How to set up your business email in Outlook, iPhone and Android

IMAP or POP: which one to choose

Before you open Outlook or your phone, decide how you will receive email. There are two protocols, and the choice changes how your messages behave:

• IMAP keeps messages on the server and syncs them. Whatever you read, delete or move on your phone shows up the same way on your computer and in webmail.
• POP3 downloads messages to a single device and, depending on the settings, deletes them from the server. If that computer breaks, the email goes with it.

Almost everyone uses email on more than one device these days, so the short answer is IMAP. Only use POP if your mailbox is tiny and you need everything stored on one computer. For sending, both cases use SMTP.

The connection settings and where to find them

Every email app asks for the same details. These are the usual values for cPanel email; the exact server name can vary, so confirm it in your cPanel or in your welcome email.

The username is always the full address, for example sales@yourbusiness.com, not just “sales”. The password is the mailbox password, not your cPanel password. To see the exact settings for your account:

1. Log in to cPanel and open Email Accounts.
2. Next to the account you want to set up, click Connect Devices.
3. Look at Secure SSL/TLS Settings: it lists the incoming server, the outgoing server and the recommended ports.
4. The same page offers auto-configuration scripts for Outlook and a profile for iPhone and Mac that fill in the details for you.

Set up email in Outlook

Microsoft currently ships several versions of Outlook side by side. The settings are the same; only the place where you enter them changes.

Classic Outlook for Windows

1. Open Outlook and go to File > Add Account.
2. Type your full email address, open Advanced options and check Let me set up my account manually.
3. Choose IMAP.
4. For incoming mail enter mail.yourbusiness.com, port 993 and SSL/TLS encryption.
5. For outgoing mail enter the same server, port 465 and SSL/TLS (or 587 with STARTTLS).
6. Enter the mailbox password and click Connect.

New Outlook for Windows

1. Go to Settings > Accounts > Email accounts > Add account.
2. Type your email address. If it can't detect the settings, pick IMAP as the account type.
3. Open Show more and enter the servers, ports and encryption from the table above.
4. Confirm and wait for the folders to sync.

Keep in mind that the new Outlook syncs IMAP accounts through Microsoft's cloud, so the first sync can take a few minutes.

Outlook for Mac

1. Go to Outlook > Settings > Accounts and click +.
2. Type your email address and, when asked for the provider, choose IMAP/POP.
3. Enter username, password, servers and ports, then save.

Set up email on iPhone and iPad

The fastest route is to download the profile from Connect Devices in cPanel by opening it in Safari. If you'd rather do it by hand:

1. Open Settings > Apps > Mail > Mail Accounts > Add Account.
2. Tap Other > Add Mail Account and enter your name, email, password and a description.
3. Select IMAP and, for both the incoming and outgoing mail server, enter mail.yourbusiness.com with your full email address as the username.
4. Tap Next and save. To check the ports, open the account, tap SMTP and then Advanced: it should show 993 and 465 with SSL turned on.

Set up email on Android and the Gmail app

On Android the most common choice is the Gmail app, which accepts accounts on any domain over IMAP. The same steps work in the Gmail app for iPhone.

1. Open Gmail, tap your profile picture and choose Add another account > Other.
2. Type your email address and tap Manual setup. Choose Personal (IMAP).
3. Enter the mailbox password.
4. For the incoming server enter mail.yourbusiness.com, port 993, security SSL/TLS.
5. For the outgoing server enter the same hostname, port 465, SSL/TLS, and leave Require sign-in turned on.
6. Pick how often to sync and finish.

If an app asks for the details as plain text, here is the summary:

Username:  sales@yourbusiness.com
Incoming:  mail.yourbusiness.com  IMAP  993  SSL/TLS
Outgoing:  mail.yourbusiness.com  SMTP  465  SSL/TLS
Fallback:  mail.yourbusiness.com  SMTP  587  STARTTLS
SMTP authentication: on, same username and password

Common errors and how to fix them

• Authentication failed. Make sure the username is the full email address and the password is the mailbox one. After several wrong attempts the server may block your IP for a while; wait a few minutes or ask us to unblock it.
• Invalid certificate warning. It shows up when the server name does not match its certificate. Use exactly the server shown in Connect Devices and check that your domain has an active SSL certificate; see what is an SSL certificate. Don't accept the warning permanently.
• You can send but not receive. Usually the incoming server or port is wrong, or your domain's MX records point somewhere else. Also check that the mailbox is not full.
• You receive but can't send. Turn on “my outgoing server requires authentication” and avoid port 25, which many internet providers block. Try 465 with SSL/TLS or 587 with STARTTLS.
• Sent emails don't show up on other devices. In the app, map the server's Sent folder as the sent items folder.

If your emails go out but land in spam, the issue is no longer your app but your domain: review SPF, DKIM and DMARC.