Download emails to your computer with POP3

Introduction

If you need to keep all your email on your computer, you can configure your account with POP3. This protocol downloads messages from the server to your device and can be useful when you want a local copy.

Before doing it, remember that POP3 does not work like IMAP. If it is set up incorrectly, messages may disappear from the server and stop appearing in webmail, on your phone or on other devices.

Details you need

Item	Typical value
Email address	info@yourdomain.com
Password	The mailbox password
POP3 server	mail.yourdomain.com
POP3 port	995 with SSL/TLS
SMTP server	mail.yourdomain.com
SMTP port	465 with SSL/TLS or 587 with STARTTLS

How to download email with POP3

1. Open your mail program, such as Outlook or Thunderbird.
2. Add a new account and use manual setup if available.
3. Select POP3 as the account type.
4. Set the incoming server to mail.yourdomain.com.
5. Use port 995 with SSL/TLS.
6. Set the outgoing server to mail.yourdomain.com.
7. Use port 465 or 587 with the correct encryption.
8. Use your full email address as the username.
9. Enter the mailbox password.
10. Enable Leave a copy of messages on the server if you will continue using webmail or other devices.

Common issues

Emails disappear from webmail

This usually happens when POP3 downloads messages and does not leave a copy on the server.

I can receive but not send

Check SMTP, the port, the encryption and the full email address as the username.

I only see new emails

POP3 usually downloads the inbox only. Server-side folders are not fully synchronized.

Conclusion

POP3 can help you download your email to one computer, but it must be configured carefully to avoid losing access from other places. If you use multiple devices, IMAP is usually a better fit.