How to Add an Email Account in Mail for iPhone and iPad

Your settings

Keep these open while you follow the steps. The server name is in the account details we sent when we created your mailbox. Copy it exactly rather than guessing: a server name that is close but not exact is the most common cause of a security certificate warning.

Account type	IMAP
Username	Your full email address, for example [email protected]
Password	Your mailbox password
Incoming server	The mail server name in the account details we sent you
Incoming port	993, security SSL/TLS
Outgoing server (SMTP)	The same mail server name
Outgoing port	465, security SSL/TLS
Outgoing authentication	Required. Use the same username and password

Choose IMAP whenever you are offered a choice. IMAP keeps your mail on the server, so your phone, laptop and webmail all show the same inbox. POP (port 995, SSL/TLS) downloads mail to one device and removes it from the server, so only use it if we have asked you to.

Add the account

1. Open Settings, then Apps, Mail and Mail Accounts. On versions before iOS 18, go to Settings, Mail and Accounts.
2. Tap Add Account, then Other, then Add Mail Account.
3. Enter your name, your full email address, your password and a description such as “Work”, then tap Next.
4. Make sure IMAP is selected at the top of the next screen.
5. Fill in both sections:
   • Incoming Mail Server: the server name we sent you as the host name, your full email address as the user name, and your password
   • Outgoing Mail Server: the same host name, user name and password. The phone labels these as optional, but fill them in anyway. Sending needs them.
6. Tap Next and wait while the account is checked, then tap Save.

Confirm the secure ports

1. Go back to Mail Accounts and tap your new account, then tap the account address at the top.
2. Tap Advanced. Check that Use SSL is on and the server port is 993. Go back.
3. Tap SMTP, then the primary server. Check that Use SSL is on, Authentication is Password, and the server port is 465.
4. Tap Done.

Open Mail and send yourself a short test message to confirm both directions work.

If something goes wrong

• "Username or password is incorrect." The username is your whole email address, not just the part before the @. Retype the password rather than pasting it, since a pasted space at the end is enough to fail.
• A warning that the server's identity cannot be verified. Check the server name against the one we sent you, letter for letter. Do not accept the warning permanently; it is there to protect your password.
• Mail arrives but will not send. Open the outgoing (SMTP) settings and make sure authentication is turned on with the same username and password, on port 465 with SSL/TLS.
• Mail shows on one device but not the others. The account was probably added as POP. Talk to us before you remove it, because mail that only exists on that device can be lost.
• Forgot your password or never received the account details? We can reset it or resend them.

Still stuck? Get in touch and tell us which app and device you are using. We can walk you through it.