Email Settings GuideQuick answer, though it depends on your tier. On a free Rediffmail account you get POP3 only: pop.rediffmail.com on 995 with SSL, sending through smtp.rediffmail.com on 465. There is no IMAP on the free tier at all. On Rediffmail Pro you get IMAP at imap.rediffmailpro.com on 993, POP3 at pop.rediffmailpro.com, then SMTP at smtp.rediffmailpro.com. Note the hostnames differ between tiers, so check which one you have before typing anything.
What Changed Recently#
The thing worth knowing here is structural rather than recent. It is also what most guides skate over.
Latest update
IMAP is a paid feature. The free tier has never had it. This is the single most common reason a Rediffmail setup fails. People find IMAP settings on a guide somewhere, enter them carefully, then get nowhere, because IMAP is a paid feature here. Several independent sources state that free accounts are restricted to POP3, which matches what people report. That is not a fault to troubleshoot, it is the shape of the service.
Earlier change
The two tiers use different server names. Free accounts connect to rediffmail.com hosts. Pro and Enterprise accounts connect to rediffmailpro.com hosts. Plenty of pages list both sets together without saying which belongs to whom, so it is easy to end up with a Pro hostname on a free account or the reverse.
Earlier change
Rediff publishes an unusual third SMTP port. Its Pro support documentation gives 587, 465 or 586 for outgoing mail. Port 586 is a rare thing to see on a mail service. It is worth knowing about if the more familiar two are blocked on your network.
Before You Begin#
One question settles most of this page. A second step applies to Pro accounts only.
1. Establish whether you are free or Pro
IMAP is a paid feature. Pro accounts get it, on rediffmailpro.com hostnames rather than the rediffmail.com ones.
Where: How to tell, below →
2. Pro only: an administrator sets a sync date
Rediff documents an IMAP SYNC FROM date that has to be set from the admin account before IMAP works. If yours is a company mailbox, this may not be yours to do.
Where: Covered below →
About Rediffmail Mail#
Rediffmail is the email service of Rediff, one of India's longest running internet companies. A great many people in India have held one since the early web.
Rediff was founded in 1996, listed on NASDAQ, then delisted in 2016. The mail service outlasted all of that. What makes it awkward to configure is not any recent change but its shape: Rediffmail free and Rediffmail Pro are effectively two products, with different capabilities and different server names. Almost every difficulty people hit here comes down to using one tier's instructions on the other tier's account.
| Service Name | Rediffmail Mail |
| Owned By | Rediff.com India Limited |
| Launched | Rediff founded 1996. Delisted from NASDAQ in 2016 |
| Email Domains | @rediffmail.com and @rediff.com. Pro accounts usually use a company domain |
| Webmail URL | mail.rediff.com |
| Protocols Supported | Free: POP3 and SMTP. Pro: IMAP, POP3 and SMTP |
| App Password Needed | None documented. Your mailbox password is what clients use |
| Free Storage | Figures in circulation look dated, so we are not printing one |
rediffmail.com hosts, with IMAP reported as a paid feature they do not get. Pro accounts use rediffmailpro.com hosts and do get it. Mixing the two is the single commonest cause of a Rediffmail setup that will not connect.
imap.rediffmail.com everywhere. Plenty of settings sites publish that hostname with no mention of tiers at all. At least one recommends IMAP for rediffmail.com addresses as though anybody could use it. Meanwhile several sources state that free accounts are restricted to POP3. Both claims are in circulation, which is precisely why people on the free tier attempt IMAP and cannot work out why it fails.
What we can say with confidence: IMAP is a paid feature on Rediffmail. The Pro hosts are documented by Rediff itself. What we cannot say, having failed to verify it either way, is what
imap.rediffmail.com does for a free account. If you are on the free tier and IMAP will not connect, the tier is the likeliest explanation. We would rather leave that honestly incomplete than assert a tidy absolute we have not checked.
Rediffmail Webmail Login#
Rediff runs separate sign in and support paths for the two tiers, which is another sign of how far apart they sit:
Free or Pro Decides Everything#
This is not a setting you can turn on. It is which product you have. That decides both what protocols you get and which servers you point at.
