How to add my email to Android or the Gmail app
Most Android phones use the Gmail app for email, including for non-Google addresses. Samsung phones also have Samsung Email. Both follow the same idea: choose "Other" or "IMAP", then enter the settings below.
Settings you'll need
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Username | Your full email address, for example info@example.co.za |
| Password | The mailbox password |
| Account type | Personal (IMAP) |
| Incoming server | mail.example.co.za (your own domain) |
| Incoming port / security | 993 / SSL/TLS |
| Outgoing (SMTP) server | mail.example.co.za |
| Outgoing port / security | 465 / SSL/TLS (or 587 / STARTTLS) |
| Require sign-in for outgoing | Yes, same username and password |
Check the password first at https://yourdomain/webmail. Full details in Email server settings: IMAP, POP3 and SMTP.
Gmail app
- Open Gmail. Tap your profile picture (top-right) → Add another account.
- Choose Other.
- Type your full email address and tap Next.
- Choose Personal (IMAP).
- Enter the password and tap Next.
- Incoming server settings: username is your full address. Server
mail.example.co.za. Port993. Security type SSL/TLS. Tap Next. - Outgoing server settings: tick Require sign-in. Username your full address, password as before. SMTP server
mail.example.co.za. Port465. Security type SSL/TLS. Tap Next. - Account options: choose how often to check for mail. Tap Next.
- Enter the name you want on outgoing mail. Tap Next.
Your mailbox appears in the Gmail app. Tap the menu (three lines) to switch between accounts, or choose All inboxes to see everything together.
If the app says it can't connect or the password is wrong: go back one step and check the server name has no spaces, the port matches the security type, and the username is the full address.
Samsung Email
- Open Email (or Settings → Accounts and backup → Manage accounts → Add account → Email).
- Choose Other.
- Enter your full email address and password, then tap Manual setup.
- Choose IMAP account.
- Incoming server: username your full address, IMAP server
mail.example.co.za, security type SSL, port993. - Outgoing server: SMTP server
mail.example.co.za, security type SSL, port465, tick Require authentication to send emails with the same username and password. - Tap Sign in.
Other Android email apps
Any app works with the same settings. Look for Other, IMAP or Manual setup when adding the account, and copy the values from the table.
After adding the account
- Send a test email to yourself and to an outside address.
- If you also use the mailbox on a computer, use IMAP there too so everything stays in sync.
- Set the app to sync a sensible period (for example 30 days) if the mailbox is large. Older mail stays on the server and in webmail.
Problems
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| "Couldn't connect to server" or "Authentication failed" | Password wrong (test in webmail), username not the full address, or port and security don't match |
| Can receive but can't send | Turn on Require sign-in for the outgoing server. Try port 587 with STARTTLS if 465 is blocked by your mobile network |
| Certificate or "untrusted server" warning | Server name must be mail. + your own domain |
| Emails stop arriving after a while | Check battery optimisation isn't restricting the mail app. In Settings → Apps → Gmail → Battery, set it to unrestricted |
| Everything stopped on every device at once | Your connection may be blocked after repeated wrong passwords. Open a support ticket with your public IP address |
For iPhone or iPad, see How to add my email to iPhone or iPad.
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