iPhone/iPod Touch Setup Instructions

These directions explain how to set up a mailbox on an iPhone or iPod Touch. These are generic instructions, written for a fictional company "XYZ", who owns the domain name "domain.xyz", and hosts their email on my "secure.jms1.net" server.

The screenshots are from my iPod Touch, running version 3.1.2 of the iPod software. Your screen may be different if you're using an iPhone, or if you have a different version of the software.

And before you ask how I made the screenshots... If you press the HOME button (the round button below the screen) and the POWER button (on top of the device) at the same time, you will see the screen flash and hear a shutter noise. The device just took a snapshot of whatever was on the screen, and stored it in the Photos application, under a folder called "Saved Photos".

On a Mac, you can download these files to your computer using the "Image Capture" application (which treats the device as if it were a digital camera.) I'm not sure what the procedure is for a PC.

On the device's menu, touch the "Settings" icon.
Scroll down to, and select, the "Mail, Contacts, Calendars" item.
Click the "Add Account..." item.
Click the "Other" item.
Click the "Add Mail Account" item.
Fill in your name, email address, and password.
The "Description" field is a label which identifies the account within your device, and can be anything you like. If you have multiple email accounts on your device, this value should be unique within your device.
Click the "Save" button at the top right.
The device will try to figure out the proper settings by itself. This may take a minute or two.
Make sure the account type is set to "IMAP".
Your name, email address, and the account description should already be filled in.
Under the "Incoming Mail Server" section, set "Host Name" to "secure.jms1.net".
Set "User Name" to your full email address.
The password should already be set to whatever you entered on the previous screen.
Scroll down further...
Under the "Outgoing Mail Server" section, set "Host Name" to "secure.jms1.net".
Set "User Name" to your full email address.
Enter your password in the "Password" field.
Click the "Save" button at the top right.
The device will try to connect to the server and verify your userid and password. This will take a minute or two.
If it cannot connect, or if it connects but cannot authenticate, it will prompt you to go back and correct your information.
After adding the account, the unit returns to the list of mail accounts. You should see the new account listed.
Technically, the account should be working at this point. However, there are a few security-related settings you should check first.
Click on the new account.
The account itself should be active. If you ever decide you don't want to check the account for some reason, but you also don't want to delete it from the unit, you can turn the account off using the "Account" switch here.
Scroll down to the bottom and select the "SMTP" item.
This is a list of the SMTP servers known to the device. If something happens and the server we just created cannot be used to send mail out for some reason, the device can be configured to use other servers instead. This should never be an issue, and in fact can cause problems if your domain has an SPF record (which is something I normally set up for every domain whose email is handled on my server.)
In the "Primary Server" group, click on the "secure.jms1.net" entry.
Make sure the "Use SSL" switch is turned on, and the "Server Port" is set to 587.
Click the "< SMTP" button at the top left.
Click the "< Sample" (or whatever description you gave the new account) button at the top left.
Back on the main account settings screen, click the "Advanced" button.
Scroll down to the bottom of the list. Make sure the "Use SSL" switch is ON, and the "Server Port" is set to 993.
Click the "< Sample" (or whatever description you gave the new account) button at the top left.
Press the HOME button (the round button below the screen) to return to the menu.

When you run the Mail program, it should connect to your new mailbox and show you any mail you may have waiting.