This guide applies to iPhone and iPad running iOS / iPadOS 16, 17, and 18. The path to add an account changed slightly in iOS 18, so both paths are shown below.
What you will need
- Your full email address (e.g. you@yourdomain.com)
- Your email password
- Your mail server hostname — find this in cPanel under Email Accounts → Connect Devices. It is typically mail.yourdomain.com.
Add the account
- Open the Settings app.
- Scroll down and tap Mail.
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- iOS / iPadOS 18: tap Mail Accounts
- iOS / iPadOS 16–17: tap Accounts
- Tap Add Account.
- Tap Other (at the bottom of the provider list).
- Tap Add Mail Account.
- Fill in the form:
- Name: your display name
- Email: your full email address
- Password: your email password
- Description: a short label for this account
- Tap Next.
- At the top of the next screen, make sure IMAP is selected (not POP).
- Under Incoming Mail Server:
- Host Name: mail.yourdomain.com
- User Name: your full email address
- Password: your email password
- Under Outgoing Mail Server:
- Host Name: mail.yourdomain.com
- User Name: your full email address
- Password: your email password
- Tap Next. iOS will verify the connection — this takes a few seconds.
- Tap Save. Open the Mail app — your inbox will appear shortly.
Adjust how often mail is fetched
To control battery usage and data consumption, go to Settings → Mail → Mail Accounts → Fetch New Data and choose a fetch interval, or enable Push if your server supports it.
Troubleshooting
- iOS uses port 993 SSL for incoming and port 587 or 465 SSL for outgoing by default. If the connection fails, check the account settings under Settings → Mail → Mail Accounts → your account → Account → Outgoing Mail Server → SMTP and confirm the port and SSL toggle.
- Confirm the exact server hostname in cPanel: Email Accounts → Connect Devices.