Connecting iOS / Android Mail Apps

Any modern mobile email app speaks IMAP, which is exactly what TrekMail uses. This guide covers the universal settings, then walks through the most-used apps on each platform — iOS Mail, Gmail for Android, Outlook Mobile, Spark, Samsung Email, K-9 Mail / Thunderbird Mobile, and others.

The settings every app needs

Some apps ask all this in one screen; others split it across multiple steps. Wherever your app's UI shows these labels, fill in the values from this table.

iPhone / iPad (iOS Mail)

The built-in Mail app on iOS works well with TrekMail.

1. Settings → Mail → Accounts → Add Account.
2. Tap Other → Add Mail Account.
3. Fill in:
   • Name: as it appears in the From line
   • Email: your full TrekMail address
   • Password: mailbox password
   • Description: anything (e.g. "Work")
4. Tap Next.
5. iOS tries to autoconfig; it'll likely show another form. Make sure IMAP is selected at the top.
6. Incoming Mail Server:
   • Host Name: imap.trekmail.net
   • User Name: full email
   • Password: mailbox password
7. Outgoing Mail Server:
   • Host Name: smtp.trekmail.net
   • User Name: full email
   • Password: mailbox password
8. Tap Next. iOS verifies connection (takes a few seconds with SSL).
9. On the next screen, leave both Mail and Notes ON (or off — Notes via IMAP syncs your iOS Notes app, which is optional).
10. Tap Save.

iOS-specific tips

• Fetch schedule: Default is "Push" for some accounts and "Fetch" for others. TrekMail supports IMAP IDLE, so set the account to Push for near-instant notifications. Drains battery slightly more than 15-minute fetch.
• Sent folder mapping: iOS Mail uses the server's "Sent" folder via IMAP SPECIAL-USE. Should map automatically. If it doesn't, the workaround is in Account → Advanced → Sent Mailbox → choose the server's "Sent" folder.
• SSL warnings: Should never appear with imap.trekmail.net and smtp.trekmail.net. If iOS shows one, you have a typo in the server name.

Android — Gmail App

The Google Gmail app speaks IMAP cleanly.

1. Open Gmail → tap your avatar (top right) → Add another account → Other.
2. Enter your TrekMail email address.
3. Select Personal (IMAP) as account type.
4. Enter your mailbox password → Next.
5. Incoming Server Settings:
   • Username: full email
   • Server: change to imap.trekmail.net
   • Port: 993
   • Security: SSL/TLS
6. Outgoing Server Settings:
   • Username: full email
   • Server: change to smtp.trekmail.net
   • Port: 465 (SSL/TLS) or 587 (STARTTLS)
   • Security: matching the port
7. Account options — keep defaults or adjust sync frequency.
8. Tap Next → name the account → Done.

Android — Samsung Email / Samsung Mail

Stock Samsung mail app on Galaxy devices:

1. Open Samsung Email → tap Add account → Other.
2. Enter your email and mailbox password → tap Manual setup (not Auto).
3. Pick IMAP.
4. Same field values as above for incoming and outgoing servers.
5. Sign in.

Samsung's email app has good handling of IMAP folders and Sent mapping.

Android — Spark

Spark (by Readdle) is popular on Android and iOS for its "Smart Inbox" interface.

1. Open Spark → tap + Add Account → scroll to Other (Custom) → IMAP/SMTP.
2. Enter email and password.
3. Fill in server details as in the universal-settings table at the top of this article.
4. Tap Sign In.

Spark caches some metadata for its smart features in its own cloud — read their privacy policy if that's a concern.

Outlook Mobile (iOS / Android)

See Setting Up TrekMail in Outlook for the desktop Outlook details. Mobile Outlook works the same way as desktop:

1. Open Outlook app → Settings → Add Mail Account.
2. Enter email → Add Account.
3. If asked: IMAP.
4. Fill in server details.
5. Sign in.

