Email Ports and SSL Settings Explained
Nine times out of ten, a "cannot connect to server" error is a wrong port or security setting. These are the settings that work on EconomicalHost servers.
The settings
| Setting | IMAP (multi-device) | POP3 (download to one computer) |
|---|---|---|
| Incoming server | mail.yourdomain.com | |
| Incoming port | 993 (SSL/TLS) | 995 (SSL/TLS) |
| Outgoing server (SMTP) | mail.yourdomain.com | |
| Outgoing port | 465 (SSL/TLS) | |
| Username | your full email address (e.g. you@yourdomain.com) | |
| Password | the email account password set in cPanel | |
| Authentication | Required — same as incoming / normal password | |
Replace yourdomain.com with your own domain. The exact hostname is in cPanel → Email Accounts → Connect Devices — see finding your mail server settings.
Step-by-step
- Always pick SSL/TLS (sometimes shown as "SSL") as the connection security for both incoming and outgoing servers.
- Incoming IMAP: port 993. The old non-SSL port 143 should not be used.
- Incoming POP3: port 995. The old non-SSL port 110 should not be used.
- Outgoing SMTP: port 465 with SSL/TLS. If your network blocks 465, port 587 with STARTTLS is the alternative.
- Enable SMTP authentication. Set "My outgoing server requires authentication — use same settings as incoming". Without it, sending fails with relay errors.
- Username is the FULL email address — you@yourdomain.com, never just "you".
- Port 25 is blocked on most networks and ISPs to prevent spam — never configure it for sending.
💡 Good to know
- Certificate warning? Use the server hostname from Connect Devices instead of mail.yourdomain.com — it always matches the SSL certificate.
- "Authentication failed" with correct ports = wrong password or username not the full address.
- Corporate firewalls sometimes block 465 and 587 — test on mobile data to confirm it is the network, not the server.