How To Modify an Existing Email Account in OS X 10.11

Posted on by dpepper | Updated:
Category: Common Fixes, Getting Started, Series, Technical Support | Tags: , , ,

Pre-Flight Check

You can edit an email account that already has been configured in Mail, for example should you decide to switch between non-SSL and SSL settings or update the password.

Note: You cannot edit an existing email account to switch its account type from POP3 to IMAP or vice versa. To change the account type, you must add a new email account of the desired type (POP3 or IMAP). Adding a new account with a different connection type should not require you to delete the old one in most mail clients.

To avoid data loss, please use caution any time you change an email account’s connection type or delete an email account. Removing an email account from a mail client also will remove all messages associated with it on the device and, specifically in the case of POP accounts that are not configured to retain mail on the server, there may be no way to recover those messages. If you have any doubt or questions, please contact Heroic Support® for guidance.

Since any changes must be made on both the incoming and outgoing servers, updating the email account’s password or switching between non-SSL and SSL settings is not as simple as toggling a single setting, but the steps are easy to follow.

Step #1: Configure Incoming Server Settings

  1. You set the incoming mail server in the Internet Accounts preferences pane. To access it, select Accounts from the Mail menu.
  2. On the Internet Accounts preferences panel, select the name of your email account from the left pane to update the password or change the incoming server name or connection type.OSX 10.11 Incoming Mailserver
  3. Update the Password
    • To update the email account password, enter the new password into the Password field in the Internet Accounts preferences pane.
  4. Change the Incoming Server Name or Connection Type (SSL/non-SSL)
    • Click the Advanced button at the bottom right of the Internet Accounts preferences pane to edit the Hostname via a popup panel.
      • SSL settings will use the server’s hostname (e.g., host.yourdomainname.com)
      • Standard non-SSL settings will use the domain name (yourdomainname.com or mail.yourdomainname.com).
    • Once you have changed the Hostname, click OK.

Step #2: Configure Outgoing Server Settings

  1. Select Preferences from the Mail menu to open the Internet Accounts preferences pane, then click on the account in the left menu.
  2. On the Account Information tab, locate the Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP) row and select Edit SMTP Server List from the select menu.
    OSX 10.11 Outgoing Mailserver
  3. Change the Outgoing Server Name or Connection Type (SSL/non-SSL)
    OSX 10.11 Account Information

    • Click on your mail server’s name in the top pane to select it, then change the Server Name on the Account Information tab to the desired value.
      • SSL settings will use the server’s hostname (e.g., host.yourdomainname.com)
      • Standard non-SSL settings will use the domain name (yourdomainname.com or mail.yourdomainname.com).
    • Once you’ve changed Server Name to reflect the desired connection type, click on the Advanced tab to configure SSL settings.
      OSX 10.11 Advanced Account Settings

      • Port: This should remain 587 regardless of connection method.
      • Use SSL: If you are using secure (SSL) settings, ensure that the Use SSL box is checked. If you are using standard, non-SSL settings, Use SSL should be unchecked.
      • Authentication should be set to Password regardless of connection method.
      • Both the User Name (full email address) and Password fields should be filled out. You can update the email account password by entering the current password into the Password field.
  4. Your email account will start using the new settings as soon as you click the OK button.