Autoconfig / Autodiscover with IMAP/SMTP

Initial setup
1

I am trying to get eM Client working to auto-discover IMAP and SMTP email settings, but it does not work with my email hosting provider. After dealing with both eM Client and the email hosting support, it looks like they are just not compatible.

I was wondering if I could self-host the Autoconfig / Autodiscover settings. I know Thunderbird uses an autoconfig DNS lookup, but I cannot find technical details for how eM Client does it.

Does anyone know if it is possible to get it working by self-hosting a Autoconfig / Autodiscover XML file?

I am aware of the below KB article, but it is lacking details. I am after an example that works, so I can modify it for my use. I don’t know enough about the XML file format to write one from scratch, and I cannot find much online explaining how to do it.

https://support.emclient.com/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/258/14/how-does-autodiscover-work

2

If the automatic setup doesn’t work with your provider, you can setup the account manually.

Full account setup instructions are in the Documentation (F1) under Getting Started.

3

Yes, I have added an account manually. That works fine.

My question was more around doing the technical legwork to simplify adding accounts for non-technical users, who are using eM Client.

What specific DNS settings or autodiscover XML file would work with eM Client?

1 Like
4

I’m in the same situation right now. We employ a lot of people in our company and have to setup each account manually and always maintain the server data by hand. Of course, there can be errors that don’t have to happen.

For example, Thunderbird recognizes our config under:
https.//(ourservername)/.well-known/autoconfig/mail/config-v1.1.xml

Why doesn’t the eM client? A template would be good here so that you can base your work on it.

5

@tbi Since your using eM Client in a company environment with a lot of installs and want to manage the settings for these multiple installs, have you considered using the License Manager to manage the settings:

Just a suggestion for an alternative way to manage eM Client in a company environment.

2 Likes
6

For reference, I got this working with my mail hosting provider. I ended up using a Wireshark trace, and worked out that eM Client was looking up the DNS SRV record _autodiscover._tcp.yourdomain.com.

I created this record and pointed it to my email hosting provider’s autodiscover service, and it started working.

2 Likes
7

Thanks for the answers. The license manager is really an interesting tip. I have put the link to my XML here, but nothing has happened. The client (even after restarting etc.) has simply ignored the XML and is still looking for settings on the server.

I suspect that it is due to an incorrect configuration that Thunderbird and Outlook understand, but is ignored by the eM client.

As an addendum: The topic is simply about getting a configuration that the eM client understands as a template, which can be placed in the license manager via a button.

For those interested, here is my XML:

<clientConfig version="1.1">
  <emailProvider id="(company-name)">
    <domain>(our-domain)</domain>
    <displayName>(company-name)</displayName>
    <displayShortName>ISPmail</displayShortName>
    <incomingServer type="imap">
      <hostname>webmail.(our-domain).com</hostname>
      <port>143</port>
      <socketType>STARTTLS</socketType>
      <authentication>password-cleartext</authentication>
      <username>%EMAILADDRESS%</username>
    </incomingServer>
    <outgoingServer type="smtp">
    <hostname>webmail.(our-domain).com</hostname>
    <port>587</port>
    <socketType>STARTTLS</socketType>
    <authentication>password-cleartext</authentication>
    <username>%EMAILADDRESS%</username>
    </outgoingServer>
  </emailProvider>
</clientConfig>

Thank you and continued success to you

8

Thanks zedman, gonna try this out :wink: