Apple Mail app - account settings update after provider change

[SysGuest]

Hi, here's my conundrum.
I'm helping a user that has recently changed email provider. Same domain, same email address, just different provider.
With the old provider he had his email account setup in the Macs apple mail app in POP.
To keep a clean and clutter free interface on apple mail, is it possible to just update the email account's settings with the new incoming/outgoing server settings and credentials?
Would this maintain the old email folder structure and all the emails that were received and downloaded from the old server?

 

[Apple_Robert]

It won't hurt anything to try. What you propose sometimes works in Apple Mail, albeit it with slim success (from my experience). More than likely, you will need to set up a new account, which should be easy to do.

 

[KaliYoni]

If the new email provider is a POP connection, you probably can update the server settings within Mail. Go to Preferences/Accounts/Server Settings. However, if the new mail server uses IMAP, you probably will have to set up a new account, as Apple_Robert said, in Finder/System Preferences/Internet Accounts.

(I'm on Mojave. The locations or names of settings may differ slightly on other versions of macOS.)

 

[BrianBaughn]

Back up the email before you do any changes to the original account!

 

[SysGuest]

Back up the email before you do any changes to the original account!

Good point, though that ship might've already sailed.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to do it before going ahead. (I know, i should've known better).

It won't hurt anything to try. What you propose sometimes works in Apple Mail, albeit it with slim success (from my experience). More than likely, you will need to set up a new account, which should be easy to do.

what do you mean it sometimes works, albeit with slim success?

If the new email provider is a POP connection, you probably can update the server settings within Mail. Go to Preferences/Accounts/Server Settings. However, if the new mail server uses IMAP, you probably will have to set up a new account, as Apple_Robert said, in Finder/System Preferences/Internet Accounts.

(I'm on Mojave. The locations or names of settings may differ slightly on other versions of macOS.)

I setup the new email account with POP and it seems to have worked, though in the inbox only 5 emails remain(these are emails that are still present in the old providers server).
The user can't remember if there were more/said it's ok and doesn't matter as he doesnt use that mailbox.
But it worries me, as I'm not certain it was so empty before intervening.