Unable to connect IMAP account to Outlook for iOS8

Anonymous
2015-07-28T22:44:23+00:00

I have installed the Outlook app on an iPad and iPhone with the latest iOS8. I have an IMAP email account but the app is unable to connect to it. 

The native iOS email client on both devices will connect to this IMAP account OK.  But when I enter the same settings in the Outlook app's Advanced Settings entry screen (which are the server, etc. settings provided by my ISP), it comes back with a message that it cannot connect.

I note that the entry screens in the current Outlook app differ from those shown in the relevant Office365 knowledge base article here:

https://support.office.com/en-au/article/Set-up-email-on-iPhone-iPad-or-iPod-Touch-b2de2161-cc1d-49ef-9ef9-81acd1c8e234?ui=en-US&rs=en-AU&ad=AU&fromAR=1#BKMK\_IMAPorPOP

The article shows screenshots with options to select/deselect SSL and enter port numbers. These options don't appear when I use the IMAP setup option in Outlook for iOS. 

Note that when iOS makes the connection, it does not use SSL or ask for port numbers. These parameters can only be accessed via the advanced account settings for the account AFTER the device has added the account.

I should add that I also have an Exchange email account, which can be set up in both the iOS email client and the iOS Outlook app without difficulty. 

And also that the Outlook app exhibits the same behaviour on Android - i.e. the Android email client lets me set up the IMAP account but Outlook for Android is unable to connect.

Outlook | Outlook for mobile | Outlook for iOS | For business

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-01-12T11:07:20+00:00

    You can add a port by entering in a server in this format:

    mail.server.com:993

    Note that the keyboard doesn't allow you to type in a ":" via the app input.

    I had to copy and paste the ":" char from another app (i.e. Safari) to insert the character in...but it worked.

    Hope this helps someone!

    Wow ... AMAZING man .. you are great and greater than MS support who could only provide reference to useless links...

    I tried the way you suggested and it worked..  you saved lots of man-hours for me ...

    YOU ARE THE MAN ...

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-12-15T10:00:34+00:00

    I have found a solution:

    In IOS app, go to Settings >> then select the account

    Select "Edit Log-in Information"

    You will notice the port number after your host, e.g. myhostingcompany.com:25

    You can edit the entries to, e.g. myhostingcompany.com:993

    Mine required no change as it had defaulted to SSL/TLS

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-11-24T19:27:05+00:00

    What I experienced is that after I had set up IMAP-mail in the Outlook app on my iphone6, the email was synchronised, but after I did the same on my Ipad at first the email synchronised but after that it didn´t synchronise new email on both devices anymore. Because I didn´t encounter any of the problems in this thread in the native mail-app on iphone/ipad I stopped using the Outlook app; too time consuming.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-08-11T14:54:21+00:00

    Freddy, when I started this thread ages ago, part of the problem was that Outlook for iOS didn't allow you to enter the port numbers (either appended to the domain with a colon or via separate entry fields) during the advanced setup process. As Gerald Devolder says in his post, the only option is to enter just the domain. 

    If Outlook iOS manages to connect to the IMAP account, it'll pick up the correct ports along the way, which can be seen by reviewing the account settings from Outlook on the device.

    I'm afraid I cannot add much more at this stage. Josh Pettit is on track saying there is a server-side component to the problem. I have control over the domain I need to connect to IMAP. A few months ago I went into the control panel on the lSP's site and upgraded the mailbox in question from POP/IMAP to Exchange. Worked perfectly with iOS, of course. But I decided it wasn't worth paying ££ for Exchange so I reverted to POP/IMAP.

    Since then, I've been able to add the mailbox to my iPad and iPhone as an IMAP account ... with a couple of strings attached. Firstly, it won't connect via the 'simple' connect option. I have to complete all the fields in the advanced setup option (though the port numbers aren't required). Then it connects.

    Secondly, unlike my main, Exchange, account, the IMAP one periodically requires me to re-enter my password. That is probably just the ISP being cautious with IMAP security. Whatever, it takes seconds on my Android device but longer on iOS because of having to plod through the advanced setup entry process.

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  5. Anonymous
    2016-08-11T14:12:12+00:00

    SOLUTION: You need to add the port number, for example:

    The incoming settings are :

    imap.domain.com:143

    The outgoing settings are :

    smtp.domain.com:25

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