Email Setup Guide for Big Sky Hosted Email

Video Walkthroughs

If you prefer to watch the setup instead of read it, the videos below cover the most common setups.

Three Things to Get Right Before You Start

Setup on a Computer (Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird)

General Steps

Most desktop email programs follow the same pattern. The screens look different but the information is the same.

1. Open your email program and find "Add Account" or "Add Mail Account" in the settings.
2. Choose the option to set up manually (not the automatic "just enter your email" option). Automatic setup often picks the wrong settings.
3. When asked what kind of account, choose IMAP.
4. Enter the settings from the section above.
5. For both incoming and outgoing servers, enter your full email address as the username, and your password.
6. Save and test by sending yourself an email.

Outlook Specifically

Outlook sometimes tries to migrate from older email setups (like the legacy GoDaddy system) without asking. If that happens, cancel the migration and set up the account manually using the settings above.

If You Use the Built-In "Add Account" Wizard

The wizard will probably guess settings that are wrong. Always switch to manual setup when given the option.

Setup on iPhone or iPad

1. Open Settings → Mail → Accounts → Add Account.
2. Choose Other, then Add Mail Account.
3. Enter your name, email address, password, and a description (whatever helps you identify it).
4. Tap Next. The phone will try to figure things out automatically. It probably will not.
5. When the manual setup screen appears, choose IMAP at the top.
6. Under Incoming Mail Server, enter:
   • Host Name: secure.emailsrvr.com
   • User Name: your full email address
   • Password: your password
7. Under Outgoing Mail Server, enter the same three values. Yes, even though Apple labels it "optional," you need to fill it in.
8. Tap Next. The phone will verify the connection.
9. If verification fails, double-check every character of the server name, username, and password. One typo is almost always the cause.

Setup on Android Phones or Tablets

The exact steps vary by Android version and manufacturer (Samsung looks different from Google Pixel, which looks different from Motorola). The information you need is the same on all of them.

1. Open your email app and go to the option to add a new account.
2. Enter your email address and password.
3. When asked what kind of account, choose IMAP (not POP, Exchange, or anything else).
4. Enter the incoming server settings:
   • Server: secure.emailsrvr.com
   • Port: 993
   • Security Type: SSL or SSL/TLS
   • Username: your full email address
5. Enter the outgoing server settings:
   • Server: secure.emailsrvr.com
   • Port: 465
   • Security Type: SSL or SSL/TLS
   • Username: your full email address
   • Check the box for "Require sign-in" if asked
6. Save and test.

Read Your Email in a Browser (Webmail)

If you do not want to set up email on a device, or if you just need to check email from someone else's computer, you can use webmail.