Set Up Desktop Email Clients — Thunderbird, Apple Mail, Outlook & More

TL;DR — Every EasyCloudify mailbox supports auto-configuration. In any modern email client, choose Add Account, enter your full email address and mailbox password, and the client discovers the correct IMAP and SMTP servers automatically. No manual server settings required.

How Auto-Configuration Works

When your mailbox is created in /cloudpanel/mailboxes, EasyCloudify automatically publishes the autoconfig and autodiscover records for your domain. Standards-compliant email clients (Thunderbird, Apple Mail, Outlook, Windows Mail, Spark, eM Client, and others) read those records and configure themselves automatically — you only ever type two things:

1. Your full email address (e.g. [email protected])
2. Your mailbox password

If a client ever asks you to choose between IMAP and POP, always pick IMAP — it keeps your messages in sync across all devices.

💡 Webmail is always available, even before you finish configuring a client: https://webmail.easycloudify.com

Before You Start

• You have an active mailbox at /cloudpanel/mailboxes (see Email Hosting)
• You know your mailbox password (reset it from the mailbox settings if needed)
• You have a desktop email client installed

Thunderbird (Windows, macOS, Linux)

Thunderbird is free, open-source, and the recommended desktop client for EasyCloudify mailboxes.

1. Open Thunderbird and go to Menu → New → Existing Mail Account
2. Fill in:
   • Your name — the display name shown on outgoing messages
   • Email address — your full mailbox address
   • Password — your mailbox password
3. Click Continue

Thunderbird detects the server settings automatically and shows IMAP as the recommended protocol. Click Done.

💡 To use multiple identities (e.g. sales@ and support@ from the same mailbox), set them up in Account Settings → Manage Identities after the account is added. See Email Aliases & Identities.

Apple Mail (macOS)

1. Open Mail.app and choose Mail → Add Account (or System Settings → Internet Accounts → Add Account on newer macOS)
2. Select Other Mail Account
3. Enter:
   • Name — display name
   • Email Address — your full mailbox address
   • Password — your mailbox password
4. Click Sign In

Apple Mail detects the IMAP and SMTP servers automatically. If macOS prompts to choose which apps to sync (Mail, Notes), enable Mail and click Done.

Outlook (Windows)

The modern Outlook on Windows supports auto-discovery out of the box.

1. Open Outlook and choose File → Add Account (Classic) or Settings → Add Account (New Outlook)
2. Enter your full email address and click Connect
3. When prompted, choose IMAP as the account type
4. Enter your mailbox password and click Connect

Outlook will retrieve the server settings and complete the setup.

💡 If Outlook asks for server settings manually (older versions), use IMAP on port 993 (TLS) and SMTP on port 465 (TLS) — see the Manual Settings reference below.

Outlook (macOS)

1. Open Outlook and choose Outlook → Settings → Accounts → +
2. Enter your full email address and click Continue
3. Choose IMAP when prompted
4. Enter your mailbox password and click Add Account

Windows Mail (Windows 10/11)

1. Open Mail and click Settings → Manage Accounts → Add account
2. Choose Other account (POP, IMAP)
3. Enter your email address, display name, and password
4. Click Sign in

Windows Mail completes the setup using auto-discovery.

Spark (macOS, Windows)

1. Open Spark and choose Add Email Account
2. Choose Set Up Account Manually → IMAP
3. Enter your email address and password
4. Click Next — Spark fills in the rest automatically

eM Client, The Bat!, Mailbird, and Other Clients

The same flow applies to any IMAP-compatible client:

1. Choose Add Account → IMAP (or Auto-configure)
2. Enter your full email address + password
3. Let the client finish the setup

Calendar & Contacts (CalDAV / CardDAV)

EasyCloudify mailboxes include CalDAV and CardDAV support. In Thunderbird, Apple Calendar, or any compliant client:

• Choose Add Calendar → On the Network → CalDAV
• Enter your full email address as the username and your mailbox password
• The client will discover your work and home calendars automatically

Manual Settings Reference

You only need these if your client does not support auto-configuration. The same values work for every EasyCloudify mailbox.

• Username: your full email address (e.g. [email protected]) — same for incoming and outgoing
• Password: your mailbox password

⚠️ POP3 is not recommended. POP3 has no support for folders, multi-device sync, or notifications. Spam detected by our filters lands in your Junk folder, which is invisible over POP3.

Troubleshooting

Auto-configuration did not find my server

Wait a few minutes after creating the mailbox — DNS records can take a short time to propagate. If the issue persists, use the manual IMAP and SMTP settings above with port 993 and 465.

"Authentication failed"

Double-check that you are using your mailbox password, not your EasyCloudify account password. They are different. Reset the mailbox password in /cloudpanel/mailboxes if unsure.

Outlook keeps adding the account as POP

Some older Outlook versions default to POP. Cancel the wizard, then choose Let me set up my account manually → IMAP and re-enter your details.

My folders look different on different devices

You are probably using POP3 on one of them. Reconfigure that device with IMAP — your mail will then appear identically everywhere.

Related Guides

• Email Hosting — Mailboxes, Aliases & Forwardings
• Set Up Mobile Email Clients
• Webmail Access
• Email Aliases & Identities
• Email Forwarding & Auto-Reply