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How to Set Up Cox Email on Windows Mail

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Introduction

Getting your Cox email setup in the Windows 10 Mail program is fast and easy. This guide will walk you through, step by step, adding your Cox account and checking your email for the first time.
Before You Begin:
  • Have your Cox email address and Cox password.
Cox and Windows Mail

Cox Mail Settings

If you'd rather set up your mail yourself, these are the settings you will need:

Incoming IMAP Server
Incoming Mail Server Address imap.cox.net
Incoming Mail Server Port 993
SSL Yes
Username The first part of your email address
For example, if your email address is joe@cox.net, you would use joe.
Password Your Cox password
This is the same password you use to log into cox.net and access your account and billing information.
Outgoing SMTP Server
Outgoing Mail Server Address smtp.cox.net
Outgoing Mail Server Port SSL or SSL/TLS Encryption: 465
TLS only or no encryption: 587
Authentication Required Yes
Username The first part of your email address
For example, if your email address is joe@cox.net, you would use joe.
Password Your Cox password
This is the same password you use to log into cox.net and access your account and billing information.

1 Set Up Cox Mail on Windows Mail

Windows Mail attempts to guess settings for most mail providers, and unfortunately doesn't quite get it right for Cox. But, you can set it up manually and Windows Mail will work just fine.

  1. Open Windows Mail and choose to Add an account.
    Windows Mail
    First-Time Set UpSelect Add account.
    Welcome to Mail with Add account highlighted.
    Set Up with Other Mail Accounts
    1. Select Menu, then select Accounts.
      Menu
      Windows Mail Menu with Accounts highlighted.
    2. Select Add account.
      Manage Accounts with Add account highlighted.
  2. Select Advanced setup.
    Add an account with Advanced setup highlighted.
  3. Select Internet email.
    Add an account with Internet email highlighted.
  4. For Email address, enter your full email address. For User name, enter just the first part of your email address before the @ sign. Enter your Cox Password. For Account name, give your account a friendly name that you can recognize, such as Cox. For Send your messages using this name, enter your name or what you want people to see when they get email from you. For Incoming email server, enter imap.cox.net. For Account type, select IMAP4. For Outgoing (SMTP) email server, enter smtp.cox.net. Finally, make sure each of the four boxes are checked, then select Sign in at the bottom.
    Add an account first half of Internet email account settings.
    Add an account Internet email account second half of settings.
  5. Your account is all setup, select Done.
    Add an account setup successfully with Done highlighted.

2 Basic Use of Windows Mail

Windows Mail is a simple program to use, with the workflow going from left to right. What this means is you choose things on the left, then move a column to the right, choose something else, and move a column to the right to read or do something.

This guide will give you a brief overview of the three sections of Windows Mail, and the options in each one.

Menu Ribbon

On the left-hand side is the Menu Ribbon containing many of the major areas you may wish to visit when you are working with your Mail.
Windows Mail with Menu Ribbon highlighted.

Menu
Windows 10 MenuExpands the menu with text descriptions, favorite folders, etc.Windows Mail with Menu expanded and highlighted.
New Mail
New MailAllows you to compose a new mail message to someone.Windows Mail with new mail message highlighted.
Accounts
AccountsIf you have multiple mail accounts, you can choose which account you are working with.Windows Mail with Accounts menu highlighted.
Folders
FoldersAllows you to choose what folder of mail you are in, such as a subfolder in your Inbox for organization, or the Trash if you've deleted something on accident.Windows Mail with Folders menu highlighted.
Mail
MailMicrosoft considers Mail part of a suite of communication applications, this reminds you where you are.Windows Mail main window
Calendar
CalendarOpen the Calendar app to organize appointments.Calendar App
People
PeopleOpen the people app to manage your Contacts.Windows 10 People app
To-Do
To-DoOpens the Tasks app to create to-do lists.Microsoft To Do app
Settings
SettingsChange settings in the Mail program, such as customizing how often it checks for new mail, or the background image.Windows Mail with Settings menu highlighted.

Messages Pane

Just after the Menu ribbon, you will see your Messages Pane, where you're shown a small icon (a picture if the contact has one, otherwise just their initials), the sender's name, the Subject, and the first little bit of the message itself as a preview. It's organized by date, and shows the time the message came in on the right if it was recently.
Windows Mail with Messages pane highlighted.

Items in bold haven't been opened yet. Normal items have been opened.

At the top are the following options:

Search
SearchAllows you to search through your messages.
Sync
SyncRefreshes your messages, and checks-in any new messages right away.
Selection Mode
Selection ModeMost useful when you want to delete a lot of messages, Selection Mode will let you put checks next to messages to select multiple pieces of mail, and either delete, move, copy, print, or any other "bulk" task to a bunch of messages at once.

In addition, when you move your mouse over any mail in this list, three other icons appear.

Archive
ArchiveMove the message to the special Archive folder, so you can save an important message, but it won't be synced to your computer all the time, and won't show up in your inbox to get in your way.

You can show archived messages again by choosing Folders, then All Mail.
Delete
TrashMoves the message to the Trash.

You can always access your Trash by choosing Folders, then Trash.
Flag
FlagAllows your to flag a message so you know to look back over it later.

Composing and Sending an Email

Select the + from the Menu Ribbon, and the far-right pane will change to allow you to write an email.
New Mail
Windows Mail with New Message button and pane highlighted.

Generally speaking, you will need to put in the other person's email address for To, the Subject of your email, and then the body of your email. When you are done, select Send in the top-right corner.
Email composition pane with To, From, Body, and Send button highlighted.

