We are pleased to announce the official launch of our new IMAP server software.
We’ve been extensively testing and improving the new Dovecot-based software in an open beta phase for several months. We are now very happy with how it’s performing, and it resolves several issues with our current IMAP software (see below).
We will therefore be moving to the new software and will retire our existing Courier-based IMAP servers. Since the new software uses a more standardized configuration, all IMAP users will need to change their settings by December 1, 2015.
Note: If you have already changed your email client’s settings as part of the open beta phase you don’t need to do anything.
What you need to do
If you use an email client such as Outlook, Apple Mail, or Thunderbird it’s possible that you are using IMAP. If you are using POP then you should not make any changes at this time. If you are not sure whether you are using IMAP or POP please contact Runbox Support.
You have 2 options for changing your settings:
- If you are familiar with the settings in your email client, you can simply update them to what’s described below.
- You can also remove and reinstall the account on your email client. Many might find this to be the easiest solution, and we have detailed guides available that show you the steps in several popular email clients.
How to update your settings
Open the settings for your Runbox account in the email client you’re using, verify that you are using IMAP, and then update your settings as described below:
- Incoming Server: mail.runbox.com
- Port: 993
- Encryption: SSL/TLS On
- IMAP Path Prefix: Remove INBOX (which was recommended in our instructions when using Courier at secure.runbox.com) and leave the field empty.
Remember to restart your email client once you have updated the settings. And don’t worry, the connection is still secure and encrypted although the domain name no longer says “secure.runbox.com”.
Note for Thunderbird and Thunderbird clones: Remove the Personal Namespace setting (it will be “Inbox” from when you used secure.runbox.com).
If you are using an email client with POP you don’t need to make any changes at this time. And if you are only using the Webmail these changes won’t affect you at all.
What you might experience after changing your settings
When you change to the new servers you should first of all experience a faster and more reliable IMAP service.
It is also likely that your email client will download your email from the server again. Therefore it’s best to not change settings while you are on a slow or expensive connection — wait until you are connected to broadband.
Your email client might also behave slightly differently (and better) in other ways — please see Are there side-effects to changing server details?
Note: If you experience any other issues after changing your settings, you can try removing your account from your email client and setting it up from scratch. Please see Deleting & Reinstalling Your Account for details.
Why you have to change your settings
We know that having to change settings can be a nuisance. It was the only way to ensure that our new software will be in line with the IMAP standards for the long term, and that the software can be upgraded whenever a new version of Dovecot is released.
It also simplifies the setup for both existing and new users, and allows email clients to be automatically configured the first time a Runbox account is added.
We think you will be very happy with our new IMAP software once you switch over, and we are ready to assist if you experience any problems.
Why we are launching new IMAP software
The new IMAP server software will improve overall performance when using an email client, and resolves the following issues:
- Read/Unread synchronization problems.
- Moving messages from one folder to another resulted in a copy in the new and old locations.
- Error messages of the kind “Cannot connect to server”.
- With iOS the native Mail app would fail to update and would continue to show a date in the past.
If you have any questions or run into any problems, please contact us at our Support Center.
What about outgoing server settings. Leave as “secure.runbox.com”?
You can, but you should use mail.runbox.com for simplicity in the setup. They both point to the same service, as that has not changed.
Oddly enough I cannot acces mail.runbox.com with the same setting as I use for secure.runbox.com. Does this have to do with the domain in my username?
Sorry, I’ve tried Thunderbird (an SeaMonkey, and Postbox — Thunderbird derivatives) as well as Apple Mail, following your online instructions, and I’m unable to read my mail by IMAP. So I think there’s something wrong.