This guide is for LochStudios Mail (hosted business email on Axigen). You add the address to Microsoft Outlook on a Windows or Mac computer so you can send and receive from the desktop.
This is not the same product as shared hosting email (the mailboxes you create in cPanel). Those use different server details. If that is the product you have, see Set up email in Microsoft Outlook. Unsure which product you have? Open a support ticket and we will check with you.
Prefer the browser? Sign in at the portal, open the mail service, and click Log in to WebMail. That is our WebMail, not Outlook on the web. See What is Axigen webmail and how to sign in.
Before you start
You need the mailbox address, its password, and the incoming and outgoing hostnames. Confirm them on the mail service in the portal. Do not guess a server name.
Hostname is usually mail.yourdomain.com once the domain's DNS and MX records point at LochStudios Mail. Swap in your domain. Username is always the full email address. Password is the mailbox password, not your portal password.
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Username | The full address (sales@yourdomain.com) |
| Password | The mailbox password |
| Incoming (IMAP) | mail.yourdomain.com, port 993, SSL/TLS |
| Incoming (POP) | mail.yourdomain.com, port 995, SSL/TLS |
| Outgoing (SMTP) | mail.yourdomain.com, port 587, STARTTLS (or port 465, SSL/TLS) |
| SMTP authentication | On, same username and password |
We recommend IMAP. Full notes: Axigen email server settings.
Do not choose Microsoft 365, Exchange, Outlook.com, or Office 365 for this mailbox. Those are for mail hosted by Microsoft. This address is IMAP (or POP) on LochStudios Mail. Choose IMAP, Other, or Let me set up my account manually.
This product does not use a separate app password. Use the mailbox password in Outlook.
Outlook cannot add the calendar and contacts for this mailbox as Exchange. Add those separately. See Sync calendar and contacts (CalDAV and CardDAV) in Axigen.
Add the account on Windows
Outlook menus differ slightly between classic Outlook and the newer Outlook app. Use the path that matches what you see.
Classic Outlook (File menu)
1. Open Outlook.
2. Go to File → Add Account.
3. Enter the full email address and click Connect.
4. If Outlook offers Microsoft 365, Exchange, or only a Microsoft sign-in, choose IMAP instead. Look for Advanced options, Let me set up my account manually, or IMAP.
5. Enter the incoming settings:
- Incoming mail server: mail.yourdomain.com (your domain)
- Port: 993
- Encryption: SSL/TLS
- Username: the full email address
- Password: the mailbox password
6. Enter the outgoing settings:
- Outgoing (SMTP) server: mail.yourdomain.com
- Port: 587
- Encryption: STARTTLS
- Require a login, with the same username and password
7. Click Next (or Connect) and wait for Outlook to check the settings.
8. If Outlook asks how much mail to keep offline, pick a range that works for you (for example the last two weeks). That only changes what Outlook stores on this PC. The mailbox on the server is unchanged.
9. Click Done when the account is added.
If port 587 with STARTTLS does not connect, use port 465 with SSL/TLS. Do not mix those pairings.
If auto-detect fills a Microsoft server or a name you do not recognise, cancel and enter mail.yourdomain.com by hand. Do not keep a guessed name.
Newer Outlook (Settings)
- Open Outlook.
- Open Settings (gear) → Accounts → Your accounts.
- Click Add account.
- Enter the full email address.
- Choose IMAP (or Other / IMAP if you are offered Microsoft 365 first).
- Fill in the same incoming and outgoing values from the table above.
- Save and wait for the inbox to appear.
If the newer Outlook will not accept a custom IMAP account, use classic Outlook, WebMail, or open a support ticket.
Add the account on Mac
1. Open Outlook.
2. Go to Outlook → Settings (or Preferences) → Accounts. On some versions it is Tools → Accounts.
3. Click Add Email Account (or +).
4. Enter the full email address. If Outlook tries a Microsoft account first, choose IMAP or Other email account.
5. Enter the mailbox password when asked.
6. If Outlook does not finish on its own, open the new account and set:
- Incoming server: mail.yourdomain.com, port 993, SSL/TLS
- Username: the full email address
- Outgoing server: mail.yourdomain.com, port 587, STARTTLS
- Outgoing login on, same username and password
7. Save.
Open WebMail instead
You do not need Outlook to read this mailbox, and we do not host Outlook on the web.
