If you are using Outlook 2016 version 16.0.8431.2079 (released on September 12th) and try to set up a new account using Exchange as an account option, you will notice that you cannot. This is because with the September 12th update, Microsoft introduced something called “Simplified Account Creation”. The purpose of this change was to make it easier for customers using their Office365 service to set up their Office365 accounts in Outlook 2016. What it also did, however, is make it more difficult for people NOT using Office365 to set up their own email accounts when using Exchange ActiveSync.
In order to get around this imposed restriction, a Registry change is necessary. We have a file from SmarterTools that you can run on your local machine that will modify the necessary registry settings. No reboot is required. To make this change, do the following:
- First, make sure you close down Outlook 2016.
- Next, make a back up of your Registry. If you’re unsure of what this means, you should probably ask for assistance.
- Next, you will need to download a file from our site: DisabledSimplifiedAccountCreation.zip. You can save the file anywhere on your machine.
- Once it has been downloaded, you will need to extract the .REG file. Then, double-click on it to quickly modify the Registry.
- Now, you can re-open Outlook 2016 and add your new account as needed.
If you’d rather set up things manually, you can review the Microsoft Support document: How to disable Simplified Account Creation in Outlook 2016.