Knowledgebase

This warning means the mail server name in your mail app doesn't match the server's security certificate. The fix is to use mail.yourdomain.com, with your own domain, as both your incoming and outgoing server. If your domain is new, its nameservers changed recently, or it doesn't point to EverWeb Hosting, use your server name instead, which looks like name.ragesw.com.

Pressing Continue, Trust or Details > Trust may get your mail working for now, but it hides the wrong setting, and the warning tends to come back. Correct the server name instead.

What the warning looks like

• iPhone or iPad: "Cannot Verify Server Identity"
• Apple Mail on a Mac: "Mail can't verify the identity of the server…"
• Outlook: a message that the server's security certificate can't be verified
• Thunderbird: it asks you to add a security exception

Why it happens

• The app is using a name the certificate doesn't cover. For example, a name the app guessed (such as imap. or smtp. with your domain), or one of our nameservers (ns and a number) typed by mistake.
• The certificate for mail.yourdomain.com isn't ready yet. It can take up to 24 hours after you add a domain or change its nameservers.
• Your domain doesn't point to EverWeb Hosting, so mail.yourdomain.com leads somewhere else.
• Your account is on a different server now, and the app still has the old server name.
• The device kept old security details from an earlier setup.

Step 1: Check you're using mail.yourdomain.com exactly

In your mail app's account settings, look at the incoming (IMAP or POP) and outgoing (SMTP) server. Both should be mail. followed by your own domain, for example mail.yourbusiness.com.

• Not imap.yourdomain.com or smtp.yourdomain.com
• Not a name that starts with ns, such as one of our nameservers
• No spaces or typos

The certificate for mail.yourdomain.com comes with your hosting plan. You don't need Site Shield for it.

Step 2: Use your server name if your domain is new or points elsewhere

Use your server name instead of mail.yourdomain.com if:

• you added the domain to your hosting plan, or changed its nameservers, in the last 24 hours
• your domain doesn't point to EverWeb Hosting, for example because your website is with another company

To find your server name:

1. Sign in to the Client Area.
2. Go to Services > My Services and click your hosting plan.
3. Find Server Name under Hosting Information.

Already using a server name and seeing the warning? Check it matches the one in the Client Area, because your account may have moved. Once your domain has pointed to EverWeb Hosting for a day, you can change to mail.yourdomain.com, which keeps working if your account moves.

Step 3: Put it in your mail app

Use the same mail server for both incoming (IMAP) and outgoing (SMTP). Keep the other settings from Email settings for Apple Mail, Outlook, Gmail and other apps (IMAP, POP, SMTP): IMAP port 993, SMTP port 465, SSL on, and your full email address as the username.

Apple Mail on a Mac

1. Choose Mail > Settings, click Accounts, select the account, then click Server Settings.
2. Under Incoming Mail Server (IMAP), enter your mail server in Host Name. Uncheck Automatically manage connection settings, set Port to 993, and tick Use TLS/SSL.
3. Under Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP), do the same, with port 465.
4. Click Save, then quit and reopen Mail.

iPhone or iPad

1. Open Settings > Apps > Mail > Mail Accounts (on older iOS, Settings > Mail > Accounts), tap the account, then Account Settings.
2. Under Incoming Mail Server, enter your mail server in Host Name.
3. Tap SMTP under Outgoing Mail Server, tap the primary server, and enter the same mail server in Host Name. Tap Done.
4. Close the Mail app completely and open it again.

Outlook

• Outlook on a Mac: go to Outlook > Settings > Accounts, select the account, and change the incoming and outgoing server.
• Classic Outlook on Windows: go to File > Account Settings > Server Settings, and change the incoming and outgoing mail server.
• New Outlook on Windows: if you can't change the server names, remove the account and add it again, choosing IMAP and entering your mail server for both servers.

Still seeing it?

• Remove the account and add it again to clear old security details. First check whether it's IMAP or POP in the account's settings. With IMAP, your mail stays on our server, so this is safe. With POP, your mail may be only on this device: sign in at yourdomain.com/webmail to see what's on the server, and back up your mail first.
• Did we give you special outgoing (SMTP) settings, for example for sending to Outlook or Hotmail addresses? Keep those, and change only the incoming server.
• Does the app say it can't connect at all, rather than showing the warning? Your IP address may be blocked: see My IP address is blocked: email, publishing or my site won't connect.
• Still stuck? Contact us with a screenshot of the full warning, and screenshots of your incoming and outgoing settings with the password hidden.

Related articles

• Email settings for Apple Mail, Outlook, Gmail and other apps (IMAP, POP, SMTP)
• How to set up your EverWeb email on an iPhone or iPad
• My IP address is blocked: email, publishing or my site won't connect
• Apple Mail says 'Unable to verify account name or password'