Client settings

This page gives information on how to configure your a mail client, including mobile devices, for email hosted on our Web and Email Hosting Accounts.

Mailboxes

If you have a domain hosted with us, you can configure additional mailboxes to receive mail using the Control Panel.

Some clients and devices support auto-configuration, and will automatically pick up the necesary configuration settings when you type the name of the mailbox as your email address. This should work with Thunderbird and Microsoft clients.

If you use an iPhone or iPad, you can load the settings for your mailbox by scanning a QR code for your mailbox, available in our Control Panel. To access the QR code, use the Details link for mailbox in the Email Addresses page for your domain.

Incoming email

You can retrieve mail for additional mailboxes using either IMAP (recommended) or POP3.

The required settings are shown below. To get the specific settings for your mailbox, use the Details link for the mailbox on the Email Addresses page for your domain in the Control Panel.

Server name: bobcat.mythic-beasts.com or
caracal.mythic-beasts.com or
fentiger.mythic-beasts.com or
lynx.mythic-beasts.com or
margay.mythic-beasts.com or
ocelot.mythic-beasts.com or
oncilla.mythic-beasts.com or
onza.mythic-beasts.com or
pallas.mythic-beasts.com or
serval.mythic-beasts.com or
yali.mythic-beasts.com
Port: 993 for IMAP (or 995 for POP3)
Connection security: TLS (may also be labelled TLS/SSL or SSL)
If TLS and SSL are shown as separate options, choose SSL (more details).
Username: The full email address for the mailbox
Password: Mailbox password, as set in the control panel

Outgoing email

Outgoing mail is sent using Authenticated SMTP, using the username and password for your mailbox. Your mailbox must be authorised to send from the address or addresses that you want to use as your "From" address. Please see sender restrictions for more details.

The required settings are as follows:

Server name: smtp-auth.mythic-beasts.com
Port: 587
Connection security: STARTTLS (the right option may alse be labelled just TLS or SSL)
Username: The full email address for any mailbox for a domain that you have with us
Password: The password for the mailbox

Notes

Password settings

If your client offers an option to "Encrypt Password", or to use "Secure Password Authentication", then this should not be selected. Don't worry; the entire connection is encrypted (because of the TLS / SSL setting) so your password will not be sent in clear text.

Connection security

TLS is a more modern and more secure version of SSL. TLS has effectively replaced SSL, but the term "SSL" is still in common use and the two names are used interchangeably.

Most mail clients will label the secure connection option as "TLS" or "SSL" or "TLS/SSL" and they all mean the same thing. They may also offer a separate "STARTTLS" option, which is a mechanism for upgrading an insecure connection to a secure connection. This won't work on port 993 or 995, and we don't recommend using it for incoming mail.

Confusingly, some mail clients present TLS and SSL as separate options. In this case "TLS" almost certainly refers to "STARTTLS", and "SSL" actually refers to the more secure approach of establishing a secure (TLS!) connection from the outset.

IMAP folder path

Some email clients, especially those using our shared hosting servers yali and onza, may fail to show the contents of your inbox. In such cases, check the settings for your account in the email client, and look for a field - perhaps in the advanced settings - named 'Root folder path' or 'IMAP server directory'. It this is blank, enter INBOX and save the settings. If it already contains INBOX, empty the field and save the settings. After doing this, email should appear in your inbox.