Email Configuration

Basic Email Client Settings

Configuring your email-client is like giving directions to your friend to fetch your mail for you from the Post Office. If you don't tell him just where to go, and give him the right key to your mailbox, he won't be able to retrieve your mail for you.

To configure your email-client, you need certain information, which you ususally get from your email provider. Since we are using Google Mail for our provider, this guide will show you how to configure your email-client for use with Google Mail.

  • You first have to configure your google web-client to allow other mail-clients.
  • A valid email address with a username and password
  • server pop or imap address (they may be the same or not the same - it depends on your email service)
  • server smtp address (for sending mail)
  • port number

No matter whether you use POP or SMTP, you still need to enable SMTP settings, also, if you wish for your email-client to be able to SEND mail.

Configure Google Mail To Allow Other Clients

Google Mail has special settings that you can only access by going through the Google Apps Interface. Whether you use POP or IMAP, you need to enable the setting in your Google Mail Settings.

screenshot of GoogleMail Settings Menu screenshot of GoogleMail Settings Menu screenshot of GoogleMail Settings screenshot of GoogleMail Settings screenshot of GoogleMail Settings

Don't forget to click the "Save Changes" button at the bottom of the Settings Window!

Configure a POP Account

Each email-client has a different configuration window, but each one will use the same settings. If you are using GMail, don't forget to enable POP in your GoogleMail Settings

  • Username: This will be your full email address
  • Password: Usually, your client normally won't ask for your password until it tries to connect. Remember that passwords are case-sensitive.
  • POP Server: pop.gmail.com
  • Port: 995 (it won't work with another number...)
  • Connection Security: SSL/TLS
  • Authentication Method: Normal Password - if you try to put "Encrypted Password" it won't work. Google already uses SSL, which means it is already encrypted.
  • Other Settings:
    • Leave Messages on Server: if you select this, then you will have the same mail both in your client AND on the server (i.e., in your webmail), but they won't be synchronized because this is a POP configuration. Usually there is an option to specify a number for how long you would like to leave messages on the server. If, for example, you specify 30 days, then after those days are over (for each mail, individually), your client will delete that email from the server. Before that time, however, it will only download it once (so you won't get any duplicates by using this method), and you will also have access to the message via webmail. This feature is useful if you like to use a POP configuration at home, but don't have your computer handy whilst travelling.
    • Fetch Headers Only: if you select this, your client will download only the subject of your mail and not the body. Only use this setting if you want a super-fast mail listing. If you later decide you want the body, then, in your client, you would mark the message with a star and it will get downloaded the next time you check for new mail.

Now, if you are configuring your client for GMail, and you forgot to enable POP in your GoogleMail Settings, then you will get an error message. If that happens, just leave your email client in the lurch, and go enable the setting, and then re-test your configuration.

Configure an IMAP Account

Each email-client has a different configuration window, but each one will use the same settings. If you are setting up your client for GMail, don't forget to enable IMAP in your GoogleMail Settings!

  • Username: This will be your full email address
  • Password: Usually, your client normally won't ask for your password until it tries to connect. Remember that passwords are case-sensitive.
  • IMAP Server: imap.gmail.com
  • Port: 993 (it won't work with another number...)
  • Connection Security: SSL/TLS
  • Authentication Method: Normal Password - if you try to put "Encrypted Password" it won't work. Google already uses SSL, which means it is already encrypted.

Configure SMTP

No matter whether you use POP or SMTP, you still need to enable SMTP settings. If you are configuring SMTP for GMail, don't forget to enable POP or IMAP in your GoogleMail Settings.

  • Username: This will be your full email address
  • Password: Usually, your client normally won't ask for your password until it tries to connect. Remember that passwords are case-sensitive.
  • SMTP Server: smtp.gmail.com
  • Port: 465 - (Since we are using SSL
  • Connection Security: SSL/TLS or SSL - make sure you have "SSL" in the setting name.
  • Authentication Method: Normal Password - if you try to put "Encrypted Password" it won't work. Google already uses SSL, which means it is already encrypted.
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