How to set up your email on an iPhone
Adding your email to an iPhone only takes a few minutes. Most common providers, such as Gmail, Outlook.com and iCloud, set themselves up with just your address and password.
Menu names change between iOS versions, so if something looks different on your phone, look for the closest wording.
Before you start
- Make sure you know your email address and password.
- If you use two-step sign-in, have your phone or authenticator app ready.
- Connect to Wi-Fi or mobile data.
Adding a common account
- Open Settings and look for Mail (on some versions it sits under Apps).
- Tap Accounts, then Add Account.
- Choose your provider, for example Google or Microsoft Exchange / Outlook.
- Enter your email address and tap Next.
- Sign in on the page that appears. This is the real provider sign-in page, so it is safe to type your password there.
- Choose what to sync, such as Mail, Contacts and Calendars, then tap Save.
Adding an account from another provider
Choose Other and then Add Mail Account. Enter your name, email address, password and a short description. If the phone cannot find the settings itself, your email provider will have a page listing the "incoming" and "outgoing" server details. Only type in details from your provider's own website.
Checking it works
Open the Mail app and look for your inbox. Send yourself a test message and check it arrives.
If it will not connect
- Check you typed the address and password correctly.
- Some providers need an "app password" instead of your normal one. Your provider's help pages explain this.
- Restart the phone and try again.
- Never share your password with anyone who contacts you out of the blue.
When to get more help
Contact us if the phone keeps saying the password is wrong when you know it is right, if you see messages about the server or certificate that you do not understand, or if you are not sure what your provider is.