E -mail software such as mail, email, outlook or Thunderbird sometimes claim parameters and addresses of POP, IMAP and SMTP servers to configure an email account. Here is the information to provide them with.

E -mail software such as mail, email, outlook or Thunderbird sometimes claim parameters and addresses of POP, IMAP and SMTP servers to configure an email account. Here is the information to provide them with.

When you receive or send e -mails, the messages pass through the service servers associated with your email address. Thus, Outlook.com, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Laposte, Apple, but also Internet access providers (FAI) like Orange, Free, SFR or Bouygues Telecom all have their own electronic email servers. When you use these services with a webmail – that is to say via a web browser – or a mobile app, you do not have to worry about these servers: Accessing your account and consulting or writing messages are your email address and the associated password.

But it is different with messaging software – specialists speak of “messaging client” – installed locally, on your computer or mobile. Generally, you have almost nothing to configure yourself when you decide to use software like Outlook, Mail, Mail or Thunderbird to manage your correspondence. These tools being well designed enough to determine for you the messaging servers corresponding to the email address you indicate. However, it may happen that the mail client does not manage to identify the servers and then asks you to enter certain “technical” information by hand, in particular the addresses of the servers. The case can also occur when you link another email account to a webmail – for example, to manage a Yahoo address from Microsoft’s Webmail Outlook.

To save you time, we have gathered here for you the addresses of messaging servers of the main ISPs and email services. You can distinguish several data in the tables below. The POP and IMAP servers which are the servers dedicated to incoming letters (the emails you receive) and the SMTP servers for outgoing letters (the emails you send). Also the connection port numbers are included. They will also be asked for you when setting up your account in the email software.

What are the differences between POP, IMAP and SMTP servers?

To properly configure your messaging software, you must understand what POP, IMAP and SMTP servers and associated protocols are for. Depending on the service used, you will have the choice of certain parameters … or not!

POP server and IMAP server

The POP and IMAP servers both serve the “entering” mail, that is to say to the messages you receive, a bit like the mailbox of your home. But they have significant differences.

• The POP server (for Post Office Protocol, a unidirectional communication protocol) stores the electronic letters you receive. When you raise your messages with messaging software such as mail, email, outlook or Thunderbird, it transfers them to the computer. Please note that an explicit indication of you – in general, a check box when configuring the account in the software – all recovered messages are automatically deleted from the server once they have been recovered. Suddenly, if you consult your box with several devices using messaging software configured in POP, it is the first connected that recovers the messages! Embarrassing if you use a shared account with other people … On the other hand, the operations you perform on your computer – when you delete or move a message, for example – are not passed on to the POP server, since they are made locally, on your computer.
• The IMAP server (for Internet Message Access Protocol, a bidirectional communication protocol) also stores the electronic letters you receive. But, unlike a POP server, when you raise your messages with messaging software like mail, email, outlook or Thunderbird, it copies them to the computer, instead of transferring them. Suddenly, the messages remain on the server. And you can consult them with a webmail or other messaging software. Be careful however, in IMAP, the server is synchronized with messaging software: all the operations you perform from your messaging software are automatically reflected on the server as soon as the connection is established – and therefore in real time, if you connect permanently. Thus, if you delete letters in your email software, they are also deleted on the server. And you will no longer be able to recover them …

SMTP server

The SMTP server (for simple mail transfer protocol) is only used for “outgoing” mail, that is to say to the messages that you ship, a bit like a public mailbox in which you place the mail to send. Completely disconnected from the incoming mail server, it simply transit the emails you send from your courier client or your webmail.

SSL, TLS and Starttls

These are exchange security protocols. SSL (for Secure Socket Layer or secure connection interface layer), TLS (for transport Layer Security or Safety of the Transport layer) or Startls (an extension of the TLS protocol) add protection in communication with messaging servers by allowing their authentication and encryption of data that transit there. You have nothing more to know to use them, but some messaging services impose one protocol rather than another to work: you just have to select it when it is requested!

Ports

Messaging servers and software use specific communications ports to exchange data via the Internet. Ports that are identified by numbers. You must therefore specify the port used by each server in your messaging software.

What are the addresses of the mail servers of the main FAI?

Do you want to configure Windows 10 mail, macOS, Thunderbird or Outlook to access your mail account at Free, Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom or OVH? Here are the addresses of their Pop, IMAP and SMTP servers, with the associated ports.

What are the addresses of servers of the main email services?

Do you want to manage your emails from Outlook.com, Gmail, Yahoo Mail and others from your messaging software installed on your computer or mobile? Here are the addresses of their reception and shipping server with the associated ports.