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New Outlook Hotmail Connector released

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We’ve got good news for those of you who read your Windows Live Hotmail accounts in Outlook. We have released an update to the Microsoft Outlook Hotmail Connector. This update brings a number of fixes and is required to continue using Hotmail accounts in Outlook.

The version number for the updated Hotmail Connector is 14.0.5139.5001. To determine which version is installed on your computer, see the end of this article.

Here is an overview of changes in this update:

  • Several send/receive issues are fixed.
  • The Outlook junk email filter within Outlook is turned off for Hotmail accounts (this was erroneously flagging good mail as junk). Junk messages are now detected at the Hotmail mail server. Any entries you made in Outlook for the junk email filters (Safe Senders, Blocked Senders, and Safe Recipients) continue to work correctly and synchronize between Outlook and the Hotmail mail server.
  • Fixes for hangs and crashes experienced when sending meetings using the Hotmail Connector and when adding a new Hotmail account to an existing profile.
  • Fix for an issue where Windows Live contacts’ birthdays and anniversaries shifted by one day when synchronized with Outlook.
  • Fix for an issue that blocked synchronization of the Category property in an Outlook contact with Windows Live.

Outlook Hotmail Connector and HTTPS Support

The Outlook Hotmail Connector doesn’t support the HTTPS protocol. We are actively working on the issue with our colleagues in Windows Live.

Upgrading

Similar to previous releases, when Outlook (with the Hotmail Connector installed) is started, a prompt appears to upgrade to the latest release.

Outlook Connector installation dialog box

To manually install the Outlook Hotmail Connector, do the following:

  1. Go to the Microsoft Download Center using the applicable link for your computer.
  2. Download the setup file by clicking Download next to OutlookConnector.exe, and then save the file to your computer.
  3. Double-click the downloaded file.
  4. Follow the instructions on your screen to complete the installation.

How to verify what version you are running

Outlook 2007 and Office Outlook 2003 users

  1. Start Outlook.
  2. On the Outlook Hotmail Connector menu, click About Outlook Hotmail Connector.
  3. The version appears in the About Outlook Hotmail Connector dialog box. If the version is equal to or higher than 14.0.5139.5001, the latest version of Outlook Hotmail Connector is installed.

Outlook 2010 users

  1. Start Outlook.
  2. Click the File tab.
  3. Click the Additional Information button and select About Outlook Hotmail Connector. If you have multiple accounts you may have to select your Hotmail account from the menu at the top.
  4. The version appears in the About Outlook Hotmail Connector dialog box. If the version is equal to or higher than 14.0.5139.5001, the latest version of Outlook Hotmail Connector is installed.

On behalf of the entire Outlook Hotmail Connector team, thanks for trying the new Outlook Hotmail Connector!

–Alessio Roic

Outlook Senior Program Manager