How to check your mail server settings (IMAP/SMTP)
Setting up email on a new device or a new app sometimes means entering IMAP and SMTP servers manually. Here's how to find them and diagnose what's wrong if the setup doesn't work.
How IMAP and SMTP differ
IMAP handles receiving messages — it's how your app pulls down what's in your mailbox. SMTP handles sending. Telling the two apart matters for diagnosis: if you can receive mail but not send it, the problem is in the SMTP settings — and vice versa.
Where to get these settings
Check an already-working setup
If you already have email set up correctly on another device, its account settings (under "Advanced mailbox settings" or "Server settings") show the exact details you can copy over to the new device.
Check the mail provider's documentation
If the company uses a popular provider (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace), the exact server addresses and ports are publicly documented on those providers' support pages.
How to diagnose a configuration problem
- Mail arrives but you can't send — check the SMTP server address, port, and encryption type.
- You can send but nothing arrives — check the IMAP server address and port.
- Nothing works — check that the username and password are correct before you start changing servers.
Changing mail clients in Windows
Worth knowing: Microsoft is replacing the classic Mail app in Windows with the new Outlook for Windows. If you're looking for old sync settings and can't find them where expected, check which of these two apps you're actually using — they have different settings menus.
When it's a job for IT
- You don't have access to another, working device where you could read the correct configuration.
- The correct details still don't work — possibly an account lock or a server-side settings change.
- The company uses its own custom mail server — those details are best obtained directly from IT.
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