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Getting your Cox email setup in the Windows 10 Mail program is fast and easy. This guide will walk you through, step by step, adding your Cox account and checking your email for the first time.
Before You Begin:
  • Have your Cox email address and Cox password.
Cox and Windows Mail

Cox Mail Settings

If you'd rather set up your mail yourself, these are the settings you will need:

Incoming IMAP Server
Incoming Mail Server Address imap.cox.net
Incoming Mail Server Port 993
SSL Yes
Username The first part of your email address
For example, if your email address is joe@cox.net, you would use joe.
Password Your Cox password
This is the same password you use to log into cox.net and access your account and billing information.
Outgoing SMTP Server
Outgoing Mail Server Address smtp.cox.net
Outgoing Mail Server Port SSL or SSL/TLS Encryption: 465
TLS only or no encryption: 587
Authentication Required Yes
Username The first part of your email address
For example, if your email address is joe@cox.net, you would use joe.
Password Your Cox password
This is the same password you use to log into cox.net and access your account and billing information.

Windows Mail attempts to guess settings for most mail providers, and unfortunately doesn't quite get it right for Cox. But, you can set it up manually and Windows Mail will work just fine.

  1. Open Windows Mail and choose to Add an account.
    Windows Mail
    First-Time Set UpSelect Add account.
    Welcome to Mail with Add account highlighted.
    Set Up with Other Mail Accounts
    1. Select Menu, then select Accounts.
      Menu
      Windows Mail Menu with Accounts highlighted.
    2. Select Add account.
      Manage Accounts with Add account highlighted.
  2. Select Advanced setup.
    Add an account with Advanced setup highlighted.
  3. Select Internet email.
    Add an account with Internet email highlighted.
  4. For Email address, enter your full email address. For User name, enter just the first part of your email address before the @ sign. Enter your Cox Password. For Account name, give your account a friendly name that you can recognize, such as Cox. For Send your messages using this name, enter your name or what you want people to see when they get email from you. For Incoming email server, enter imap.cox.net. For Account type, select IMAP4. For Outgoing (SMTP) email server, enter smtp.cox.net. Finally, make sure each of the four boxes are checked, then select Sign in at the bottom.
    Add an account first half of Internet email account settings.
    Add an account Internet email account second half of settings.
  5. Your account is all setup, select Done.
    Add an account setup successfully with Done highlighted.

Windows Mail is a simple program to use, with the workflow going from left to right. What this means is you choose things on the left, then move a column to the right, choose something else, and move a column to the right to read or do something.

This guide will give you a brief overview of the three sections of Windows Mail, and the options in each one.

Menu Ribbon

On the left-hand side is the Menu Ribbon containing many of the major areas you may wish to visit when you are working with your Mail.
Windows Mail with Menu Ribbon highlighted.

Menu
Windows 10 MenuExpands the menu with text descriptions, favorite folders, etc.Windows Mail with Menu expanded and highlighted.
New Mail
New MailAllows you to compose a new mail message to someone.Windows Mail with new mail message highlighted.
Accounts
AccountsIf you have multiple mail accounts, you can choose which account you are working with.Windows Mail with Accounts menu highlighted.
Folders
FoldersAllows you to choose what folder of mail you are in, such as a subfolder in your Inbox for organization, or the Trash if you've deleted something on accident.Windows Mail with Folders menu highlighted.
Mail
MailMicrosoft considers Mail part of a suite of communication applications, this reminds you where you are.Windows Mail main window
Calendar
CalendarOpen the Calendar app to organize appointments.Calendar App
People
PeopleOpen the people app to manage your Contacts.Windows 10 People app
To-Do
To-DoOpens the Tasks app to create to-do lists.Microsoft To Do app
Settings
SettingsChange settings in the Mail program, such as customizing how often it checks for new mail, or the background image.Windows Mail with Settings menu highlighted.

Messages Pane

Just after the Menu ribbon, you will see your Messages Pane, where you're shown a small icon (a picture if the contact has one, otherwise just their initials), the sender's name, the Subject, and the first little bit of the message itself as a preview. It's organized by date, and shows the time the message came in on the right if it was recently.
Windows Mail with Messages pane highlighted.

Items in bold haven't been opened yet. Normal items have been opened.

At the top are the following options:

Search
SearchAllows you to search through your messages.
Sync
SyncRefreshes your messages, and checks-in any new messages right away.
Selection Mode
Selection ModeMost useful when you want to delete a lot of messages, Selection Mode will let you put checks next to messages to select multiple pieces of mail, and either delete, move, copy, print, or any other "bulk" task to a bunch of messages at once.

In addition, when you move your mouse over any mail in this list, three other icons appear.

Archive
ArchiveMove the message to the special Archive folder, so you can save an important message, but it won't be synced to your computer all the time, and won't show up in your inbox to get in your way.

You can show archived messages again by choosing Folders, then All Mail.
Delete
TrashMoves the message to the Trash.

You can always access your Trash by choosing Folders, then Trash.
Flag
FlagAllows your to flag a message so you know to look back over it later.

Composing and Sending an Email

Select the + from the Menu Ribbon, and the far-right pane will change to allow you to write an email.
New Mail
Windows Mail with New Message button and pane highlighted.

Generally speaking, you will need to put in the other person's email address for To, the Subject of your email, and then the body of your email. When you are done, select Send in the top-right corner.
Email composition pane with To, From, Body, and Send button highlighted.

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