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How to connect Outlook to your mailbox

Maxim Tsitsejev
Updated

Applies to: All plans

Before you start: You need your full email address and its password, and a mailbox that already exists: one of the mailboxes included with your hosting plan, or a mailbox in Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. If you haven't created it yet, do that first — see How to create a mailbox, How to set up your first Microsoft 365 mailbox or How to set up your first Google Workspace mailbox.

How you connect Outlook depends on where your mailbox is. A mailbox included with your hosting plan is added as an IMAP (or POP3) account on our mail server, with the settings below; Outlook can often find them by itself. A Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace mailbox is added by signing in to Microsoft or Google, with no server names to type in.

Before Outlook will work, your email DNS records must be in place. The autodiscover and mail records (in your client area DNS manager) are what let Outlook configure itself. For the mailboxes included with your plan, we add them when your domain uses our nameservers. See The DNS records your email needs (MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC).

Mailbox included with your hosting plan

  • Username: the full email address, for example you@yourdomain.com, with the mailbox's own password
  • Incoming mail: IMAP, server mail.yourdomain.com, port 993, SSL/TLS (or POP3, port 995, SSL/TLS)
  • Outgoing mail (SMTP): server mail.yourdomain.com, port 465 with SSL/TLS, or port 587 with STARTTLS; authentication required, with the same username and password

Until the free certificate for mail.yourdomain.com is issued (once your domain points to us), use node11.maxinodes.com as the incoming and outgoing server instead; the ports, username and password stay the same. In the client area, Email Accounts -> Account Configuration Details shows these settings for each mailbox. See also Mail app settings for your mailbox (IMAP, POP3, SMTP).

  1. Open desktop Outlook and add an account: File -> Add Account in classic Outlook for Windows, Settings -> Accounts -> Add account in the new Outlook for Windows, or Outlook -> Settings -> Accounts -> Add Account on a Mac.
  2. Type your full email address. In classic Outlook, open Advanced options, tick Let me set up my account manually, and choose Connect.
  3. If Outlook finds the settings by itself, check that they match the list above and continue. If it asks whether to allow cpanelemaildiscovery.cpanel.net to configure your server settings, choose Allow: that is the lookup service our autodiscover record points to. Otherwise, when Outlook asks for the account type, choose IMAP (or POP).
  4. Enter the incoming and outgoing server, port and encryption from the list above. Leave Require logon using Secure Password Authentication (SPA) unticked.
  5. Enter the mailbox's password and finish with Connect or Done. If Outlook shows My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication, tick it and choose Use same settings as my incoming mail server.

Result: Outlook downloads your mailbox. With IMAP, your folders stay in step with webmail and your other devices.

Microsoft 365 mailbox

  1. Open desktop Outlook.
  2. Go to File -> Add Account (or Outlook -> Settings -> Accounts -> Add Account on a Mac).
  3. Type your full email address (for example you@yourdomain.com) and choose Connect.
  4. If asked for an account type, pick the option labelled Microsoft 365 or Exchange.
  5. Enter your password and complete any sign-in prompt, including two-factor verification if your administrator has enabled it.

Result: Outlook downloads your mailbox and your mail, calendar and contacts begin to sync. No manual server settings are required.

Google Workspace mailbox

  1. Open desktop Outlook.
  2. Go to File -> Add Account (or Outlook -> Settings -> Accounts -> Add Account on a Mac).
  3. Type your full email address and choose Connect.
  4. When prompted, pick the option labelled Google and sign in on Google's own page. This opens Google in your browser so you can authorise Outlook securely.
  5. Approve access when Google asks, including two-step verification if it's enabled on your account.

Result: Your Google Workspace mailbox is added and begins to sync. As with Microsoft 365, Outlook supplies the server settings for you.

Don't have Outlook handy?

You can always read your mail in the browser without setting anything up — a mailbox included with your hosting at webmail.yourdomain.com, Microsoft 365 at outlook.office.com and Google Workspace at mail.google.com. See How to open webmail.

Troubleshooting this task

Mailbox included with your hosting plan

  • Outlook can't find the settings. Set the account up manually as described above. Automatic setup needs the autodiscover records, which may be missing if your DNS is hosted elsewhere or has just changed.
  • Outlook keeps asking for the password. Check that the username is the full email address and that you are using the mailbox's own password, not your client area or cPanel password. After several wrong attempts, sign-in to the mailbox is locked for five minutes, even with the right password: correct the password on every device that uses the mailbox, then wait five minutes. See My mail app can't connect, or keeps asking for my password.
  • Receiving works, but sending fails. Make sure the outgoing server requires authentication with the same username and password, and uses port 465 with SSL/TLS or port 587 with STARTTLS.
  • A certificate warning for mail.yourdomain.com. The certificate for that name hasn't been issued yet. Don't accept the warning: use node11.maxinodes.com as the incoming and outgoing server until it is.
  • Outlook can't connect at all, but webmail works on your phone over mobile data. Our firewall may have blocked your network for a while after a security rule was triggered from it. See My mail app can't connect, or keeps asking for my password.

Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace

  • Outlook can't find the settings or keeps asking for a password. This usually means your email DNS isn't fully set up or hasn't propagated yet. Check that your MX and autodiscover records are in place in the DNS manager (in your client area if your domain's DNS is hosted with us, or at your DNS provider if it isn't), then allow a little time after any change. Propagation is usually minutes to a few hours, occasionally up to 24-48 hours.
  • Outlook asks for manual server names. You should not need to enter any for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. Remove the half-added account and start again with Add Account, letting the automatic setup run and choosing Microsoft 365, Exchange or Google when asked.
  • Sign-in is rejected. Confirm you're using the full email address and the correct password. If two-factor authentication is enabled, complete that step. Reset the password in the Microsoft 365 admin centre or the Google Workspace admin console if needed.
  • Mail still won't send or receive. See Email isn't sending or receiving.

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