- Sign in at the portal.
- Open the mail service for the domain.
- Click Log in to WebMail.
- Sign in with the full email address and mailbox password if WebMail asks.
Once DNS and MX for the domain are on our mail, you can also open https://mail.yourdomain.com (swap in your domain). Confirm the hostname on the mail service in the portal if you are unsure.
WebMail is enough for compose, folders, and search. See Webmail basics.
IMAP or POP
IMAP keeps mail on the server and shows the same folders, read state, and sent items on every device. Use IMAP if you also check mail on a phone, tablet, or WebMail.
POP downloads messages to this computer. Many setups then remove the server copy. Use POP only if you want mail stored on this one PC and you do not need it elsewhere.
We recommend IMAP.
Test the account
- Send a message from Outlook to another address you can open.
- Confirm it arrives.
- Reply from the other address and confirm the reply appears in Outlook.
- If send or receive fails, try the same mailbox in WebMail. If WebMail works, the mailbox is fine and Outlook's settings need another look.
Need a new password? See Change your Axigen mailbox password. After you change it, update the password stored in Outlook (File → Account Settings on Windows, or remove and re-add the account if there is no password field).
After it connects
- A WebMail signature is not copied to Outlook. Set a signature in Outlook if you want one on mail you send from this PC. See Personalise Webmail settings.
- Server filters and out-of-office replies are set in WebMail, not in Outlook. Outlook rules only run on this computer. See Create filters and rules in Axigen Webmail and Set up an out-of-office auto-responder.
- IMAP apps often show our Spam folder as Junk. That is the same folder.
- Add another mailbox the same way. Each address is its own account.
- LochStudios Mail allows 2000 emails per hour from the mailbox. Split large sends, or open a support ticket if you need a different setup.
If Outlook will not connect
Cannot sign in
- Username must be the full address, not only the part before
@. - Use the mailbox password. Portal and mailbox passwords are different unless you set them the same.
- Reset the mailbox password, then update it in Outlook. See Change your Axigen mailbox password.
Cannot reach the server
- Hostname should be
mail.yourdomain.comfor that domain, not a name you invented. Confirm it on the mail service in the portal. - IMAP is 993 with SSL/TLS. POP is 995 with SSL/TLS. SMTP is 587 with STARTTLS, or 465 with SSL/TLS.
- Turn SMTP authentication on. Sending without a login is not allowed.
- Confirm the computer has a working internet connection. Some guest or workplace networks block mail ports. Try another network if send or receive fails only from this location.
- Confirm you can still send and receive in WebMail. If WebMail works, the mailbox is fine and Outlook's settings need another look.
Certificate warning
- The hostname in Outlook must match the name on the certificate, usually
mail.yourdomain.com. - Do not accept a certificate for a name you typed by guesswork. Fix the hostname, or open a support ticket.
Mail is not arriving in Outlook
- Send and receive (or click Send/Receive All Folders).
- Open WebMail and look in Inbox and Spam. If it is missing there too, the mailbox is not receiving yet.
- New messages land here only if this domain's MX records point at LochStudios Mail. Creating the mailbox does not move mail from another service. See MX records and how email routing works.
Cannot send
- Confirm the SMTP server is
mail.yourdomain.com, username and password are filled, authentication is on, and the port is 587 or 465. - Try 465 if 587 does not connect (or the other way around).
- Use the mailbox password, not your portal password.
Folders are missing
- You are on IMAP, not POP.
- In classic Outlook, open Account Settings → the account → Change → More Settings → Advanced. If there is a Root folder path (or IMAP root), leave it blank first. If folders are still missing, set it to
INBOX.
Still stuck? Open a support ticket and we will help. Unsure which product or DNS mode the domain uses? Say so in the ticket and we will check with you.
Related
- Axigen email server settings
- What is Axigen webmail and how to sign in
- Change your Axigen mailbox password
- Sync calendar and contacts (CalDAV and CardDAV) in Axigen
- Set up Axigen email in Thunderbird
- Set up Axigen email on Android
- Set up Axigen email on iPhone and iPad
- Set up email in Microsoft Outlook
- Email is not sending or receiving