Outlook Mobile autodiscover usually works if your domain has the autodiscover CNAME live (see Adding a Domain). In that case you don't see the manual fields at all — Outlook reads the config from autodiscover and sets up silently.

Apple Mail on Mac

See Setting Up TrekMail in Apple Mail on macOS and iOS for the desktop Apple Mail guide.

Thunderbird Mobile / K-9 Mail (Android)

Thunderbird Mobile is the rebranded successor of K-9 Mail. Both have IMAP/SMTP support:

1. Open the app → menu → Add account.
2. Enter your email and password → Manual setup.
3. Choose IMAP.
4. Fill in the universal server fields.
5. Next → set folder polling interval → finish.

K-9 / Thunderbird Mobile has the deepest IMAP-feature support (push, idle, custom folder behaviour) of any Android app. Good choice for power users.

Edison Mail

Edison's mobile app:

1. Open Edison → Add Account → scroll past the suggested providers → Other Email.
2. Email + password → Continue.
3. Choose IMAP.
4. Fill in server details.
5. Sign In.

Edison Mail's privacy policy has historically been controversial (they scanned message metadata for trend reports). Read their current policy before connecting if that matters to you.

Common mobile-app problems

"Couldn't open connection to server"

• Wrong hostname (imap.yourdomain.com instead of imap.trekmail.net). Re-check.
• Your mobile data network blocks port 993 or 465 (rare, but happens with some carrier proxies). Test on WiFi vs cellular — if WiFi works and cellular doesn't, that's the cause. Use the other SMTP port (587 if 465 is blocked, or vice versa) to test.
• VPN is intercepting the connection. Disconnect VPN and retry.

"Username or password is incorrect"

• The mobile-app password should be your mailbox password, not your TrekMail dashboard password.
• The username should be your full email address.
• Mailbox password was recently changed and the app cached the old one. Remove the account and re-add fresh.

"Folders not showing" or "Sent folder appears twice"

• The app didn't pick up the server's SPECIAL-USE capability. Most apps support it; if yours doesn't:
  • Apple Mail: Settings → Account → Advanced → Sent Mailbox → select the IMAP-side "Sent" folder.
  • Gmail Android: Settings → Account → Mailbox names → Sent.
  • Samsung Email: Settings → Account → IMAP folder mapping.
• This makes the client save sent items to the server's Sent folder so all your clients see them.

"Push notifications stopped working"

• Check the app's settings — many apps default to "Fetch every 15 min" for IMAP accounts because push-via-IMAP-IDLE drains battery. Setting push back on is per-account.
• Apple iOS sometimes drops IMAP IDLE in low-power mode. Disable low-power mode if mail is critical.
• The app may have been killed by aggressive battery-saving on Android (Huawei, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Samsung are notorious). Exempt your mail app from battery optimisation in Android settings.

"Calendar and contacts not syncing"

The settings in this guide are mail-only. Calendar and contacts require separate setup — see:

• Connect iPhone and iPad — Calendar and Contacts
• Connect Android with DAVx⁵ — Calendar and Contacts

CalDAV (calendar) and CardDAV (contacts) use different servers and authentication than IMAP/SMTP.

"Battery drain"

• Reduce push for high-traffic mailboxes. Switch to 15-minute fetch.
• Limit the number of folders the app watches. Inbox only, or Inbox + Important. Each watched folder is one IMAP IDLE connection.
• Use the webmail PWA instead of a native client if you check mail rarely — no background sync, no battery cost.

Webmail as a fallback

If any mobile app gives you trouble, you can always use TrekMail's webmail in a browser. It's installable as a PWA on both iOS and Android:

• Open https://webmail.trekmail.net (or your branded webmail if you have White Label Lite) in Safari/Chrome.
• iOS: tap Share → Add to Home Screen.
• Android: Chrome's menu → Install app or Add to home screen.

The PWA looks and feels like a native app, runs offline-capable for read mail, and avoids any IMAP/SMTP config entirely.