Log in to your email with IMAP

This article is for anyone with a business mailbox from Viralistic who wants to read and send email on a phone, laptop or desktop app. You add the account with IMAP for incoming mail and SMTP for outgoing mail, so your email stays in sync on every device. Keep your welcome email at hand: it contains your server details.

What you need

• Your full email address, for example name@yourcompany.com.
• Your mailbox password.
• The server name from your welcome email. Can’t find it? Ask us.

Why IMAP and not POP

IMAP keeps your email on the server and shows the same mailbox on every device. Read a message on your phone and it shows as read on your laptop. Folders, sent mail and deleted items stay in sync too.

POP downloads mail to one device and often removes it from the server. That works with one computer, but with a phone and a laptop you end up with mail scattered across devices and no shared Sent folder. Choose IMAP whenever an app asks.

Your settings

Setting	Incoming (IMAP)	Outgoing (SMTP)
Server	The server from your welcome email	The server from your welcome email
Port	993	465 (or 587)
Encryption	SSL/TLS	SSL/TLS on port 465, STARTTLS on port 587
Username	Your full email address	Your full email address
Password	Your mailbox password	Your mailbox password
Authentication	Password	Required, same username and password

Note: Many apps try to find your settings automatically. Let them try, then compare the result with this table. Automatic detection sometimes picks the wrong server, or POP instead of IMAP.

Apple Mail on Mac

1. Open Mail. In the menu bar, choose Mail, then Add Account.
2. Choose Other Mail Account and continue.
3. Enter your name, full email address and password, then click Sign In.
4. If Mail cannot verify the account, extra fields appear. Set the account type to IMAP and enter the incoming and outgoing server from the table.
5. Choose the apps to use with this account and click Done.

To check ports later, open Mail settings, go to Accounts, select the account and open Server Settings. Turn off automatic connection settings if you need to enter the port yourself.

iPhone and iPad

1. Open Settings and go to Mail (on recent iOS versions: Apps, then Mail).
2. Tap Mail Accounts, then Add Account.
3. Tap Other, then Add Mail Account.
4. Enter your name, email address, password and a description, then tap Next.
5. Select IMAP at the top of the next screen.
6. Enter the incoming and outgoing server. Use your full email address as the username both times.
7. Tap Next, wait for the check, then tap Save.

Outlook on Windows or Mac

Outlook comes in several versions, so menu names differ slightly.

1. Open Outlook and find the option to add an account. In classic Outlook for Windows it is under File. In new Outlook and Outlook for Mac it is under Settings, then Accounts.
2. Enter your email address and continue.
3. When Outlook asks for the account type, choose IMAP. If it does not ask, look for advanced or manual setup.
4. Enter the incoming and outgoing server, ports and encryption from the table.
5. Enter your password and finish the setup.

Gmail app on Android

1. Open the Gmail app, tap your profile picture, then Add another account.
2. Tap Other.
3. Enter your email address and tap Manual setup.
4. Choose Personal (IMAP).
5. Enter your password.
6. Fill in the incoming server settings, then the outgoing server settings, from the table. Keep sign-in required for outgoing mail.
7. Choose your sync options, give the account a name and finish.

Thunderbird

1. Open Thunderbird. On first start it offers to set up an email account. Otherwise, open the main menu and choose to add a new mail account.
2. Enter your name, email address and password.
3. Click Configure manually.
4. Enter the incoming (IMAP) and outgoing (SMTP) server, port and encryption from the table. Use your full email address as the username for both.
5. Click Re-test, then Done.

Check that it works

1. Send a test email from the new account to another address you own, such as a personal mailbox.
2. Reply to it from that other address.
3. Confirm the reply arrives, and that your test message shows in the Sent folder on all your devices.

If something fails, see Fix common email problems.

Tip: Store your mailbox password in a password manager. You need it again for every new device.

Next steps

• Fix common email problems
• Share logins and access safely
• Process incoming email with the IMAP trigger
• Get help fast