We are pleased to announce the start of the Open Beta Testing Phase of our new Dovecot IMAP servers.

We are introducing new IMAP servers to improve our customers’ experience when using Runbox with their email clients and on mobile/tablet devices. If you would like to participate in our Open Beta test, please read the instructions on this page.

If you require help during the Open Beta Phase, please contact Runbox Support

Why is Runbox making these changes?

We are introducing new IMAP servers to resolve issues that are experienced by some customers, and to simplify the set up in email clients. For more details behind the reason for these changes, please see our Blog Post about these changes.

Are there side-effects to changing server details?

When you change to the new servers, it is very likely that your email client will behave in one or more of the following ways:

  • All of your email will be downloaded again.
  • If you only show subscribed folders in your email clients, you may need to subscribe to those folders again.
  • If previously folders appeared as sub-folders of Inbox, they may now appear as siblings of the Inbox instead.
  • The new servers do not support unencrypted connections. You will need to enable SSL/TLS if it is not already.
  • If you have a lot of devices using a single Runbox account, you might get connection limit errors when you first make the changes. This could be because all your devices are downloading mail again and you read the connection limit on your account. This will not happen once the devices are up to date.
  • Apple Mail on OS X: You may notice that when deleting or moving a message in Apple Mail it may show up in the Rubox webmail with a line crossed through it. This shows the message has been marked for deletion, but has not been deleted yet. Apple Mail deletes these when you quit the program, or if you right click on the Inbox and choose “Erase Deleted Items…”.

What do I need to do?

Please make sure you understand the difference between IMAP and POP before you begin.

If you are using POP for accessing your email you should not make any changes to your account as these new servers are not for your method of accessing email.

If you are unsure whether you are using IMAP or POP, please contact Runbox Support.

To make use of our new IMAP servers during the Open Beta Phase, you will need to make some changes to your Runbox account settings in your email client or smart phone/table mail app.

There are two options:

  1. Delete and reinstall your account
  2. Change the account settings on the existing account set up

In many ways, option 1 is the best as it allows your email client to start fresh with the new server settings. Option 2 might be easier if you have many customised account settings in your email client.

Special Note: for customers with the “No Backup” option activated we strongly recommend you make your own local backup of your mail before you make any changes to your Runbox account or its settings.

Deleting & Reinstalling Your Account

Do not delete your account from your email clients until you are sure you are using IMAP, and that all of your mail is stored on our servers. You can check whether your mail is on our servers by logging in to the Runbox webmail and checking that they are displayed in the folders there.

The settings for the new servers are below, and you will need these when setting up your email client.

Incoming: mail.runbox.com
Port: 993
SSL: SSL/TLS
Password: Normal Password

Outgoing: mail.runbox.com
Port: 465 or 587
SSL: SSL/TLS  (port 465) STARTTLS (port 587) – SSL/TLS is the more secure and preferred option.

Password: Normal Password

Set Up Guides

Thunderbird (Mac and Windows)
Apple Mail (Mac)
Outlook 2013 (Windows)
Outlook 2011 (Mac)
Windows Live Mail (Windows)
iPhone/iPad (iOS)
MailDroid (Android)
K-9 Mail (Android)

Changing Your Existing Account Settings

  • Incoming Server: mail.runbox.com
  • Port: 993
  • Encryption: SSL/TLS On
  • You will also need to remove the IMAP Path Prefix: INBOX that we previously recommended you set in our instructions
  • Re-assign special folders such as Sent, Trash, Templates, Drafts, Spam and Archive as appropriate
  • Thunderbird (and TB clones): You will also need to set the Personal Namespace setting to “” (it will be “Inbox” from when you used secure.runbox.com)

You can also change your Outgoing Server settings to the following in preparation for when we retire secure.runbox.com at some point in the future.

  • Outgoing: mail.runbox.com
  • Port: 465 or 587
  • SSL: SSL/TLS  (port 465) STARTTLS (port 587) – SSL/TLS is the more secure and preferred option.
  • Password: Normal Password
  • Apple Mail on OS X: In the latest versions of Apple Mail you may need to deactivate the setting on the Advanced tab that reads “Automatically detect and maintain account settings” as otherwise you may not be able to change the server. You will need to turn this off, exit the account settings so the setting is saved and then go back in to change the server name.

The links to the instructions below show where the INBOX setting was originally added, and therefore where it can be removed. For some clients they also show were the special folders need to be set.

Apple Mail: Step 5

Thunderbird: Step 6

Outlook 2013: Configure Account Settings, 2nd graphic

Outlook 2011: Configure Account Settings

Windows Live Mail: Configure Account Settings, 3rd graphic

iPhone and iPad

  1. Open the settings for your Runbox account by going to Settings => Mail, Contacts, Calendars => Runbox => Account (your email address).
  2. Change Host Name to mail.runbox.com for Incoming and Outgoing Host Names (don’t worry, communication is still secure and encrypted).
  3. Tap Advanced at the bottom of the screen.
  4. Make sure Use SSL is ON (SSL = encryption).
  5. Remove INBOX from IMAP Path Prefix (if present).
  6. Tap Account at the top of the screen to go back, and then tap Done. Your phone/tablet will now verify the new settings.