How to set up a mail account using IMAP on Apple Mail

This guide explains how to add an IMAP email account to the Mail app on a Mac. IMAP is the option we recommend for almost everyone, and because our servers support it, Mail can usually set it up automatically with just your email address and password.

Before you begin, make sure you have already created an email account in cPanel. You will need the email address and password from that step.

Why IMAP

IMAP keeps your email on the server and synchronises it across every device you use. Unlike POP, which downloads mail onto a single computer and removes it from the server, IMAP means:

• Your mail is the same everywhere. Your Mac, your phone, your tablet and Webmail all show the same mailbox.
• Actions sync automatically. Read, delete, file or reply to a message on your Mac and the change appears on every other device.
• Your mail is safe on the server. Because messages stay on the server, nothing is lost if your Mac is damaged, lost or reset.

Add the account

1. Open Mail. From the menu bar, click Mail, then Add Account. (If this is the first account on the Mac, the setup window opens automatically.)
2. Choose Other Mail Account at the bottom of the provider list, then click Continue.
3. Enter your Name (as you want it shown on outgoing messages), your full Email Address, and your email Password, then click Sign In.

Mail will verify the account against our servers and, in most cases, configure it as IMAP automatically. When it finishes, your new mailbox appears in the Mail sidebar and your messages begin to download. For most people that is the whole process.

If Mail asks for the settings manually

If Mail cannot verify the account automatically, it will show a settings screen for you to complete. Make sure the Account Type is set to IMAP, then enter the following.

Under Incoming Mail Server:

• Host Name - your mail server, typically mail.yourdomain.com
• User Name - your full email address
• Password - your email account password

Under Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP):

• Host Name - the same mail server
• User Name - your full email address
• Password - your email account password

Then click Sign In to finish.

You can find your exact server details, including ports and SSL settings, in cPanel under Email Accounts by clicking Connect Devices next to your address. Mail normally fills in the correct ports for you, so you should not need to enter them by hand.

Troubleshooting

• Cannot verify account name or password - check your password, and make sure the username is your full email address, not just the part before the @. Confirm you are using the email account password and not your cPanel password.
• Receives mail but cannot send - this is almost always the outgoing (SMTP) server. Check the host name, your full email address, and your password are all entered for the outgoing server, with SSL enabled.
• Cannot connect using SSL - Mail normally sets the right ports automatically, but if a connection fails you can check them under the account's Server Settings: incoming IMAP uses port 993 and outgoing SMTP uses port 465, both with SSL/TLS enabled.

If you are still stuck, open a support ticket with the exact error message shown and we will help.