Email Setup Guide: Microsoft Outlook 2025 (IMAP)
This guide details the manual process for configuring your cPanel-hosted email account within Microsoft Outlook 2025 using the IMAP protocol. IMAP is generally recommended as it synchronizes mail across all your devices.
Part 1: Starting the Manual Account Setup
- Open Microsoft Outlook 2025.
- Navigate to the File menu, select Info, and then choose the Add Account option.
Part 2: Selecting Configuration Options
- Select the radio button labeled Manually configure server settings or additional server types and click Next.
- Select the Internet E-mail radio button and click Next.
Part 3: Entering Mail Server Settings
- Enter the following required information in the corresponding fields:
- Your Name - The name you want displayed to recipients on outgoing email.
- E-mail address - Your complete email address.
- Account Type - Select IMAP.
- Incoming mail server - Use mail.yourdomain.com (replace yourdomain.com with your actual domain).
- Outgoing mail server (SMTP) - Also use mail.yourdomain.com.
- User Name - This must be your full email address.
- Password - The password for your email account.
- Before clicking Next, click the More Settings button (usually located in the bottom right).
- Go to the Outgoing Server tab and check the box that says My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication.
- Go to the Advanced tab. Verify the port settings: Incoming server (IMAP) should be 993 with SSL/TLS encryption. Outgoing server (SMTP) should be 465 with SSL/TLS encryption, OR 587 with STARTTLS encryption.
- Click OK to close More Settings.
- Click Next. Outlook will attempt to test the connection.
- Click Finish.
Troubleshooting and Advice
Common Issues and Solutions:
- **Failed Connection Test:** This usually means the ports or encryption methods are incorrect. Ensure you are using the combination of **IMAP 993/SSL** and **SMTP 465/SSL** (the most secure options), or **IMAP 143/STARTTLS** and **SMTP 587/STARTTLS** if SSL is not connecting properly.
- **Login Failed:** Double-check that the User Name is the **full email address** and not just the part before the @ symbol. Also confirm the password is correct by trying to log into webmail.
- **Cannot Send Mail (but can receive):** This almost always indicates the Outgoing Server (SMTP) Authentication setting was missed. Go back to More Settings and ensure the My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication box is checked, usually set to Use same settings as my incoming mail server.
- **Server Name Advice:** While `mail.yourdomain.com` is typical, if you are having certificate warnings, try using your hosting provider's **server hostname** instead (e.g., `serverhostname.com`). This is generally found in your cPanel dashboard's Server Information section. Using the hostname bypasses potential SSL certificate mismatch errors when using `mail.yourdomain.com`.
