backup software, restore system to before Office install.  Windows Update config change = turn off get updates for other Microsoft apps when get Windows updates, pause all updates for 2 weeks.  To make sure things don’t change while testing

Using HomeBusiness2019Retail 16.1.13127.20616.img dated 2020-12-27, install.  Functions the same as click to run install.  Can NOT have Hotmail account configured and function without logging into Office.

I searched the forums and did not find any topics that appeared to be related before posting this.

I hope someone has ideas or suggestions for how to have Outlook configured with a Hotmail/Live/Outlook.com account and NOT be forced to be signed into Office or forced to remove the Hotmail/Live/Outlook.com account to remain logged out of Office.

Thanks in advance if you’ve read this far.  Thanks in advance even more for suggestions.

Reply | Quote

Replies

What if you log in and then go to the Microsoft store location on the computer and log out?

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

Reply | Quote

I log in for Outlook to be able to access my Hotmail account.  That automatically logs me into Office.  I am NOT logged into Microsoft Store, nor have I ever been.  When I install Windows, I use a local account.  I HATE being tracked.

Interesting update.  Initially, if I used HomeBusiness2019Retail 16.0.10730.20102.img to install, I could have Hotmail configured without being logged into Office.  BEFORE installing Office. Windows Update configured to NOT get updates for other Microsoft products and Windows Update paused for 2 weeks.  Despite this, something still updated.  The day of the install I rebooted the machine 4 or 5 times.  The next day when I booted the computer, a popup appeared when I opened Outlook that demanded my Hotmail password.  Only after entering my password could Outlook access my Hotmail account despite the password already being saved in the Mail profile in Control Panel.  I am now logged into Office.  Clearly the pretense is a deception.

I have deleted my Hotmail account from Outlook.

Reply | Quote

I *think* I have it figured out. For many hours and days, I thought a key was what version of Control Panel, Mail was installed.  In December 2018, I downloaded the whole Office 2019 Home Business install as an offline type installer image file, version 16.0.10730.20102.  In December 2020, same thing, version 16.1.13127.20616.  Both of these install Control Panel, Mail (Microsoft Outlook 2016) (32-bit).  In December 2018, I downloaded a click-to-run 7k exe that is 64bit.  Setup.X64.en-US_HomeBusiness2019Retail_…………_TX_PR_.exe.  When it is used to install office, Control Panel, Mail has different name = Mail (Microsoft Outlook).  64bit verses 32bit.  So it seems the 2 .img files are 32bit and the click to run is 64bit.

When the 64bit Control Panel, Mail is installed and you create a new email account, and on Auto Account Setup you take the default (where you just enter name, email address, and password twice) [VERSES Manual Setup], I end up with an Exchange connection.

In my experimenting, I figured out that with Control Panel, Mail in the 32 bit version (Mail (Microsoft Outlook 2016) (32-bit)), if I took the default I still ended up being forced to log into Office when installed from the .img file version 16.1.13127.20616.  I did not capture in my notes whether this was an exchange connection.

So I was wrong about the 32bit verses 64bit Control Panel, Mail making the difference.

Yesterday, I stumbled across in Google searches that you can access Hotmail/Live/Outlook.com via POP3 or IMAP.  You have to go into setup on outlook.live.com and enable these options.  The settings to configure are there as well.  Installing Office from version 16.1.13127.20616 (32bit), I selected Manual Setup, and using these settings setup IMAP access.  So far, I’ve NOT been forced to sign into Office using IMAP.

For further verification and testing, I’m going to go back to a backup before installing office (I use O&O Disk Image 16 to make whole disk backups of my OS drive) and use the 64bit click to run and go the Manual Setup route with IMAP and see what happens.  If I’m on the right track, it will be the 64bit install and will not force me to sign in.

1 user thanked author for this post.

b

Reply | Quote

Hi Job48,

I know it’s been a while, but how did you get on with the 64 bit install?

I’ve got this EXACT question.  I agree with you totally on privacy, and its only enhanced by these bullying tactics (i.e. removing the ‘skip’ button when asked to allow the account to sign into apps is, to my mind, an unfair practice. I live with the fact they have my emails AND they link my accounts via the reset account, but they don’t need access to everything else as well).

Unfortunately, I’m not as tech-savvy as you, so was pleased when I saw your posting.  could you share more about what I have to do on the outlook.live.com page?  I can’t find anything there.

(for reference: I tried ‘allow me to set up manually’ and when I choose outlook or office 365 as my provider it skips straight to the old automatic entry pages again.  I then chose IMAP and entered the settings outlook.office365.com , port 993 and SSL/TLS.  I just got the ‘an error occurred’ message).

I’d created a new outlook account solely for the purpose of getting outlook set up on my new laptop in the first place. I don’t intend to use that ever again unless there is software that is only available from the MS Store (e.g. Freda ebook reader, but I’ve got an alternative at the moment).  so now I want to get my real email accounts onto outlook without risking them logging into applications in some future update.

Reply | Quote

For whatever reason, I did not get notified of your reply though I am subscribed to this thread.  I am NOT an Office 365 user.

I am using IMAP/SMTP as the type for my hotmail.com/outlook.com/live email.  Mail (Microsoft Outlook) is the Control Panel module.  I also have a gmail and a yahoo email account setup with IMAP/SMTP.  For hotmail/outlook/live, incoming IMAP port is 993, SSL/TLS, outgoing server SMTP port is 587 STARTTLS.  Interestingly, Incoming mail server is outlook.office365.com, outgoing server is smtp.office365.com.  UNCHECKED is Require logon using Secure Password Authentication.

This config allows me to be logged into hotmail.com/outlook.com/live email account for web access and does not log me into an account for Windows and still be able to conveniently access all my email accounts in Outlook 2019.  On rare occasions, Outlook 2019 will pop up a box asking me to enter my id and password for gmail or yahoo.  It is rare enough I have not invested any time to further investigate.

God only knows what awaits in Office 2021.  I am in no hurry for either Win11 or Office 2021.  In 2 or 3 years when it MIGHT be out of alpha testing, I will look into it.

Reply | Quote