This guide walks you through adding your HOSTDOG email to the Gmail app on Android, step by step. We use IMAP, which keeps your emails in sync across all your devices. These instructions work on all Android phones and tablets running Android 10 or later.
Prerequisites
Before you start, make sure you have:
- An active HOSTDOG hosting account with at least one email address created
- Your email address and password (set when you created the email account)
- Your domain name (e.g.,
yourdomain.com)
Server settings at a glance
You will need these settings during setup. Keep them handy:
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Incoming server (IMAP) | mail.yourdomain.com |
| IMAP port | 993 (SSL/TLS) |
| Outgoing server (SMTP) | mail.yourdomain.com |
| SMTP port | 465 (SSL/TLS) |
| Username | Your full email address (e.g., info@yourdomain.com) |
| Security type | SSL/TLS |
yourdomain.com with your actual domain name throughout this guide. For all available ports and protocols, see HOSTDOG email server settings.
Open the Gmail app on your Android device. Tap your profile icon (top-right corner), then tap Add another account.
If this is your first time opening Gmail, you will be taken directly to the account setup screen.
You will see a list of email providers (Google, Outlook, Yahoo, etc.). Tap Other at the bottom of the list.
Type your full email address (e.g., info@yourdomain.com) and tap Next.
When asked to choose the account type, select Personal (IMAP). This is the recommended protocol as it keeps your emails in sync across all devices.
Type the password for your email account and tap Next.
Fill in the incoming mail server details:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Username | Your full email address (e.g., info@yourdomain.com) |
| Password | Your email password |
| Server | mail.yourdomain.com |
| Port | 993 |
| Security type | SSL/TLS |
Tap Next.
Fill in the outgoing mail server (SMTP) details:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| SMTP server | mail.yourdomain.com |
| Port | 465 |
| Security type | SSL/TLS |
| Require sign-in | Enabled |
| Username | Your full email address |
| Password | Your email password |
Tap Next.
Configure your sync preferences:
- Sync frequency — choose how often the app checks for new mail (every 15 minutes is a good balance between timeliness and battery life)
- Notify me when email arrives — enable this if you want push notifications
- Sync email from this account — leave enabled
Tap Next.
Enter the name you want recipients to see when you send emails (e.g., "John Smith"). Optionally, give this account a label (e.g., "Work Email").
Tap Next to complete the setup.
Your HOSTDOG email account is now configured. You will find it in the Gmail app alongside any other email accounts you use.
Troubleshooting
This can appear if your SSL certificate hasn't fully propagated or if the mail server hostname doesn't exactly match the certificate. Make sure the server is set to mail.yourdomain.com (not just yourdomain.com). If the warning persists, you can tap Advanced and proceed — your connection is still encrypted. Contact support if the issue continues.
- Confirm the username is your full email address (e.g.,
info@yourdomain.com), not just the part before the @ - Check that your password is correct — try logging into webmail to verify
- Make sure there are no extra spaces before or after the password
- If you recently changed your password, use the new one
- Open Gmail, pull down on the inbox to force a manual sync
- Check your sync frequency in Settings — if set to "Manual", emails only update when you open the app
- Ensure your device has an active internet connection (try opening a webpage in Chrome)
- Verify that both the incoming (IMAP) and outgoing (SMTP) servers are set to
mail.yourdomain.com
Frequently asked questions
We recommend IMAP. It syncs your emails across all devices — so emails you read on your phone also show as read on your computer. POP3 downloads emails to a single device and can remove them from the server, which makes multi-device access unreliable.
Yes. Port 587 with STARTTLS is also supported. If port 465 doesn't work on your network (some ISPs block it), switch to port 587 and set the security type to STARTTLS.
The server settings are the same regardless of which email app you use. If you use Samsung Email, Outlook for Android, or another app, look for the manual setup or IMAP option and enter the same server, port, and security settings listed in this guide.