Many business owners prefer to check their business email in the Gmail app instead of the phone's built-in Mail app, since it puts every account in one familiar inbox. You can add your business email address to Gmail on both Android and iPhone using standard IMAP settings, without changing where your email is actually hosted.
What You Need Before You Start
Gather these details first. You can find the mail server hostname and ports in your control panel's email account settings (look for a Connect Devices or Set Up Mail Client option next to your mailbox) or in the welcome email you received when the mailbox was created.
- Your full email address (e.g. you@yourbusiness.co.ke) as the username
- Your email account password
- Incoming server (IMAP): usually mail.yourdomain.com, port 993, with SSL enabled
- Outgoing server (SMTP): usually mail.yourdomain.com, port 465, with SSL enabled
Always choose IMAP rather than POP3 when adding a business account to a second app like Gmail. IMAP keeps your inbox in sync across every device, while POP3 can cause messages to go missing from other apps if it's set to remove mail from the server.
Adding Your Email in the Gmail App
On Android
- Open the Gmail app and tap your profile picture in the top-right corner.
- Tap Add another account.
- Choose Other from the list of account types.
- Enter your full business email address and tap Next.
- Select Personal (IMAP).
- Enter your email account password and tap Next.
- On the incoming server screen, confirm the server is set to your mail server hostname and the port is 993, then tap Next.
- On the outgoing server screen, enter the same username and password, confirm the server and that the port is 465, then tap Next.
- Review the account options (sync frequency, notifications) and tap Next, then give the account a label if prompted.
On iPhone (iOS)
- Open the Gmail app and tap your profile picture in the top-right corner.
- Tap Add another account, then choose Other.
- Select Other (IMAP) or a similar generic option if you're not shown a direct list of providers.
- Enter your name, full business email address, password, and a description for the account, then tap Next.
- Enter the incoming mail server details: your mail server hostname, your full email address as the username, your password, and port 993.
- Enter the outgoing mail server details: the same hostname, username, and password, with port 465.
- Tap Next, then Save once the app verifies the settings.
Switching Between Accounts and Sending From Your Business Address
Once added, tap your profile picture at any time to switch between your personal and business inboxes. When composing a new message from your business account's inbox, Gmail automatically sends it from that address, so recipients see your business email, not your personal one.
If a message doesn't send correctly or you see an authentication error, double-check that you entered the SMTP password exactly as it appears in your control panel and that the outgoing port matches what your mail server expects.
If you're not sure whether to use IMAP or POP3 for any mail app on your phone, see IMAP vs POP3: Which Should You Use for Email on Your Phone?