Setting Up Email in Apple Mail (macOS)

This guide walks you through adding your Exact Hosting mailbox to the Mail app on a Mac. Because Exact Hosting is not a preset provider, you add it as an Other Mail Account and enter the server settings manually.

Note: Apple Mail's wording shifts slightly between macOS versions. The flow below reflects a recent macOS; confirm labels if yours differs.

Before you begin

• Your full email address and password. The username is always your complete address; the password is your email account password, not your Exact Hosting portal password.
• Your incoming/outgoing server name and ports. These depend on your product and server. Look them up in the Email Server Settings Reference (IMAP, POP, SMTP).
• An app-specific password, if you use 2FA. If two-factor authentication is on for your Enhanced Email account, Mail needs an app-specific password. See Creating App-Specific Passwords for Email.

Tip: Choose IMAP so your mail stays in sync across your Mac, phone, and Webmail. See IMAP vs POP: Which Should You Use?.

Step 1: Open the Add Account screen

1. Open the Mail app.
2. From the menu bar, choose Mail > Add Account (or Mail > Settings > Accounts, then click +).
3. Select Other Mail Account, then click Continue.

Step 2: Enter your account details

1. Enter your Name, full Email Address, and Password (or app-specific password if 2FA is on).
2. Click Sign In.

Mail tries to detect the settings automatically. If it cannot, it shows fields for the server settings — continue to Step 3.

Step 3: Enter the server settings manually

Using the server settings reference, enter:

1. Account Type — IMAP.
2. Incoming Mail Server — your incoming server (for example, email.exacthosting.com for Enhanced Email cluster A).
3. Outgoing Mail Server — the same server.
4. User Name — your full email address.
5. Password — your email or app-specific password.
6. Click Sign In.

Step 4: Confirm SSL and ports (if sign-in fails)

If Mail cannot connect, check the encryption settings:

1. Choose Mail > Settings > Accounts and select your account.
2. On the Server Settings tab, clear Automatically manage connection settings if you need to set ports by hand.
3. For the incoming (IMAP) server, confirm Use TLS/SSL is on and the port is 993.
4. For the outgoing (SMTP) server, confirm Use TLS/SSL is on, the port is 465, and Authentication is set to Password.
5. Save your changes.

Warning: Always keep TLS/SSL enabled. Without it, your password is sent unencrypted.

Step 5: Test your account

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).
• Set up your other devices. Follow Setting Up Email on iPhone & iPad or Setting Up Email on Android.

Questions? Contact Exact Hosting Support.