Will Windows Live Mail work on Win 11 ?

I am moving from Windows 7 . I have a couple of accounts and !5 gigs of storage folders on WLM . I did historical searches here and there arent many posts but the last one is 2021. Can i move it over ??? . WLM lost support years ago. But i want to move it over to my new Win 11 desktop and have it working before i convert to Thunderbird or EmCLient. Even if it works i have to upgrade. I am using POP3

thanks

You can try moving that folder over to Windows 11 and see if it works. I'm not sure about that. Maybe someone else has input on that.


But, as a second option, Windows Live Mail should install on Windows 11:
Using the bing search engine, search for:

Will Windows Live Mail work on Win 11?

It will give you an AI response that it does work with Windows Essentials (that you can download) and install.
It will also give you directions on the steps on what to do on how to install it.
I don't know if your search history will show up though.

Thunderbird can import Windows Live Mail data, but only from the old Windows 7 machine where WLM is currently installed. WLM stores everything locally in .eml files and a message database, so a fresh install on Windows 11 won’t retrieve any of your old mail — especially since you’re using POP3.

Thunderbird imports the files, not the program.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/switching-thunderbird

bobbywin11 said:

I am moving from Windows 7 . I have a couple of accounts and !5 gigs of storage folders on WLM . I did historical searches here and there arent many posts but the last one is 2021. Can i move it over ??? . WLM lost support years ago. But i want to move it over to my new Win 11 desktop and have it working before i convert to Thunderbird or EmCLient. Even if it works i have to upgrade. I am using POP3

thanks

Click to expand...

Reaching far back into my archives, I've located a document titled "Backup Windows Live Mail 2011.docx" and attached it as a zip file.

It won't help you install WLM into Windows 11, but in case you are able to successsfully do so, perhaps using the steps in the document you could "restore" your setup and data files with a backup you've made from your Win 7 install .

Thanks
I can try it piecemeal

i think copying the WLM progam fila nd the Windows Live Mail folder from Appdata Windows can do
it. Seems the big issue was people trying WLM with outlook and Outlook security changed
in its handshake.

I abandoned WLM many years ago, not the greatest of Apps - 2 of my 6 Email Accounts would not work with IMAP and 2 had to be POP3 if I remember correctly.
It is very easy to change an App when using IMAP.

You should certainly consider moving on to 2026 Email Client Apps and modern protocol like IMAP. WLM is not up to modern security and authentication.

Currently I use New Outlook and Thunderbird, long term test, both work very well.

I'm a former user of Outlook Express > WLM > Mail App(Win 8/10) > New Outlook and Thunderbird(current Win 11).

Does thunderbird have close the the WLM look and feel ? with the emmail accounts on top left and below them the achives?
ALl the screen shots ive seen show one account. How about EM CLient ?
did you try that ? if so how did that look ?

I used WLM for many years for 4 different email accounts, 1 Outlook.com, 1 gmail, and 2 from my ISP. I also used it successfully in the first version of Windows 11 for a while, but eventually It quit receiving emails. I spent many hours trying to get it to work. Both Outlook.com and gmail.com required a more secure app.

I first went to Thunderbird which works well, but TB overwhelmed me with all its settings. Eventually I went with Outlook 2021 which is similar in appearance and mode of operation to WLM.

Whether WLM will work or not for you depends on what domain your email address is and how that domain handles its emails. Most email providers these days require an email application that supports modern authentication which has stricter security protocols and uses app passwords instead of user passwords. Thunderbird does support OA2 authentication. .
So more info is needed to give you a straight answer to the question "Will Windows Live Mail work in Win 11?"
Who is your email provider?

Switching to Thunderbird | Thunderbird Help

This article explains how you can switch to Thunderbird from your current mail application, such as Windows Mail, Outlook or also Mail on Mac OS and Evolution on Linux.

support.mozilla.org

bobbywin11 said:

Does thunderbird have close the the WLM look and feel ? with the emmail accounts on top left and below them the achives?
ALl the screen shots ive seen show one account. How about EM CLient ?
did you try that ? if so how did that look ?

Click to expand...

The answer is a very simple yes, for both.

Both can show Email Accounts listed top left and be expanded to various other Folders which include an Archive Folder.

I cannot vouch for similarities with WLM as I stopped using it at least a decade ago.
Never tried eM Client for the simple reason you only get 2 Accounts for free.

Too much editing out of personal info for worthwhile screen shots.