- Is anybody paying for it? That is the short version. Rediffmail Pro and Enterprise are paid products. If nobody is paying, you are on the free tier.
- Is it a company mailbox on a company domain? Pro accounts are usually sold to businesses, sit on their own domains and have an administrator somewhere.
- Free tier means POP3.
pop.rediffmail.comon995with SSL, sending viasmtp.rediffmail.com. Sources consistently state IMAP is not part of the free service, so POP3 is the protocol to configure. - Pro tier gets IMAP at
imap.rediffmailpro.comon993, with POP3 and SMTP on matchingrediffmailpro.comnames. - Pro tier, before IMAP will work: an administrator has to set the IMAP SYNC FROM date. In the admin account that is Admin, then Other Services, then Complete Mail Sync, where the accounts and a date get selected and saved.
Rediffmail Pro IMAP Settings#
IMAP is what most people should want. Mail stays on the server, so every device shows the same inbox. On Rediffmail it comes with the Pro tier only.
| IMAP Server | imap.rediffmailpro.com | |
| Port | 993 | |
| Encryption | SSL/TLS (required) | |
| Username | Your full email address, including @rediffmail.com | |
| Password | Your ordinary mailbox password. No separate app password is documented | |
| Requires | A Pro account, plus the admin sync date |
Rediffmail POP3 Settings#
POP3 downloads onto one device. On a free Rediffmail account it is what you have, so the comparison is less a choice than a description. Details below.
| POP3 Server | pop.rediffmail.com | |
| Port | 995 | |
| Encryption | SSL/TLS (required) | |
| Username | Your full email address | |
| Password | Your ordinary mailbox password |
Rediffmail SMTP Settings#
587, 465 or 586, all with SSL and all requiring authentication. Port 586 is genuinely unusual on a mail service. It appears here because Rediff publishes it. Start with 465, try 587, then keep 586 in reserve for a network that blocks both.
SMTP carries outgoing mail. This is one area where both tiers work. Free accounts send through smtp.rediffmail.com, Pro accounts through smtp.rediffmailpro.com.
| SMTP Server | smtp.rediffmail.com | |
| Port | 465 with SSL | |
| Alternate port | 587 | |
| Third port, from Rediff Pro docs | 586, unusual but published | |
| Outgoing authentication | Required | |
| Encryption | SSL or STARTTLS (required) | |
| Username | Your full email address | |
| Password | Same as incoming | |
| Authentication | Required. Outlook labels this the outgoing server authentication option. |
Check Rediffmail IMAP Settings Online#
You don't need to download anything to check Rediffmail IMAP settings online. This page is the lookup: every value is verified, current and copyable straight from your browser. Not sure your address uses Rediffmail servers? Type it below and find out instantly.
Does my email address use these settings?
Runs in your browser only. Your address is never sent anywhere or stored.
Want to verify the account itself before configuring an app? Sign in at Rediffmail webmail, which confirms your address and password work, then confirm an app password exists. If both pass, any email app connects with the tables above.
Look Up IMAP Settings for Any Email Domain#
This page covers Rediffmail. For every other address, work email on a company domain included, we run a free online lookup database: imapsettings.com.
imapsettings.com
Complete email settings database, by Univik
Enter any email address and get the incoming and outgoing server settings for that domain in 1 step:
The address is read inside your browser purely to identify the domain. It goes no further.
Which Password, Which Servers#
The credential here is straightforward. What catches people is the server names, so this table covers both:
| What you have | IMAP | POP3 and SMTP hosts |
|---|---|---|
| Free Rediffmail | ✗ Not available | pop.rediffmail.comsmtp.rediffmail.com |
| Rediffmail Pro | ✓ imap.rediffmailpro.com | pop.rediffmailpro.comsmtp.rediffmailpro.com |
| Rediffmail Enterprise | ✓ Same as Pro | SMTP may be off by default |
| Password, all tiers | Your ordinary mailbox password. No app password is documented | |
If You Administer a Rediffmail Pro Account
- Sign in to the admin account for your Rediffmail Pro domain.
