Your domain email in Outlook, Gmail and on your phone

# TagsEmail

The WPhost team1 Oct 202613 min read

You created info@primer.bg in cPanel and now you want to read and send mail from Outlook, from your phone or from Gmail. Your domain email works with any mail program, as long as you give the program the right settings. The mistakes are almost always in the user name, the server name, the port or the encryption.

Here you will see where cPanel shows the data you need, how to add the mailbox to Outlook, to the Gmail app and to Apple Mail, and what to do when the program refuses to connect. You will also read what Google has changed in Gmail for outside addresses, because that decides which way is possible at all. The menu names are in English, as in the vendors' documentation. If your phone is in another language, look for the same menus in translation.

IMAP or POP3, which one to choose

Both protocols read mail from the server, but in different ways. With IMAP the messages stay on the server, and the program works with the mailbox as if the folders were on the device itself. The folders and the state of messages, such as "read", are kept on the server, so the phone, Outlook and the webmail show the same thing. That is how the IMAP standard, RFC 9051, describes it.

POP3 was built for something else. According to RFC 1939 messages are normally downloaded and then deleted from the server. cPanel warns about the same. With POP3 the program downloads all messages to the device and removes them from the server, so your other devices cannot see them. So for more than one device, choose IMAP.

IMAP only reads. For sending, the program uses SMTP, so every setup asks for two servers, an incoming one and an outgoing one.

Where cPanel shows the settings for your domain email

In cPanel open Email, then Email Accounts. Next to the mailbox press Connect Devices and the Set Up Mail Client page opens. The Mail Client Manual Settings section holds the values for a secure connection that cPanel recommends (Secure SSL/TLS Settings). The Check Email button next to the same mailbox opens the webmail and is the quickest way to check that the password is right.

Setting	Value
User name	the full name of the mailbox, for example info@primer.bg
Password	the password of the mailbox
Incoming server	mail.primer.bg
IMAP port	993 with SSL/TLS
POP3 port	995 with SSL/TLS
Outgoing server (SMTP)	mail.primer.bg
SMTP port	465 with SSL/TLS

The server name depends on the certificate. When the domain has a valid SSL certificate, cPanel gives a name from the domain, such as mail.primer.bg. When it does not, it gives the name of the server itself. Copy exactly what you see on your own page.

The same page also has a table called "Non-SSL Settings (NOT Recommended)". Do not use it. If your program does not connect on port 465, you can try an outgoing server on port 587 with STARTTLS. According to RFC 8314 it is just as secure as 465, as long as the program is set to require encryption before sending. Never leave 587 without encryption.

If the list on the page has a ready script for automatic setup of your program, for example for iOS or for Apple Mail, you can use it instead of typing the values by hand.

How to add the mailbox to Outlook

Microsoft describes two versions, classic Outlook and the new Outlook for Windows. If the steps for the new one do not match what you see, use the ones for classic Outlook, as Microsoft itself advises.

In classic Outlook the manual setup with IMAP goes like this:

Choose File, then Add Account.
Enter your address, for example info@primer.bg, press Advanced options, tick Let me set up my account manually and press Connect.
Choose IMAP as the account type.
The settings screen is mostly filled in already. Check it against the table above (incoming and outgoing server, ports 993 and 465, SSL/TLS) and press Next.
Enter the password and press Connect.

In the new Outlook open View, then View settings (or File, then Account info) and choose Accounts, then Your accounts. Under Email accounts press Add Account, enter the address and press Continue. If it asks for a password, enter the password of the mailbox and press Done. Microsoft describes entering servers and ports by hand only for classic Outlook, so if the new one does not recognize the settings by itself, go through classic Outlook.

What changed in Gmail and how to read your mail on the phone

Before you start, there is a change that decides which way is possible. Google writes on its help pages that you can no longer add an outside account to Gmail in the browser. Connections that already exist keep working, but from January 2027 Google ends three things for outside addresses completely. They are fetching mail over POP ("Check mail from other accounts"), Gmailify, and sending from an outside address through Gmail ("Send as").

What remains is the Gmail app on Android, iPhone and iPad. Google writes that access to outside accounts there does not change and that the app uses a standard IMAP connection. The other ways Google lists are the provider's own webmail (for you that is Webmail in cPanel) and a desktop mail program such as Outlook. Google also mentions forwarding on the provider's side. In cPanel that is Forwarders, but this way you get copies of the messages in Gmail, not the mailbox itself.

The steps in the Gmail app are these:

Open the app and tap the profile picture at the top right.
Choose Add another account.
On Android choose Other, and on iPhone and iPad Other (IMAP).
Enter the full name of the mailbox and tap Next.
On Android also choose Personal (IMAP), enter the password and tap Next.
Enter the IMAP settings from the table. If the app also asks for the outgoing server, enter the SMTP values.

If you see a warning about the certificate, for example "Certificate subject and hostname mismatch", the server name does not match the certificate. Go back and enter exactly the name from Connect Devices. Do not choose the security type "None" to get around the warning, because then the password and the messages travel unencrypted.

