📬 Setting Up Your Mail on Windows

How-to guides
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For setting up mailcow mail accounts on Windows, using tobias@tobiaseigen.org on mail.tobiaseigen.org as an example.

Apple user? Setting up mail on iPhone, iPad, or Mac is done differently using a configuration profile — see the separate Apple guide.

Source: Instructions adapted from the mailcow client configuration documentation.

Unlike Apple devices, Windows mail clients cannot be configured automatically with a profile. You’ll need to enter your settings manually. The good news is this is straightforward, and you only have to do it once.

Which client should I use? :thunderbird: Thunderbird is the recommended choice — it’s free, open source, works beautifully with this mail server, and sets up in seconds with automatic detection. Read the note about Outlook below before choosing it.

Before You Begin: Get Your Password

Windows mail clients require a mailbox password to connect. You don’t need to remember a separate password — you can generate a secure app password from your mailcow settings page using your Discourse SSO login.

  1. Go to mail.tobiaseigen.org in any browser
  2. Click “Login with SSO” — this uses your digitallysovereign.org forum login, no separate password needed
  3. Click the :wrench: wrench icon in the top-right corner to go to your mailcow settings
  4. Go to Mailbox → App Passwords
  5. Create a new app password, give it a name like “Thunderbird on Windows” so you can identify it later
  6. Copy the password and save it somewhere safe (e.g. your password manager) — you won’t be able to see it again

:bulb: Using an app password is more secure than your main mailbox password. If a device is ever lost or stolen, you can revoke just that app password without affecting anything else.

Option 1: Mozilla Thunderbird :star: Recommended

Thunderbird is a free, open-source email client from the Mozilla Foundation (the makers of Firefox). It supports email, contacts, and calendars, and is officially recommended for use with this mail server.

Download Thunderbird

Setting up email

  1. Open Thunderbird
  2. If this is your first time, you’ll be prompted to set up an account. Otherwise go to File → New → Existing Mail Account…
  3. Enter your details:
    • Your name: Tobias Eigen
    • Email address: tobias@tobiaseigen.org
    • Password: paste the app password you created above
    • Check Remember password
  4. Click Continue — Thunderbird will automatically detect the correct server settings
  5. Make sure IMAP is selected (not POP3), then click Done

That’s it for email! :white_check_mark:

Setting up contacts and calendars

Thunderbird also syncs your contacts and calendars from the server:

  1. In the left sidebar, click the arrow next to Address Books, then click Connect next to each address book you want to use
  2. Click the arrow next to Calendars, then click Connect next to each calendar you want to use

:bulb: Optional: To see all mail folders (not just subscribed ones), go to Account Settings → Server Settings → Advanced and uncheck Show only subscribed folders.

Option 2: Microsoft Outlook

:warning: Before you use Outlook, please read this carefully.

Which version of Outlook do you have?

There are currently three different versions of Outlook, and they all behave differently with this mail server:

Version How to identify it Our recommendation
New Outlook Pre-installed on Windows 11; looks modern and minimal :warning: Not recommended — see below
Outlook 2019 or older Came with an older Office purchase :warning: Limited — see below
Outlook 2021 / Microsoft 365 Current Office subscription or purchase :warning: Manual setup required

:warning: Warning about the New Outlook

:lock: Your login credentials entered into the new Outlook are transmitted to and processed by Microsoft’s servers — not just your own mail server. See: Heise.de report (German)

For a self-hosted, privacy-respecting mail setup like this one, we strongly advise against using the new Outlook. Thunderbird is a much better fit.

Additionally, the new Outlook does not support CalDAV or CardDAV, so your contacts and calendars cannot be synced.

If you still want to use the new Outlook despite the above, follow these steps:

  1. Open the new Outlook; if no account is set up yet the wizard opens automatically — skip to step 5
  2. Otherwise click the gear icon (top right) → Accounts → Your Accounts → Add Account
  3. Enter tobias@tobiaseigen.org and click Next
  4. Choose IMAP from the list of providers
  5. Enter your app password in the Password field
  6. Set the IMAP Incoming Server to mail.tobiaseigen.org, port 993, encryption SSL/TLS
  7. Set the SMTP Outgoing Server to mail.tobiaseigen.org, port 587, encryption STARTTLS
  8. Enter tobias@tobiaseigen.org as the username for both IMAP and SMTP
  9. Click Next to complete setup

Outlook 2021 / Microsoft 365 — Manual setup (email only)

Autodiscover no longer works with modern Outlook versions — this is a Microsoft change, not a mailcow issue. You’ll need to enter settings manually, the same as the new Outlook steps above.

:warning: Calendars and contacts cannot be synced in Outlook 2021 or Microsoft 365 without installing an additional plugin (see below).

Outlook 2007–2019 — Email + Calendars/Contacts via CalDav Synchronizer

For older versions of Outlook (2007 through 2019), you can sync calendars and contacts by installing the free Outlook CalDav Synchronizer plugin.

:warning: ActiveSync is not recommended and does not work reliably with this mail server. Use the IMAP method below instead.

  1. Download and install Outlook CalDav Synchronizer
  2. Open Outlook; if this is the first launch the setup wizard will appear — skip to step 5
  3. Go to File → Add Account
  4. Enter your name, tobias@tobiaseigen.org, and your app password. Click Next, then Finish
  5. Click the CalDav Synchronizer tab in the ribbon and select Synchronization Profiles
  6. Click Add multiple profiles, select SOGo, and click OK
  7. Click Fetch settings from IMAP/POP3 account
  8. Click Discover resources and map to Outlook folders
  9. In the Select Resource window, choose your main calendar (usually Personal Calendar), click ..., assign it to the Calendar folder, and click OK
  10. Repeat for Address Books and Tasks, assigning one resource per folder type
  11. Click OK to close all windows

Option 3: Manual Configuration (any email client)

If you’re using a different email client, use these settings. Enter your app password when prompted for a password.

:bulb: Use “Normal password” or “Plain” as the authentication method. Despite the name, your password is never sent unencrypted — authentication only happens after TLS is established.

Email settings

Setting Value
Email address tobias@tobiaseigen.org
Username tobias@tobiaseigen.org
Password your app password
Protocol Encryption Server Port
IMAP (recommended) SSL/TLS mail.tobiaseigen.org 993
IMAP STARTTLS mail.tobiaseigen.org 143
SMTP STARTTLS mail.tobiaseigen.org 587
SMTP SSL/TLS mail.tobiaseigen.org 465
POP3 SSL/TLS mail.tobiaseigen.org 995
POP3 STARTTLS mail.tobiaseigen.org 110

:bulb: IMAP is strongly preferred over POP3 — it keeps your mail synced across all your devices and stored safely on the server.

Calendar (CalDAV) and Contacts (CardDAV) settings

Service URL
CalDAV (calendar) https://mail.tobiaseigen.org/SOGo/dav/tobias@tobiaseigen.org/Calendar/personal/
CardDAV (contacts) https://mail.tobiaseigen.org/SOGo/dav/tobias@tobiaseigen.org/Contacts/personal/

Some apps may only need the base DAV URL: https://mail.tobiaseigen.org/SOGo/dav/

Use your full email address and app password to authenticate.

Still stuck? Post in this forum and someone can help you out! :raising_hands:

Digitally sovereign email on apple and windows devices