Content

• Steps
• Advice

To receive mail in email clients such as Outlook, Thunderbird or email client on your device, you need to collect incoming mail server information, including the incoming mail server address, software port and protocol type. server (POP3 or IMAP). It sounds difficult, but in fact everything is available and very easy to find once you know where they are hidden.

Steps

Method 1 of 5: With email provided by your internet service provider

1. 

   Go to the website of your internet service provider (ISP). This is a website of a company providing internet connection and email service for you. Note that this method is only for users of email provided by their carrier and is not applicable to web-based email services (like Hotmail or Gmail).
   • For example, if you use the email address provided by Comcast Xfinity (eg [email protected]), go to http://www.xfinity.com. Centurylink users will visit http://www.centurylink.com.
   • There is a possibility that your carrier does not provide an email address to its users. This is usually stated on their website.

2. 

   
   
   Click the "Help" or "Support" link. These links are usually found in a prominent place on the websites of most carriers.

3. 

   Find "email". Type email into the search box and press ↵ Enter. Find the link with something similar to "Set up email software" among the results returned.
   • If there is no generic “email software” link, please click on one of the more specific links, such as “Setting up Outlook” or “Setting up Mac Mail” (Mac Mail Settings ). Any file that supports email setup instructions has incoming mail server information.
   • Xfinity users can click on the "Internet" link, then on "Email and Web Browsing". In the search results, click on “Using Email Client Programs with Comcast Email”.

4. 

   
   
   Decide whether to use POP3 or IMAP. It is possible that the carrier has both options, POP3 and IMAP. If you check your mail on multiple devices (such as phones and computers), use IMAP. If you only check mail on one computer or phone, you should use POP3.
   • Although almost all carriers offer the POP3 protocol, many of them do not support IMAP. Centurylink, for example, only supports POP3 protocol for home users.
   • If your goal is to receive messages sent to an email address provided by your carrier using a web-based email client like Gmail or Outlook, use POP3. Most carriers limit the amount of mailboxes at some point, and POP3 keeps your mailbox empty by deleting copies on your carrier's servers.

5. 

   
   
   Enter the port and mail server address in your email client. Most carriers use a standard POP3 port (110) for incoming mail. If your carrier supports secure POP, the port is usually 995. For your carrier that supports secure IMAP, this port is usually 993.
   • For example, Comcast Xfinity's POP3 server is mail.comcast.net, and its port is 110. If the mail software supports it, you can also use the secure POP protocol by switching to port 995.
   • Comcast Xfinity also offers IMAP in both conventional and secure formats. The server is imap.comcast.net and the port is 143 (or 993 in the case of IMAP secure).
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Method 2 of 5: In Gmail

1. 

   Choose between POP and IMAP. Gmail supports both POP and IMAP. This way, you can check Gmail on other apps.
   • IMAP is recommended for Gmail, because you can check email on gmail.com, and also mail client.
   • You can use POP, but be aware that once your mail reader shows you a message from Gmail, you won't be able to log into Gmail from your browser to read and reply to it.

2. 

   Turn on POP or IMAP in Gmail. Sign in to Gmail (in your web browser) and open the Settings menu. Click on the “Forwarding and POP / IMAP” link then select either “Enable IMAP” or “Enable POP”, depending on your needs. Click “Save Changes” when finished.

3. 

   Type in the incoming mail server name and port into your email software. The IMAP server is imap.gmail.com and port are 993. The POP server is pop.gmail.com and port 995.
   • The username and password for the mail setup is the same username and password that you use to log into Gmail.
   • Gmail only offers secure POP and IMAP.
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Method 3 of 5: On Hotmail / Outlook, Yahoo! Mail or iCloud Mail

1. 

   Choose between POP3 and SMTP. Hotmail / Outlook and Yahoo! Mail both have POP3 and IMAP incoming mail servers. iCloud only supports IMAP.
   • Select POP3 if you only plan to check email in one place (such as an application on your computer or phone).
   • Use IMAP if you want to read email in multiple applications (or both want to read email in an email client, and also want to use the web version of it (such as http://www.hotmail.com) to read and reply) .

