Download Update for Outlook Express 6.0 on Microsoft Windows XP (KB918766) from Official Microsoft Download Center Surface Book 2 Powerhouse performance in the ultimate laptop.
Microsoft's Outlook Express is a discontinued product that was included with Internet Explorer 3 through 6. The last version, Outlook Express 6, shipped with Windows XP. A beta version of Outlook Express 7 was originally planned for Windows 7, but it was replaced by Windows Mail.
Outlook Express is not the same as Microsoft Outlook, another popular email service and software program from Microsoft.
Outlook Express for Windows XP
Outlook Express was a free email program that shipped with early versions of Windows. You can no longer download Outlook Express from Microsoft and it's no longer supported with regular bug and security patches.
However, it is still available for download from Softpedia. Please know, however, that it only works with Windows XP and because it hasn't been updated in a very long time, it likely suffers from many security issues. You're much better off moving away from Outlook Express as your email client and instead use Microsoft Outlook or another popular client.
Outlook Express for Windows 10, 8, 7, & Vista
Microsoft did not develop Outlook Express for Windows versions later than Windows XP and never intended it to be used in those versions of Windows.
In Windows 10 and Windows 8, the included mail client is called Mail. Windows 7 did not include a default mail client but Windows Live Mail was available via Windows Essentials. In Windows Vista, Windows Mail was the included client.
If you really miss the Outlook Express experience, you can try these third-party substitutes but we highly recommend you move on to another, more modern client, as we mentioned above:
- Outlook Express for Win 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 is available from Run As XP. If you use this program with Windows 10, each time an automatic update happens, OE is removed and must be reinstalled.
- OE Classic is a program similar to Outlook Express and billed as a replacement for it. OE Classic is free and available for all Windows versions from Windows 2000 through Windows 10.
How to Set Outlook Express as Your Default Email Client
If you have an old copy of Outlook Express or are able to download it, you can still set it as the default Windows email program even though it has been discontinued.
How you go about this differs depending on the version of Windows you are running.
Windows 10 & 8
- Click the Start menu.
- Select Settings and type 'Default' into the search box.
- Select Default app settings.
- Click on email and select Outlook Express from the list of available email apps.
Windows 7 & Vista
- Click Start.
- Enter 'default programs' in the search box.
- Click Default Programs.
- Click on Set your default programs and highlight Outlook Express.
- Click on Set this program as default.
- Click on OK.
Windows XP
- Launch Internet Explorer.
- Click on Tools/Internet Options from the menu.
- Go to the Programs tab.
- Confirm that Outlook Express is selected under Email.
- Click OK.
Again, not to belabor the point, but the very best course of action would be to abandon Outlook Express entirely and move on to an email client or web-based email that's being continually improved.
Active27 days ago
I would like to see Outlook Express installed with Windows 8, or at least be able to download it and install it. I need it in the 64 bit version.
slhck172k4949 gold badges478478 silver badges494494 bronze badges
user199608user199608
2 Answers
There's no Outlook Express for Windows 8.
In fact, Outlook Express has been long superseded by Windows Mail in Vista, which in turn was superseded by Windows Live Mail. The latest version of Outlook Express was included in the 2008 Windows XP SP3.
slhckslhck172k4949 gold badges478478 silver badges494494 bronze badges
Outlook Express does not exist in Windows 8. It has been abandoned since Windows Vista. On Windows Vista it has been replaced by built-in Windows Mail which has been removed on Windows 7. For Windows 7, Microsoft offered Windows Live Mail as an download option, part of the Windows Live Essentials package. On Windows 8 a Mail App for Windows has been offered.
If you look outside of Microsoft offering you can find quite a lot of different or replacement programs (some also resemble the user-interface of the Outlook Express).
Microsoft options:
- Windows Live Mail (no longer available)
- Outlook (part of the Microsoft Office package)
- Mail App (Built in Windows 8 and Windows 10)
- Outlook.com (Web mail, former Live / MSN / Hotmail)
Non-Microsoft options:
- OE Classic (Replacement for Outlook Express - your best option)
Many, many more are compared on Wikipedia Comparison page.
Coder12345Coder1234543911 gold badge66 silver badges1212 bronze badges
protected by Community♦Aug 2 '13 at 19:01
Outlook Express For Windows 10 Free Downl…
Thank you for your interest in this question. Because it has attracted low-quality or spam answers that had to be removed, posting an answer now requires 10 reputation on this site (the association bonus does not count).
Would you like to answer one of these unanswered questions instead?
Would you like to answer one of these unanswered questions instead?