# Connect your email account

> Connect your mailbox to Mail with your email address and an app password, with presets for Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, Fastmail, Yahoo and Zoho, or any IMAP server.

Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/mail-connect-account
Section: Communicate > Mail
Plans: All plans
Updated: 2026-10-15

Mail reads the mailbox you already have. You connect it once with your email address and a password, and PlexiDesk talks to your mail server directly from the desktop app. There is no Google or Microsoft sign-in to go through: Mail uses IMAP, which almost every email provider offers.

Connect your mailbox before you use Mail, the [Inbox widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-inbox) or the [Email widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-email). They all read the mailbox you connect here.

## Before you start

- **Use the PlexiDesk desktop app.** Mail connects to your mail server from your computer.
- **Plans.** Connecting a mailbox is part of every plan.
- **Get an app password.** Most providers ask for an app password (also called an app-specific password) rather than your normal password, especially when two-step sign-in is on. You make one in your email account's security settings. The connection form tells you where for each provider it knows.
- **Know your server name if your provider is not listed.** For any other provider you need its IMAP server name and port, which your provider publishes.

## Connect a mailbox

1. In the side menu, open **Apps** and click **Mail** under **Tools**. The first time, Mail shows **Connect your email**.
2. Click your provider: **Gmail**, **Outlook**, **iCloud**, **Fastmail**, **Yahoo** or **Zoho**. This fills in the server details for you, and a note tells you what that provider needs, for example **Needs an app password (Google account → Security → App passwords).**
3. Type your **Email address**.
4. Type your app password in **Password**.
5. Click **Test connection** if you want to check first. When it works, **Connection works** appears beside the button.
6. Click **Connect**. PlexiDesk checks the details with your mail server, then opens your inbox.

**Connect** and **Test connection** become available once there is an email address, a password and a server.

> **Tip:**
> Below **IMAP server settings**, a line shows where Mail will connect, for example **Connecting to imap.gmail.com:993 over SSL**. Check it before you click **Connect**.

### What each preset tells you

| Provider | The note in the form |
| --- | --- |
| **Gmail** | **Needs an app password (Google account → Security → App passwords).** |
| **Outlook** | No note. The server details are filled in. |
| **iCloud** | **Needs an app-specific password from appleid.apple.com.** |
| **Fastmail** | **Needs an app password from Settings → Privacy & Security.** |
| **Yahoo** | **Needs an app password from Account Security.** |
| **Zoho** | Turn on IMAP access in Zoho Mail first, and use an app-specific password if two-factor sign-in is on. See [Zoho](https://plexiidesk.com/help/mail-connect-account#zoho) below. |

### Zoho

Zoho's server name depends on your plan and on where you sign in to Zoho, so clicking **Zoho** opens two more rows:

- **Zoho account**: choose **Own domain (paid plan)** if your address is on your organisation's own domain on a paid plan, or **@zohomail.com or free plan**.
- **Region: where you sign in to Zoho (mail.zoho.com.au is Australia)**: choose **US**, **EU**, **UK**, **India**, **Australia**, **Japan**, **Canada**, **Saudi Arabia**, **UAE** or **China**.

The note for Zoho reads: **Turn on IMAP Access first (Zoho Mail → Settings → Mail Accounts → IMAP). With two-factor sign-in on, it needs an app-specific password (Zoho Accounts → Security → App Passwords). Zoho does not offer IMAP on newly created free-plan accounts.**

## Connect any other mailbox

1. Open Mail. On **Connect your email**, click **IMAP server settings**.
2. Type the **IMAP host**, for example `imap.example.com`.
3. Check the **Port**. It starts at 993.
4. Leave **Use SSL/TLS (port 993). Uncheck for STARTTLS on 143.** ticked for port 993. Untick it and set the port to 143 if your provider uses STARTTLS.
5. Type your **Email address** and **Password**, then click **Test connection** or **Connect**.

You only set up the incoming (IMAP) server. PlexiDesk works out the server it sends your replies through from the same details.

## Change your password or server

1. In Mail, click **Account** (the three dots at the top of the message list).
2. Click **Account settings**. The connection form opens with your address and server filled in.
3. Type your password again, change anything else, and click **Connect**.

## Disconnect your mailbox

1. In Mail, click **Account** (the three dots).
2. Click **Disconnect mailbox**.

Mail forgets the connection on this computer straight away and shows **Connect your email** again. Nothing changes in your mailbox on the mail server.

## Where your connection is kept

- **On this computer.** Your connection, and your password, stay on the computer where you set them up. The form says: **Stored encrypted on this device with your OS keychain. It never leaves your machine.** Connect again on each computer you use. See [Privacy settings and what leaves your computer](https://plexiidesk.com/help/settings-privacy).
- **One per organisation.** Each organisation you belong to, and your personal space, keeps its own mailbox connection on this computer.

## If the connection does not work

| Mail says | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| **Login was rejected. Check the username and password. Gmail, iCloud and Fastmail need an app-specific password, not your normal one.** | Make a new app password in your email account's security settings and paste it in **Password**. Check the email address too. |
| **Could not find that mail server. Check the IMAP host.** | Open **IMAP server settings** and correct the **IMAP host**. Click a provider preset if yours is listed. |
| **Could not reach that mail server. Check the host, the port, and the SSL/TLS setting.** | Check that the port and the **Use SSL/TLS** box match: 993 with the box ticked, or 143 with it unticked. Check that your computer is online. |

For Zoho, also check that IMAP access is turned on in Zoho Mail, and that the plan and region rows match the address you sign in to Zoho with.

## Common questions

**Why does it want an app password?** Most providers do not let other apps sign in with your normal password, particularly with two-step sign-in turned on. An app password is a separate password just for PlexiDesk, which you can remove in your email account at any time.

**Can I connect two mailboxes at once?** One mailbox per organisation, or for your personal space, on each computer. To read a different mailbox in the same organisation, use **Account settings** to change the connection.

**Does disconnecting delete my email?** No. Your mail stays on your mail server. Mail only forgets how to connect.

**I use a different computer. Is my mailbox there too?** Not until you connect it there. Your mail connection belongs to the computer you set it up on. See [Sync your work across devices](https://plexiidesk.com/help/accounts-and-sync).

## Related tasks

- [Mail in Plexii](https://plexiidesk.com/help/mail-overview)
- [Read, reply and send email](https://plexiidesk.com/help/mail-read-and-reply)
- [Search your mail](https://plexiidesk.com/help/mail-search)
- [Inbox widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-inbox)
- [Privacy settings and what leaves your computer](https://plexiidesk.com/help/settings-privacy)