Setting Up Email on iPhone & iPad

This guide walks you through adding your Exact Hosting mailbox to the built-in Mail app on an iPhone or iPad. The steps are identical on both devices because they share the same iOS/iPadOS Mail settings.

Before you add your account

Because Exact Hosting is not in Apple's list of preset providers, you add the account as an Other account and enter the server settings yourself. Have the following ready:

• Your full email address and password. The username is always the complete address, and the password is your email account password, not your Exact Hosting portal password.
• Your incoming/outgoing server name. This depends on your product and server. Look it up in the Email Server Settings Reference (IMAP, POP, SMTP) and keep it open in another tab.
• App-specific password, if you use two-factor authentication. If you have turned on 2FA for Enhanced Email, your phone's Mail app needs an app-specific password instead of your normal password. See Creating App-Specific Passwords for Email.

Tip: Choose IMAP rather than POP so your mail stays synced across your phone, tablet, and computer. See IMAP vs POP: Which Should You Use? if you are unsure.

Step 1: Open the Add Account screen

1. On your device, open Settings.
2. Tap Mail, then tap Accounts.
3. Tap Add Account.
4. Tap Other at the bottom of the provider list.
5. Tap Add Mail Account.

Step 2: Enter your account details

1. In the New Accountscreen, fill in:
   • Name — the name you want shown on outgoing mail.
   • Email — your full email address.
   • Password — your email password (or app-specific password if 2FA is on).
   • Description — a label for the account, such as "Work email".
2. Tap Next. Your device tries to verify the account and then shows the server settings screen.

Step 3: Enter the server settings

1. At the top, make sure IMAP is selected.
2. Under Incoming Mail Server, enter:
   • Host Name — your incoming server (for example, email.exacthosting.com for Enhanced Email cluster A). See the server settings reference for your exact value.
   • User Name — your full email address.
   • Password — your email or app-specific password.
3. Under Outgoing Mail Server, enter the same Host Name, User Name, and Password.

Note: iOS labels the outgoing username and password as optional, but Exact Hosting requires authentication for outgoing mail. Enter them so your mail will send.

4. Tap Next. Your device verifies the settings, which can take a moment.
5. Tap Save.

Step 4: Confirm SSL and ports (if verification fails)

iOS usually selects the secure (SSL) ports automatically. If the account fails to verify, set them manually:

1. Go to Settings > Mail > Accounts, then tap your new account.
2. Tap the account (your email address) at the top, then tap Advanced for the incoming server.
3. Confirm Use SSL is on and the Server Port is 993 for IMAP.
4. Go back to the account screen, tap SMTP under Outgoing Mail Server, tap the primary server, confirm Use SSL is on, and set Server Port to 465.
5. Tap Done and return to Mail.

For the full list of ports by product, see the Email Server Settings Reference.

Step 5: Test your account

Open the Mail app, pull down to refresh your inbox, and send a test message to yourself. If mail arrives and sends without error, setup is complete.

Next steps

• Connection won't verify? See Email Client Connection Errors (Password / Port / SSL) for the most common causes and fixes.
• Set up your computer too. Follow Setting Up Email in Outlook (Windows & Mac) or Setting Up Email in Apple Mail (macOS).
• Using 2FA? Generate a dedicated password for Mail in Creating App-Specific Passwords for Email.

Questions? Contact Exact Hosting Support.