Set Up Yahoo Mail in Your Email Program

To set Yahoo Mail as the default email on your Windows computer, set up an email client to access your Yahoo Mail account first. Once the email program is allowed to download your messages and send emails through your account, you can tell Windows to make it your default email program.

Open Mail and select the Settings gear icon in the lower-left corner. Select Manage accounts on the right side. Select Add account. Select Yahoo from the list. Follow the on-screen prompts to sign in to Yahoo Mail. You need to enter your username and password. Select Agree to give the program access to your Yahoo account. Select Yes when asked if Windows should remember your Yahoo Mail password. Select Done to close.

Change the Default Email Program in Windows

Now that Yahoo Mail is configured in your email program, you need to tell Windows that Yahoo Mail should be your default email app. The steps for doing so are different in every version of Windows, so pay close attention to all the text boxes below.

Open Control Panel. The quickest way to get to Control Panel in any version of Windows is through the Run dialog box. Enter the control command via the WIN+R keyboard shortcut. Select Programs, or skip this step if you don’t see that option. Select Default Programs. Select Associate a file type or protocol with a program. In Windows 10, select the icon under Email. In Windows 8 and Windows 7, select MAILTO from the list and select Change program. The quickest way to find this option in the list is to select one of the entries and then press the M key on the keyboard. Select the email program that’s using Yahoo Mail.