Outlook for Mac 2011: "An operation on the server timed out. Error code 3259" or "Could not connect to server check your account settings. Error code 3260" when using MSN account

Symptoms

If you try to configure Outlook for Mac to connect to an MSN, you may receive an error message:

An operation on the server timed out. The server may be down, overloaded, or there maybe too much server traffic. 

Could not retrieve mail.

Account name: <Your account name>

Error code: 3259

or

Could not connect to server check your account settings or make sure you can connect to your network. 

Error code 3260 

Cause

The POP settings are not correct.

Resolution

To configure you MSN account with Outlook for Mac, follow these steps: 

Modify the MSN POP3 account settings

  1. Start Outlook.
  2. Click Tools then select your MSN account.
  3. In the Incoming Server box, type pop3.live.com. 
  4. Change the port to 995. 
  5. In the Outgoing Server box, type smtp.live.com. 
  6. Change the port to 587. 
  7. Click More options.

    Incoming and Outgoing Server settings snapshot
  8. In the Authentication click to choose Use Incoming Server Info. 
  9. Close the window. 
  10. Retry send and receive.