Connect Your Email — Complete Guide Series
Every email app - even ones not covered in this series - can connect to your mailbox as long as you give it the right IMAP (incoming) and SMTP (outgoing) settings. This page explains what each field means so you can fill in any client's manual setup screen with confidence.
What You Need
| Full email address | e.g. info@yourdomain.com - used as the username for both IMAP and SMTP |
|---|---|
| Mailbox password | set when the mailbox was created on My Emails |
| Incoming server (IMAP) | hostname shown on My Emails |
| Incoming port | 993 (IMAP over SSL/TLS) |
| Outgoing server (SMTP) | hostname shown on My Emails |
| Outgoing port | 465 (SMTP over SSL) or 587 (STARTTLS) - try 465 first |
| Authentication | Normal password, using the full email address as username |
IMAP vs POP3 - Which Should You Choose?
Always choose IMAP when the client offers a choice. IMAP keeps every message, folder and read/unread flag stored on the server and mirrored across all your devices. POP3 downloads mail to a single device and, depending on its settings, can remove it from the server - meaning your phone and desktop end up out of sync or missing messages.
SSL/TLS vs STARTTLS
Both encrypt the connection between your app and the mail server - the difference is only in how the encrypted connection is established:
- SSL/TLS (sometimes labeled "SSL"): the connection is encrypted from the very first byte. Typically used on port 465 for SMTP and 993 for IMAP.
- STARTTLS: the connection starts unencrypted, then upgrades to TLS. Typically used on port 587 for SMTP.
Either is secure - use whichever the client supports for the port you're using.
Filling a Generic "Manual Setup" Form
Most desktop and mobile clients ask for the same handful of fields, sometimes with slightly different labels. Here's how the labels usually map:
- "Account type" / "Protocol" → choose IMAP
- "Incoming mail server" / "IMAP host" → your IMAP hostname
- "Outgoing mail server" / "SMTP host" → your SMTP hostname
- "Requires SSL" / "Use secure connection" → enable it
- "Username" / "Account name" → your full email address, not just the local part before the @
info) instead of the full address (info@yourdomain.com) as the username. Almost every "authentication failed" error traces back to this.