Quick Start: Signup to First Email Sent

This guide takes you from sign-up to a first test message. The time needed depends mainly on how quickly your DNS provider publishes the records.

Who this is for

• New account owners setting up their first domain.
• Admins configuring TrekMail for a client.

What you’ll achieve

• Verify your domain ownership via DNS.
• Create a secure mailbox for yourself or your team.
• Send and receive a test email to confirm everything works.

Before you start

• Have access to your DNS provider (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, etc.) to add records.
• If you are on the Nano Plan, you will need external SMTP credentials to send outbound mail. Receiving mail does not require that external sending setup.
• Use an email address you can access during registration and complete any verification prompt shown by TrekMail.

1. Verify your email

After you sign up, TrekMail sends a verification email to the address you registered with.

1. Check your inbox (and spam folder) for an email from TrekMail with the subject "Verify Email Address."
2. Click the Verify Email Address button.
3. Complete verification before relying on outbound sending. If the link has expired, use the verification controls in the account instead of registering again.

Tip: If you signed up with Google, your email is verified automatically. Skip this step.

2. Add your domain

1. Log in and go to the Domains page from the sidebar.
2. Click Add domain in the top right.
3. Enter your root domain (e.g., example.com) and click Add Domain.
4. You will land on the DNS & Health tab for your new domain.

3. Configure DNS

TrekMail needs permission to handle your email. We do this via DNS records.

1. In the DNS & Health tab, you will see a list of Required Records (MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC).
2. Log in to your DNS provider’s dashboard in a separate tab.
3. Copy each record’s Type, Host/Name, and Value from TrekMail and paste them into your DNS provider.
4. Once added, return to TrekMail and run the DNS check.
   • DNS can take time to become visible. Keep the values from TrekMail in place and recheck after the provider has published them.
   • Use the status and record-specific message shown by TrekMail to identify anything still missing.

4. Create a mailbox

You can create a mailbox while domain setup is still in progress, but do not rely on delivery until the domain status confirms that the required DNS records are ready.

1. Go to Mailboxes in the sidebar.
2. Click Create New Mailbox.
3. Select your Domain from the dropdown.
4. Enter the Local part (e.g., support for support@example.com).
5. Generate or type a strong Password.
6. Click Create Mailbox.

5. Send and receive a test

You can use our built-in webmail to test immediately.

1. Click the Webmail ↗ link in the top header.
2. Log in using the full email address and password you just created.
3. Send a test email to a personal address (like a Gmail account).
4. Reply to that email from Gmail and verify it appears in your TrekMail inbox.

Common mistakes & quick fixes

• Symptom: Verification fails with "Record not found"
  • Likely Cause: DNS caching or incorrect Host name (e.g., entering example.com instead of @).
  • Fix: Check whether your DNS provider uses @ for the root domain, then compare the record type, host, and value with the TrekMail page. Recheck after the provider has published the change.
• Symptom: "Authentication failed" when logging into Webmail
  • Likely Cause: Using the account username instead of the mailbox address.
  • Fix: Use the full email address (e.g., alice@example.com) as the username.
• Symptom: Outbound emails fail on Nano Plan
  • Likely Cause: Missing Custom SMTP configuration.
  • Fix: Nano plans require BYO SMTP. Open Domains, choose the domain, then open SMTP and add the provider there.