IMAP, POP3 and SMTP: Set Up Business Email on Outlook, iPhone and Android

To set up a business mailbox on Outlook, iPhone or Android, choose IMAP (not POP3) for incoming mail, use SMTP for outgoing mail, and enter the server names, ports and login your email host gives you. For a typical cPanel mailbox that means IMAP on port 993 and SMTP on port 465, both with SSL/TLS, and your full email address as the username. IMAP keeps mail on the server, so every device shows the same inbox, sent items and folders.

This guide is for business owners and staff with email on cPanel hosting or another IMAP host. If your mailbox is on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, the apps usually set themselves up when you sign in with the address, and you rarely need manual settings.

#IMAP, POP3 and SMTP: which does what

Every mail app needs two connections: one to fetch mail (IMAP or POP3) and one to send it (SMTP). The choice that matters is IMAP or POP3.

The secure ports come from RFC 8314 (opens in a new tab), which says mail apps should connect to both reading and sending servers using encryption. POP3 still has a place if your hosting plan has tiny mailbox storage, but the downside is real: read a message on your phone and it may never appear on your laptop.

SMTP is what sends your mail. If you want to understand it properly, read what SMTP is and how it works.

#Before you start: collect your settings

Find your exact settings first, then you can use them on every device. On cPanel hosting, log in and go to Email, Email Accounts, then click Connect Devices next to the mailbox. cPanel's Set Up Mail Client page (opens in a new tab) lists the secure settings to use.

cPanel shows mail.yourdomain only when your domain has a valid certificate; otherwise it shows the server's own host name. Use whatever it shows. Typing a different name is the most common cause of "cannot verify server identity" warnings. Other hosts publish similar pages; if yours uses port 587 with STARTTLS for sending, that works just as well. My guide to SMTP settings, ports and encryption explains the difference.

#Set up business email in Outlook for Windows

Microsoft now ships two Windows apps: new Outlook and classic Outlook. The steps below follow Microsoft's help page on adding an email account to Outlook for Windows (opens in a new tab) at the time of writing (November 2026). Menus change, so check that page if a label differs.

#New Outlook

1. Select the View tab, then View settings. (Or select File, then Account info.)
2. Go to Accounts, then Your accounts.
3. Under Email accounts, select Add account.
4. Type your business email address and select Continue.
5. If asked, enter the mailbox password and select Done.

New Outlook tries to detect the settings itself, which works for Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 and many hosts. Microsoft's help page does not describe a manual IMAP screen for new Outlook. If detection fails for your cPanel mailbox, use classic Outlook's manual setup below.

#Classic Outlook

1. Select File, then Add Account.
2. Enter your email address, select Advanced options, tick Let me set up my account manually, and select Connect.
3. Choose IMAP.
4. Enter the incoming server and port 993 with SSL/TLS, and the outgoing server and port 465 with SSL/TLS, from your settings table. Select Next.
5. Enter the mailbox password and select Connect.
6. Send a test email to another address and reply to it, to check both directions.

Microsoft notes that some providers need an app password instead of the normal password. cPanel mailboxes use the normal mailbox password.

#Set up business email on iPhone Mail

These steps follow Apple's support page on adding an email account to iPhone (opens in a new tab). On recent iOS versions, Mail settings sit under Settings, Apps.

1. Open Settings, tap Apps, then Mail, then Mail Accounts.
2. Tap Add Account, enter your email address and tap Next.
3. Tap Add Other Account, then Mail Account.
4. Enter your name, email address, password and a description such as "Work", then tap Next.
5. If Mail finds your settings, tap Done. If not, choose IMAP.
6. Under Incoming Mail Server, enter the host name, your full email address as the user name, and the password. Do the same under Outgoing Mail Server.
7. Tap Next, then Save once the settings check passes.

If the check fails, Mail asks you to edit the settings. Compare each field with your settings table, paying most attention to the host names, since the ports and SSL are often filled in correctly on their own. Once the account is added, send a test and reply to it from another address.

#Set up business email on Android with the Gmail app

Phone makers ship different mail apps, so these steps use the Gmail app, which works the same way on any Android phone. They follow Google's help page on adding another email account to Gmail (opens in a new tab).

1. Open the Gmail app.
2. Tap your profile picture at the top right.
3. Tap Add another account, then Other.
4. Enter your full email address and tap Next.
5. Choose Personal (IMAP).
6. Enter the mailbox password and tap Next.
7. Enter the IMAP (incoming) settings when asked: the host name, port 993 and security type SSL/TLS.
8. When the app asks for outgoing (SMTP) settings, enter the same host name, port 465 and SSL/TLS, and keep sign-in required with the same username and password.
9. Follow the remaining on-screen steps to finish, then send yourself a test and reply to it.

Google's page notes that accounts with extra security may need an app password or another sign-in method.

#Common problems after setup

Most problems after setup are one of a handful of things:

• "Cannot verify server identity" or a certificate warning. The server name you typed is not on the certificate. Use exactly the name cPanel or your host shows.
• Receiving works but sending fails. The outgoing server has authentication turned off, or the port and encryption do not match. Turn on "my outgoing server requires authentication" and recheck 465 with SSL/TLS.
• The phone keeps asking for the password. The password was changed elsewhere, or the mailbox is full. Update it in each app.
• Sent mail only appears on one device. The account was added as POP3, or the app saves sent mail locally. Remove the account and add it again as IMAP.
• Mail is missing on the laptop. Another device was set up with POP3 and is removing mail from the server. Change that device to IMAP.

If sending fails with a numbered error, my guide to SMTP errors and how to fix them explains each code.

#When to get help

Adding one mailbox to one phone is a good do-it-yourself job. Get help when the risk is losing mail or locking people out:

• You are moving from POP3 to IMAP and old mail lives only on one computer.
• Several staff need the same settings on laptops and phones, plus shared mailboxes or aliases.
• You are moving from cPanel mail to Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 and need old mail copied across.
• Mailboxes keep filling up, mail goes missing, or devices keep asking for passwords.

My business email setup service covers mailboxes, device setup on Outlook, iPhone and Android, and moving old mail without losing anything. If you are still deciding where email should live, my domain and business email setup guide and the hosting, domain and email setup service are good places to start.