2. 

   Configure POP3 settings for Hotmail / Outlook. IMAP, iCloud, and Yahoo! Mail can skip this step. If you want to use POP3, log in to Hotmail / Outlook on the web, click on the Options cog and select “Options” from the menu. Go to “Managing your account” and click on “Connect devices and apps with POP”. Select “Enable” under the POP field and click “Save”.

3. 

   Type the port and the address of the incoming mail server into your mail reader. For your safety, Outlook, iCloud, and Yahoo! all use only secure POP3 and IMAP connections.
   • Hotmail / Outlook POP3: pop-mail.outlook.com port 995
   • Hotmail / Outlook IMAP: imap-mail.outlook.com port 993
   • Yahoo! POP3: pop.mail.yahoo.com port 995
   • Yahoo! IMAP: imap.mail.yahoo.com port 993
   • iCloud IMAP: imap.mail.me.com port 993
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Method 4 of 5: With personal domain names

1. 

   Go to the website of your hosting hosting service - your webhosting. If you have your own domain name hosted on a webhosting provider's server, go to their website using your browser.

2. 

   Click on the "Help" or "Support" link. You can easily find your service provider's incoming mail server location on their support page.

3. 

   Search with the phrase "incoming mail server". Find the results returned something similar to “Setting up your email software” and tap on it: It will include incoming and outgoing mail server settings.
   • If you use Hostgator or Bluehost (as well as most other webhosting providers), your incoming mail server is mail.yename.com (replace “yourname.com” with your domain name). POP3 port is 110 and IMAP port is 143.
   • To use the secure POP or IMAP protocol on Hostgator, you need the hostname of the host that runs your site. Log in to Hostgator and run Cpanel. Find the server name next to the “Server Name” field on the left side of the screen. If the hostname is gator4054, your secure incoming mail server will be gator4054.hostgator.com. For a secure POP protocol, use port 995. The secure IMAP uses port 933.
   • Bluehost uses your.yename.com for secure POP and IMAP. For secure POP, use port 995. A secure IMAP uses port 993.
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Method 5 of 5: Check your incoming mail server

1. 

   Self-sending test letter. Once you have entered the port and the incoming mail server address, send a test message to your email address. If your email reader has a button called "Test Account Settings" like in Outlook, instead of doing this tutorial, you can simply click on that button.

2. 

   Check your email. Wait a while after sending the email yourself and checking for incoming mail.
   • If you use Gmail to receive IMAP or POP messages from another service, the message will arrive more slowly because Gmail only checks mail from other services about once an hour.To speed up, open your Gmail settings and click "Accounts and Import", scroll down to your POP3 or IMAP settings and select "Check mail now".
   • If there was an error sending the mail, your outgoing (SMTP) server setup is probably problematic. Verify the port and the SMTP address by going back to where to find the incoming mail server address and checking against what you entered into your email client.
     • Gmail's SMTP address is smtp.gmail.com, port 587 (or 465 for a secure connection).
     • Hotmail / Outlook's SMTP address is smtp.live.com, port 25. No dedicated security port.
     • Yahoo's SMTP address is smtp.mail.yahoo.com, port 465 or 587 (both secure).
     • ICloud's SMTP address is smtp.mail.me.com, port 587. No dedicated security port.

3. 

   Get help. If you get an error when trying to send or receive an email, finding the error online can help. There are many reasons that cause you to get errors, such as a domain name misconfiguration or authentication problems. If you have problems with your carrier or personal domain name, call the technical support department or look for any error messages you get on the service provider's website. advertisement

Advice

• If you are using a device or service that receives instant email or cloud email, chances are your incoming mail server is IMAP.
• Contact your carrier or your webhosting service provider if you have trouble connecting to their mail server.