Email on iPhone and iPad: how to add your mailbox with IMAP and SSL

To add a TopHost mailbox to the Mail app on an iPhone or iPad, go to the Mail settings, choose Add Account, then Other, and enter your address, the mailbox password and the server name from cPanel. Choose IMAP, so that the phone, the computer and webmail show the same messages. The whole setup takes about five minutes.

Before you start

• The mailbox must already exist in cPanel (see how to create an email account) and you need its password.
• Open Email Accounts in cPanel, click Connect Devices next to the address and note the incoming and outgoing server names from Secure SSL/TLS Settings. Details are in the mail client settings.

Option 1: install the ready-made profile

The Connect Devices page also has a section Mail Client Automatic Configuration Scripts with a profile for iPhone, iPad and Mac Mail. Open cPanel or webmail in Safari on the iPhone itself, download the IMAP profile with SSL/TLS, then open Settings: a line Profile Downloaded appears at the top. Tap it, choose Install and enter the mailbox password when asked. If you prefer to type the values yourself, use option 2.

Option 2: add the account by hand

1. Open the account list:
   • iOS and iPadOS 18 or newer: Settings, Apps, Mail, Mail Accounts;
   • iOS 17 and some earlier versions: Settings, Mail, Accounts;
   • older versions: Settings, Passwords & Accounts.
2. Tap Add Account, then Other, then Add Mail Account.
3. Fill in the four fields and tap Next:
   • Name: the name recipients will see, for example your name or the company name;
   • Email: the full address, for example office@your-domain.md;
   • Password: the mailbox password;
   • Description: any label for you, for example Work.
4. At the top of the next screen keep IMAP selected.
5. Under Incoming Mail Server enter the Host Name from Connect Devices (usually mail.your-domain.md), the full email address as User Name and the password.
6. Under Outgoing Mail Server enter the same host name, user name and password. The iPhone marks these fields as optional, but without them it cannot send mail.
7. Tap Next. After the check, leave Mail switched on and tap Save.

Check the ports and encryption

The iPhone usually finds the right ports by itself. If sending or receiving fails, open the account in the list from step 1 and check:

• tap the account, then the address next to Account, then Advanced: Use SSL on, Server Port 993 (995 if you chose POP);
• back on the account screen, tap SMTP, then the primary server: Use SSL on, Authentication Password, Server Port 465.

How often the phone checks for mail

For an IMAP account on cPanel the iPhone fetches new mail at intervals rather than by push. In the Mail settings, under Fetch New Data, choose every 15 minutes or longer. A mailbox accepts at most 50 logins per hour, and the phone shares that number with your other devices; see the email limits.

Error messages and what they mean

• Cannot Verify Server Identity: the server name you entered does not match the certificate. Enter the exact name from the secure block in Connect Devices instead of trusting the warning.
• The user name or password is incorrect: the user name must be the full address, and the password is the mailbox password, not the cPanel one. After several wrong attempts the firewall can block your IP for a while (why the firewall blocks an IP).
• Cannot Send Mail: the outgoing server has no user name and password, SSL is off, or the port is not 465.
• Messages appear in webmail but not on the phone: check that the account is switched on for Mail and that the phone has an internet connection. More checks are in Emails are not arriving.

After you change the mailbox password

Update the password on the phone in two places: in the account itself and in the outgoing server (SMTP). Otherwise the phone keeps trying the old one and the firewall may block your connection.

If the account still will not work, open a ticket with the address, the iOS version and the exact error text.