Manual IMAP and SMTP setup
Enter server, port and encryption yourself when discovery finds nothing or when your provider needs different values; FOLD connects only over TLS.
When you need it
FOLD opens the manual setup by itself when discovery finds no server settings. You can also choose it yourself: Set up manually on the first step, or Set up manually instead in the Google sign-in step on iPhone and iPad.
The fields
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Username | Your login, often the full email address. |
| Password | Your password or an app password. |
| IMAP server, Port, encryption | Incoming server. FOLD prefills imap.<domain>, port 993 and implicit TLS. |
| Different SMTP server | Only if outgoing mail uses another host. Otherwise FOLD uses the IMAP host with port 587 and STARTTLS. |
| Different SMTP credentials | Only if the SMTP server needs another username and password. |
Use IMAP settings undoes the two SMTP options. On iPhone and iPad the form also contains the Email address and Display name (optional).
Encryption
| Mode | Mac label | iPhone and iPad label | Usual ports |
|---|---|---|---|
| Implicit TLS | TLS | SSL/TLS | IMAP 993, SMTP 465 |
| STARTTLS | STARTTLS | STARTTLS | IMAP 143, SMTP 587 |
| No encryption | None | None | not supported |
FOLD never sends a password over an unencrypted connection. With None, FOLD refuses to connect, and the setup reports IMAP server unreachable; check server, port and encryption. With STARTTLS, FOLD switches to TLS before it signs in; if the switch fails, it drops the connection instead of continuing in plain text.
The server certificate must be valid for the host name you entered. FOLD offers no way to accept an invalid or self-signed certificate. The TLS version is negotiated by the operating system.
Sign-in methods
- IMAP: SASL PLAIN inside the encrypted connection, XOAUTH2 for Google accounts.
- SMTP: the strongest method the server offers, in this order: SCRAM-SHA-256, CRAM-MD5, PLAIN, LOGIN.
Test before saving
When you click Create account (Mac) or tap Add account (iPhone, iPad), FOLD signs in to IMAP and then to SMTP. Only if both succeed does it save the account. Otherwise it names the failing part, for example SMTP server unreachable; check server, port and encryption., and nothing is stored.
Changing settings later
On the Mac, open Settings > Accounts and click Edit. On iPhone and iPad, tap your account picture, then Accounts and the account. If you change the server, port, encryption, username or password, FOLD repeats the sign-in test before it saves. On the Mac, leave New password (empty = unchanged) empty to keep the stored password.