Setting up your email in Thunderbird

Thunderbird is a free email app for Windows, Mac and Linux. These steps add the email account that comes with your Ruachost hosting using IMAP, so your messages stay in sync with webmail and your phone.

Before you start

You need your full email address, its password, and your mail server: mail.yourdomain.com. If your domain doesn’t point to Ruachost yet, use the server hostname from your welcome email. See Email settings for apps and devices.

Add the account

Open Thunderbird. If this is your first account, the setup screen opens. Otherwise, click the ≡ menu → New Account → Existing Email.
Enter your name, email address and password, and tick Remember password.
Click Configure manually.
Incoming server:
- Protocol: IMAP
- Hostname: mail.yourdomain.com
- Port: 993
- Connection security: SSL/TLS
- Authentication method: Normal password
- Username: your full email address
Outgoing server:
- Hostname: mail.yourdomain.com
- Port: 587
- Connection security: STARTTLS
- Authentication method: Normal password
- Username: your full email address
Click Re-test, then Done.

Keep Sent messages on the server

Thunderbird saves sent messages to the server’s Sent folder by default. To check:

Click ≡ → Account Settings, and choose Copies & Folders under your account.
Under When sending messages, automatically, make sure Place a copy in is ticked and set to “Sent” Folder on your email account (not Local Folders).

Troubleshooting

“Add Security Exception” or certificate warning: don’t accept it. Change the hostname to the server hostname from your welcome email (also in cPanel under Email Accounts → Connect Devices).
“Login to server failed”: check the username is the full email address and the password works in webmail.
Still not working: see Can’t log in to your email.

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