The previous post in this series covered creating your email account in cPanel and the IMAP vs POP3 decision. This one is the sequel: the actual step-by-step for getting that account working on your iPhone, Android phone, and computer — all showing the same inbox, all synced, all working the same way.
If you haven’t created the account yet, start there. If you have the account but it’s only working in webmail, you’re in the right place.
The settings you’ll need for all of these:
- Incoming (IMAP):
mail.yourdomain.com· Port 993 · SSL/TLS - Outgoing (SMTP):
mail.yourdomain.com· Port 465 · SSL/TLS - Username: your full email address
- Password: the one you set in cPanel
Replace yourdomain.com with your actual domain throughout. Keep this page open while you work through each device.
iPhone (iOS Mail)
- Open Settings → scroll down to Mail → tap Accounts → tap Add Account
- Tap Other at the bottom of the list
- Tap Add Mail Account
- Fill in: Name (your name as it appears to recipients), Email (your full address), Password, Description (something like “Work Email”)
- Tap Next — iOS will attempt to auto-configure. It usually fails for custom domains.
- Make sure IMAP is selected at the top
- Under Incoming Mail Server: Host Name
mail.yourdomain.com· Username: your full email · Password: your password - Under Outgoing Mail Server: Host Name
mail.yourdomain.com· Username: your full email · Password: your password - Tap Next → iOS will verify the settings. This takes a moment.
- Tap Save
Your inbox will now appear in the Mail app. New messages sync automatically. If iOS warns you about the certificate not matching, it’s usually because it’s trying to verify mail.yourdomain.com against the server’s SSL certificate. Tap Continue — or open a support ticket and we’ll give you the exact hostname to use instead.
iPhone tip: Go to Settings → Mail → Accounts → your new account → Account → Advanced and confirm the IMAP Path Prefix is empty and the SSL toggle is on for both incoming and outgoing. This saves a lot of troubleshooting later.
Android (Gmail App)
Android doesn’t have a native mail app the way iOS does — most Android phones use Gmail as the default mail client, which can handle non-Gmail accounts perfectly well via IMAP.
- Open the Gmail app
- Tap your profile picture in the top right → tap Add another account
- Select Other from the list of account types
- Enter your full email address → tap Next
- Select Personal (IMAP)
- Enter your password → tap Next
- Gmail will attempt to auto-detect settings. If it fails, enter manually:
Incoming server settings:
- Username: your full email address
- Password: your cPanel password
- Server:
mail.yourdomain.com - Port: 993
- Security type: SSL/TLS
Outgoing server settings:
- SMTP server:
mail.yourdomain.com - Port: 465
- Security type: SSL/TLS
- Require sign-in: checked
- Username: your full email address
- Password: your cPanel password
- Tap Next → Gmail verifies the connection
- Set your sync frequency and notification preferences
- Give the account a name (shown in the app) and enter your display name → tap Next
Your professional email now appears as a separate inbox in the Gmail app alongside your personal Gmail account. You can switch between them by tapping your profile picture.
Android tip: When composing a new email, tap the From field to switch which account you’re sending from. Make sure you’re sending from your professional address, not your personal Gmail, before you hit send.
Mac (Apple Mail)
- Open Mail → Mail menu → Settings (or Preferences on older macOS)
- Click the Accounts tab → click the + button at the bottom left
- Select Other Mail Account → click Continue
- Enter your name, email address, and password → click Sign In
- Apple Mail will attempt auto-configuration — it usually fails for custom domains. When it does, it’ll ask for server details.
- Account type: IMAP
- Incoming mail server:
mail.yourdomain.com - Click Sign In
After the account is created:
- Go to Settings → Accounts → Server Settings
- Under Incoming Mail Server: confirm port 993, TLS/SSL checked
- Under Outgoing Mail Server: confirm port 465, TLS/SSL checked
- Click Save
Mac tip: If Apple Mail keeps asking for your password, go to Keychain Access (search for it in Spotlight), find the entries for your mail server, and delete them. Let Mail re-enter them from scratch. This fixes most persistent authentication loops.
Windows (Outlook)
- Open Outlook → File → Add Account
- Enter your email address → click Connect
- Outlook will attempt auto-configuration. If it finds “Exchange” settings, dismiss that and select IMAP manually from the advanced options.
- Incoming mail: Server
mail.yourdomain.com· Port 993 · Encryption SSL/TLS - Outgoing mail: Server
mail.yourdomain.com· Port 465 · Encryption SSL/TLS - Click Next → enter your password → click Connect
If Outlook throws a certificate warning it’s verifying the hostname. If it persists, open a support ticket and we’ll give you the exact server hostname to use — it resolves immediately.
Outlook tip: Once the account is set up, go to File → Account Settings → Account Settings → select your account → Change → More Settings → Outgoing Server and make sure “My outgoing server requires authentication” is checked. Without this, Outlook may fail to send even if incoming works fine.
Windows (Mail App)
If you’re using the built-in Windows Mail app rather than Outlook:
- Open Mail → click the gear icon → Manage Accounts → Add account
- Select Other account (POP, IMAP)
- Enter your name, email address, and password → click Sign in
- If auto-setup fails, it’ll prompt for server details — enter the same IMAP/SMTP settings as above
Everything in Sync — What to Expect
Once all your devices are set up via IMAP, they all show the same mailbox. Read a message on your phone — it’s marked read everywhere. Move something to a folder on your laptop — it’s in that folder on your phone. Delete something — it’s gone across all devices.
The one thing to be aware of: IMAP syncs to the server, so if your hosting account has a storage limit, your mailbox counts against it. If you’re storing years of email and attachments in your inbox, it’s worth occasionally archiving or deleting what you don’t need. For most small business accounts the storage is generous enough that this never becomes an issue, but it’s worth knowing.
If you run into any issues getting a specific device connected, open a support ticket with the device type and the exact error message you’re seeing. Mail configuration issues are almost always solvable in one exchange once we can see what the client is actually reporting.