If you are not receiving emails or having difficulty sending, it is usually due to an issue with the mail client you are using (Gmail, Outlook, Mac Mail).
The easiest way to check that your email is actually working and not due to a mail client disconnect is to check the mail on the web. Every hosting client has a web mailbox at their domain /webmail. It will take you to where you can input your email and password for your email account.
Accessing the Web Mailbox:
Login to your mailbox on the web at: https://yourdomain.com/webmail
Username: your full email address
Password: your password
The web mailbox program on my server is RoundCubeTM. It is a fully functional email account and if you see your current emails there and can send a test email from it, than the disconnect is with your mail client. Usually it means you need to re-add the email or tweak the settings. How you do this depends upon the mail client you are using, but the settings are as follows below.
Secure (SSL) Mail Settings
Incoming Mail Server Type: POP or IMAP (See below for information)
Incoming Mail Server Hostname: mail.yourdomain.com
Incoming Mail Server Security: SSL/TLS
Incoming Mail Authentication Method: Password authentication
Incoming Mail Server Port: [POP: 995 (SSL/TLS)] [IMAP: 993 (SSL/TLS)]
Incoming Mail Server Username: your full email
Incoming Mail Server Password: your email’s password
Outgoing Mail Server Hostname: mail.yourdomain.com
Outgoing Mail Server Security: SSL/TLS
Outgoing Mail Authentication Method: Normal Password or Encrypted Password
Outgoing Mail Server Port: 465 or 587 for SSL/TLS
Outgoing Mail Server Username: your full email
Outgoing Mail Server Password: your email’s password
What is the difference between the POP and IMAP protocols?
There are two ways to check for incoming mail, POP (sometimes called POP3) and IMAP (sometimes called IMAP4). Both protocols handle the same tasks, but they approach the process from different perspectives.
POP is the oldest protocol and it was designed in a time when space on a server was very expensive and most people only had a single personal computer. By default POP connections try to download all of your mail to the local computer and then delete the message from the server. POP connections can keep mail on the server if configured to do so, but most clients don’t handle connections that way by default.
IMAP is a somewhat newer protocol that came out when the cost of server time and storage came down a lot. IMAP defaults to synchronizing mail between the server and your local device or machine so both locations match. IMAP can download and remove mail from the server just like POP does, but it isn’t configured to do that by default.
If you are not sure what protocol to choose, try IMAP. That way your email is likely to look the same on all of your devices.
POP:
Pros:
- Downloads email from the server and stores it locally (except on most mobile devices) which frees up disk space on the server.
- Can view downloaded messages when offline.
- Attachments are downloaded locally for easier access.
Cons:
- Since mail is downloaded and removed from the server, if you try to access your mail from another location, you won’t have access to your old mail.
- Your mail provider might have a limit to the number of POP connections per hour because these connections can have more overhead than IMAP connections.
- If your local machine crashes or has hardware issues and you don’t have backups, you could lose your mail.
IMAP:
Pros:
- You can switch between an e-mail client and webmail at any time and still have the same messages.
- Makes it easier to access your e-mail using a multiple devices because the messages are not removed from the server.
- Because IMAP connections don’t have to download message bodies or attachments until you read the message (if your mail client is configured that way), you can save some space on your device.
Cons:
- Your mail is only available on the server, so you may not be able to interact with old messages if you are unable to connect to the internet.
- In the event of catastrophic server failure you could potentially lose your e-mail.
- Email folders are stored on the server and may appear differently on different devices.