How to add the mailbox to Apple Mail

On iPhone and iPad Apple describes the path like this. Open Settings, then Apps, Mail and Mail Accounts and tap Add Account. Enter the address and tap Next. Choose Add Other Account, then Mail Account. Enter your name, the address, the password and a description and tap Next. Mail tries to find the settings by itself. If it cannot, tap Next, choose IMAP and fill in Incoming Mail Server and Outgoing Mail Server with the values from the table. The user name for both servers is the full name of the mailbox. Then tap Next and Save.

On a Mac open the Mail app and choose Add Account from the Mail menu. Enter the address, click Continue and follow the prompts. If Mail asks for the servers, enter the same values.

The most common errors and how to fix them

What you see	Most often why	What to do
Login refused, though the password is right	The user field holds only the first part of the address	Enter the full name, info@primer.bg. Check the password with Check Email in cPanel
A warning about the certificate or a name mismatch	The server name is not the one the certificate was issued for	Enter exactly the name from Connect Devices. Do not use an IP address
It does not connect or times out	A wrong port or encryption, or the mail record in DNS goes through the Cloudflare proxy	Check 993 and 465 with SSL/TLS. If the domain is in Cloudflare, the mail record must be "DNS only", not "Proxied"
Mail arrives but does not send	The outgoing server is not filled in or does not require login	Fill in the SMTP server, port 465, SSL/TLS, with the same name and password
The mail you send goes to spam at the recipient	SPF, DKIM or DMARC is missing	See the guide Is your email going to spam?

Cloudflare proxies HTTP and HTTPS traffic, and services such as mail are not compatible with this proxy. So their records must be in "DNS only" mode.

Checklist

I chose IMAP, not POP3.
The user name is the full name of the mailbox.
The incoming and outgoing server are the name that cPanel shows in Connect Devices.
IMAP is on port 993 and SMTP on port 465, both with SSL/TLS.
The outgoing server requires login with the same name and password.
I did not choose the security type "None" to get around a warning.
I do not use "Check mail from other accounts" and "Send as" in Gmail in the browser.
I sent a test message to another address and got one back.

If you would rather not do it yourself

You do not have to remember these settings. The Connect Devices page in cPanel shows the ready values, and if the program does not connect, the mistake is almost always in one of the rows of the table above. If the mail is on your own server and you would rather someone else looked after it, WordPress maintenance includes SSL and email that does not land in spam.

Frequently asked questions

Should I choose IMAP or POP3 for my domain email?

Choose IMAP. With IMAP the messages stay on the server, and the folders and message states such as "read" look the same on your phone, in Outlook and in the webmail. With POP3 the program by default downloads every message to one device and removes it from the server, so your other devices cannot see it.

Where in cPanel are the settings for my mail program?

In cPanel open Email, then Email Accounts, and press Connect Devices next to the mailbox. On the Set Up Mail Client page, the Mail Client Manual Settings section holds the values for the secure connection cPanel recommends. Copy the server name exactly from that page, because it depends on the domain's SSL certificate.

Which ports should I use for cPanel email?

cPanel recommends IMAP on port 993 and SMTP on port 465, both with SSL/TLS, and POP3 is on port 995 with SSL/TLS. If your program will not connect on 465, try an outgoing server on port 587 with STARTTLS, which RFC 8314 treats as just as secure when the program requires encryption before sending. Never leave 587 unencrypted, and do not use the "Non-SSL Settings (NOT Recommended)" table.

What do I enter as the user name in Outlook or on my phone?

The full name of the mailbox, for example info@primer.bg, not just the part before the @. This is the most common reason a login is refused even though the password is right. The quickest way to check the password is the Check Email button next to the mailbox in cPanel, which opens the webmail.

Can I still add my domain email to Gmail on a computer?

No. Google says an outside account can no longer be added to Gmail in the browser, and while existing connections keep working, from January 2027 Google ends "Check mail from other accounts", Gmailify and "Send as" for outside addresses altogether. What remains is the Gmail app on Android, iPhone and iPad, which according to Google uses a standard IMAP connection, plus Outlook, Apple Mail and the webmail in cPanel.

How do I add my domain email to the Gmail app on my phone?

In the Gmail app, tap your profile picture at the top right and choose Add another account. On Android choose Other and then Personal (IMAP), and on iPhone and iPad choose Other (IMAP). Enter the full mailbox name, the password and the IMAP settings from Connect Devices in cPanel, and if the app asks for an outgoing server, the SMTP values as well.

What should I do about a certificate warning from the mail server?

A warning such as "Certificate subject and hostname mismatch" means the server name does not match the certificate. Go back and enter exactly the name from Connect Devices in cPanel, not an IP address. Do not choose the security type "None" to get around the warning, because then the password and the messages travel unencrypted.

Why will my mail program not connect when the domain is on Cloudflare?

Cloudflare proxies only HTTP and HTTPS traffic, and services such as mail are not compatible with that proxy. The mail record in DNS has to be "DNS only", not "Proxied". Check the ports 993 and 465 with SSL/TLS too, since a wrong port or encryption gives the same error.

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