Mail. Connecting a mailbox to Apple Mail

A mailbox created with BeAdmin can be connected to the Mail app from Apple (Apple Mail) over IMAP and SMTP — on Mac and on iPhone. This article is a continuation of Mail. Connecting a mailbox to a mail client: it does not repeat the common server settings or the answers to typical problems, only the steps for both devices. The table of server settings is in the Server settings section.

What you need

You will need the mailbox address and password and the mail server address, for example mail.example.com. The password is shown only once, in the "Mailbox created" dialog, so you need to save it when you create the mailbox; if you did not, change the password. You can open the server address and the login at any time in the expanded mailbox — see Where to find the settings.

Mac

1. Open the Mail app and choose "Mail" > "Add Account" from the menu bar.
2. Enter the mailbox address, for example info@example.com, and click "Continue". In macOS 15 and earlier, a list of account types opens instead: choose "Other Mail Account" in it.
3. Follow the prompts and enter the mailbox password.
4. If Mail cannot detect the server settings itself, it asks you to enter them manually:
   • account type — IMAP;
   • incoming mail server and outgoing mail server — the mail server address, for example mail.example.com;
   • user name — the full mailbox address, for example info@example.com;
   • password — the mailbox password.

Mail picks the ports and encryption itself. To check that 993 and 465 with SSL/TLS are in use, choose "Mail" > "Settings" > "Accounts", select the mailbox, and open the "Server Settings" tab. If the ports are different, clear the "Automatically manage connection settings" checkbox and set port 993 for incoming mail and 465 for outgoing mail, with SSL/TLS encryption.

iPhone

1. Open "Settings", tap "Apps", then "Mail".
2. Tap "Mail Accounts", then "Add Account".
3. When iPhone asks for an email address, enter the mailbox address and tap "Next". Then tap "Add Other Account" and "Mail Account".
4. Enter your name, the mailbox address, the mailbox password, and a description — any name for the mailbox, under which it appears in the list. Tap "Next".
5. If iPhone does not find the server settings, it asks you to enter them manually. Choose IMAP as the account type and fill in the "Incoming Mail Server" and "Outgoing Mail Server" sections. In each of them, enter:
   • "Host Name" — the mail server address, for example mail.example.com;
   • "User Name" — the full mailbox address, for example info@example.com;
   • "Password" — the mailbox password.
6. Tap "Next", and once iPhone has verified the settings, tap "Save".

This form does not ask for ports.

Checking that it works

Send a message to the same mailbox: this checks both directions at once. It should go out without errors and appear in the "Inbox" folder — that means both outgoing (SMTP) and incoming (IMAP) mail work.

If a certificate warning appears

If Mail reports that it cannot verify the server's identity and offers to continue, do not continue: otherwise your password and messages would go to a server whose identity Mail has not verified. First check that the settings contain the mail server address, not the primary domain or an IP address. For other causes and how to fix them, see If the mail client warns about the certificate.

What's next

• Mail. Connecting a mailbox to a mail client — server settings and what to do if the mail client does not connect.
• Mail. Mailboxes, aliases, and domains — creating a mailbox and changing its password.