Setting Up an IONOS Email Account in Apple Mail

With programs like Apple Mail, you can send and receive emails on your computer without having to access Webmail.

In this article, we'll show you how to set up your IONOS email account in Apple Mail under macOS with SSL encryption enabled.

Please Note

macOS Sierra and later provide support for encryption using SSL/TLS. If you are using an older operating system, you may not be able to establish a connection to our email servers to send and receive emails.

Quick Start Guide

If you have not yet set up an email account in Apple Mail:
  • Open Mail.
    The Choose a Mail Account Provider window opens.

  • Select Other Mail account... and click continue.
If you have already set up an email account in Apple Mail:
  • Open Mail and click Mail > Add Account ... on the menu bar.

  • Select Other Mail Account ....

Use the following settings/information to set up your email account:

Field/Setting Entry/Description
Name The name displayed on outgoing emails
Email address The full email address you want to set up in Apple Mail. For example: email@example.com
Username The email address you used above. For example: email@example.com
Password The password you have set for your email address.
Account Type IMAP
Server for incoming emails imap.ionos.com
IMAP port, SSL enabled 993
Server for outgoing emails smtp.ionos.com
SMTP port, SSL enabled 587

Adding an Email Account to Apple Mail

  • Open Apple Mail and click Mail > Add Account... on the menu bar.
  • Select the Other mail account... option and click Continue.
  • Enter your name, IONOS email address, and password and click Log In. (If you have lost the password to your email account, you can set a new password).
  • Under Username, enter your email address again.
  • Select the desired account type. You can choose between the account types IMAP or POP3. We recommend using the default IMAP setting.

    • If you have set the account type  to IMAP, enter imap.ionos.com in the Server for incoming email field.
    • If you have set the account type  to POP3, enter pop.ionos.com in the Server for incoming email field.
  • In the Outgoing mail server field, enter smtp.ionos.com and click Log in.
    Please note: If the message Account name/Password could not be verified is displayed, please check your entries for completeness/accuracy.
  • Select the apps you want to use with your account and click Done.

Enabling SSL Encryption

When you set up a new email account in Apple Mail, SSL encryption is enabled automatically now. The following steps are only necessary if SSL encryption has not yet been enabled.

  • On the Mail menu bar, click Mail > Settings.
  • Click Accounts > Server Settings tab.

  • Under Incoming email server (IMAP) or Incoming email server (POP3), disable the Manage connection settings automatically option.

  • Enter the following port number:

    • If you have set the account type to IMAP, enter the port number 993 in the Incoming Mail Server (IMAP) > Port field.
    • If you have set the account type to POP3, enter the port number 995 in the Incoming Mail Server (POP3) > Port field.
      Please note: The TLS/SSL setting allows your emails to be transmitted using SSL encryption as well.
  • In the Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP) section, disable the Manage connection settings automatically option.

  • Enter the port number 465 in the Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP) > Port field.

  • Click Save.