Phone mail apps hide most of the technical settings behind an automatic setup that often fails for custom domains. Choosing manual setup from the start saves time.
Before you start
Have your email address, password, incoming and outgoing server names, ports and encryption settings to hand. Setting up mail on a phone with only half the details is an exercise in frustration.
iPhone and iPad
- Open Settings → Apps → Mail → Mail Accounts → Add Account. On older iOS versions this is Settings → Mail → Accounts → Add Account.
- Choose Other, then Add Mail Account. Don’t pick one of the big providers.
- Enter your name, email address, password and a description, then tap Next.
- Select IMAP at the top of the next screen.
- Fill in the Incoming Mail Server — host name, username (your full email address) and password.
- Fill in the Outgoing Mail Server. iOS labels the username and password as optional here. They are not — enter them, or you won’t be able to send.
- Tap Next and wait for verification. This can take up to a minute.
- Check the advanced settings under the account → SMTP → Primary Server, confirming SSL is on and the port is correct.
Android
Android varies between manufacturers, but the flow is broadly the same in Gmail and most built-in mail apps.
- Open your mail app and go to Settings → Add account.
- Choose Other or Personal (IMAP). Avoid the automatic provider options.
- Enter your email address and tap Manual setup rather than Next.
- Choose IMAP as the account type.
- Enter your password, then the incoming server details with the correct port and SSL/TLS.
- Enter the outgoing server details and make sure Require sign-in is ticked.
- Set your sync preferences — frequency, and whether to sync attachments over mobile data.
- Send yourself a test message and reply to it.
Getting sync settings right
- Sync frequency. Push or every 15 minutes suits most people. Checking every 5 minutes drains the battery for little benefit.
- How much mail to keep. One to three months on a phone is plenty. Syncing years of mail wastes storage and slows the app.
- Attachments over mobile data. Turn automatic attachment download off if your data is limited.
- Notifications. Consider notifying only for your inbox rather than every folder, or you’ll be alerted about filtered mail all day.
Battery draining after adding email?
Change from push to a 15- or 30-minute fetch interval and reduce the sync period to one month. Mail is one of the most common causes of unexpected battery drain on older phones.
Common phone email problems
| Symptom | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
| Sends on Wi-Fi, fails on mobile data | Some mobile networks block certain SMTP ports. Try port 587 or 465. |
| Password rejected | The username usually needs to be the full email address, not just the part before the @. |
| Mail arrives on phone but disappears from the laptop | One device is configured as POP3 and removing mail from the server. Switch both to IMAP. |
| Cannot send, no error shown | Outgoing username and password were left blank — common on iPhone, where they’re marked optional. |
| Old mail missing | Sync period is set to a short window. Increase it, or search on the server. |
Still not working? Contact our support team with your device type and the exact error message.