Setting up an email account

Last change on 2024-07-18 • Created on 2020-01-20 • ID: KO-FD05F

How do I set up my email address from my web hosting package in an email client such as Thunderbird, Outlook or Apple Mail?

The process for setting up email accounts differs from one program to the next, but they all have the same basic settings. Most email clients are capable of finding the correct ports automatically. However, you can also configure ports manually. (The recommended settings are in bold):

  • User name: Your full mail address (e.g. info@your-domain.de)

  • Password: Your password for the mailbox

  • Incoming mail server: mail.your-server.de (literally!)

    • IMAP Receiving emails - all emails are stored on the server (recommended).

      • STARTTLS/TLS: 143
      • SSL: 993

    • POP3 Receiving emails - emails are deleted after they are fetched from the server.

      • STARTTLS/TLS: 110
      • SSL: 995

  • Outgoing mail server (SMTP): mail.your-server.de (literally!)

    • SMTP Sending emails
      • STARTTLS/TLS: 587
      • SSL: 465
      • (outdated) STARTTLS/TLS: 25

Other possible questions, problems, and how to solve them

My folder structure is not displayed correctly.

Microsoft Outlook - root folder path

If you use Microsoft Outlook, you may need to set the root folder for IMAP manually. Under "POP and IMAP Account Settings", choose "More Settings; Advanced; Folders". Insert INBOX into "Root folder path".

In newer Outlook versions, you need to set the root folder path via the transfer settings. To do this, press the key combination CTRL + ALT + S; Select the group (by default "All Accounts"); Edit; Select Mailbox; Account Properties; Advanced". Enter INBOX here in the "Root folder path" field.

I have connection problems.

Router configuration

Some routers use lists of what is often called ‘trusted mail servers’. Other manufacturers or models also use terms like 'whitelisted' or 'allowed mail servers' for this. If you have connection problems, please check in the router configuration whether you need to add our server there.

I don't know which SMTP port to use. / I don't know which port to use for sending emails.

  • Port 587:

Port 587 is intended for email clients such as Thunderbird, Outlook or Apple Mail to send emails to the mail server. It is the official port for client-to-server communication. Using port 587 usually requires authentication (user name and password) as it is intended for authenticated SMTP transmissions. This is different from server-to-server communication, which often does not require authentication.

  • Port 465:

Port 465 was originally used for SMTPS (SMTP over SSL), but was made obsolete as a standard in 1998. However, it is still used by some servers for transmission with a secure TLS connection. Since port 465 is no longer considered a standard, some mail servers and clients may not support it. This can lead to connection problems when using this port. We therefore recommend using port 587.

  • Port 25:

The default port for server-to-server communication (mail relay) in the SMTP protocol is port 25. This is the port that receiving mail servers expect and normally use for receiving emails from other mail servers. Many ISPs and networks block or monitor traffic on port 25 to prevent spam and misuse.

Are my emails E2E encrypted? (end-to-end encryption)

Although the emails are sent to the mail server via encrypted connections, in order to have E2E encryption, the content of the email must be encrypted for the recipient. You need to set this up in the email program you want to use, and it is independent of the sending server. If you use email programs such as Thunderbird, Apple Mail or Outlook, you will find the corresponding settings such as OpenPGP or S/MIME there. If you use our webmail, you will find the necessary settings in our Webmail FAQ

I would like to send emails from the PHP scripts of my website (such as WordPress).

Emails to external servers can only be transferred to port 587. Otherwise, the local MTA can be used.

When sending emails directly from your website scripts, make sure to set all headers correctly. If the headers are not set correctly, the email may "look" like spam, and it gets incorrectly recognised as spam. This often happens if the emails are generated directly from the scripts on your website. If you use PHP's "mail()" function, please pay special attention to its 4th and 5th optional parameters for setting additional headers (especially the "envelope-from" in the 5th parameter). Example:

#------------%<------------%<------------
mail('recipient@example.com',
     'subject',
     'message',
     'From: sender@example.com',
     '-f sender@example.com'
);
#------------%<------------%<------------

See also: http://php.net/manual/function.mail.php

For the PHPMailer library, you can use the function "SetFrom" instead: $mail->SetFrom('sender@example.com', 'Name Surname'). The software you are using may also have a similar setting option.

Table of Contents