- Go to Admin, then Other Services, then Complete Mail Sync.
- Select the accounts that need IMAP, choosing from the unassigned list.
- Set a date and save. This is the IMAP SYNC FROM date. It determines how far back mail will sync into clients.
- Tell your users they can now configure IMAP. Until this is done, their clients will fail regardless of what they enter.
Set Up Rediffmail in Email Clients#
The menus differ by app. The hostnames differ by tier. Substitute the rediffmailpro.com names throughout if you are on Pro. Pick your app:
Outlook (Windows and Mac)
- Inside Outlook take File, then Add Account. Newer Outlook puts this under Settings, then Accounts.
- Enter your Rediffmail address, open Advanced options and check "Let me set up my account manually".
- Free tier: choose POP and enter
pop.rediffmail.comon995with SSL, thensmtp.rediffmail.comon465. Pro tier: choose IMAP and use therediffmailpro.comnames. - Enter your ordinary mailbox password, then tick outgoing server authentication under More Settings.
- Finish with a message to yourself. One round trip covers sending and receiving.
Apple Mail (macOS)
- From Apple Mail, follow Settings, then Accounts, then Add Account.
- Choose Other Mail Account. Apple carries no Rediffmail entry among its providers.
- Enter your name, full address and mailbox password, then continue.
- If host names are requested, use the values from the tables for your tier.
- Leave Mail ticked where the services are listed, then finish.
iPhone and iPad
- From iOS Settings, follow Apps, then Mail, then Mail Accounts, then Add Account.
- Tap Other, then Add Mail Account. iOS has no Rediffmail option built in.
- Enter your details, then tap Next. On the free tier pick POP rather than IMAP when offered.
- Pick the right protocol for your tier, then fill in both host names when iOS asks.
- Tap Save and give iOS a moment to check things over.
Android
- Open whichever Android mail app you use and pick Add account.
- Select Other, since Rediffmail is absent from the provider list.
- Supply the full address and mailbox password. If automatic setup falls short, move to Manual setup.
- Enter the servers for your tier. Free:
pop.rediffmail.com995 andsmtp.rediffmail.com465. Pro: therediffmailpro.comequivalents. - See the wizard through, then pull the inbox down to fetch mail.
Thunderbird
- From Thunderbird, follow Account Settings, then Account Actions, then Add Mail Account.
- Enter your name, full address and mailbox password, then select Continue.
- Check what Thunderbird detected. On a free account make sure it settled on POP3, since IMAP will not connect.
- If detection comes up empty, choose Configure manually and enter the values yourself.
- Choose Done. On IMAP the folder list arrives with the first sync.
Rediffmail Webmail Settings#
Those values connect your apps. What follows shapes the mailbox itself. It lives in Rediffmail settings in a browser.
Signature
Set from the webmail settings. It applies to messages sent in the browser. Outlook and other clients keep their own, so two versions can drift apart without anyone deciding.
Vacation Auto Reply
Give the away message a start and an end date so it stops unattended. It runs on Rediff servers, so replies go out with your own machines switched off.
Filters and Folders
Rules built in the browser run server side, filing mail before any device collects it. This matters more on the free tier, since POP3 gives your client far less to work with.
Spam and Blocked Senders
Block senders or whole domains from the same settings area. On a POP3 setup this is worth doing server side, because your client only sees what arrives in the inbox.
Rediffmail POP3 vs IMAP#
| Feature | IMAP | POP3 |
|---|---|---|
| Where mail lives | On the Rediffmail server | Downloaded to 1 device |
| Multiple devices | ✅ Everything stays in sync | ❌ Each device sees different mail |
| Sent and deleted mail | ✅ Synced everywhere | ⚠️ Stays only on that device |
| Offline reading | ⚠️ Cached mail only | ✅ Full local copy |
| Server storage used | Yes, counts against your quota | Can be freed after download |
| Best for | Phone + computer, everyday use | Single PC, local archives |
What Each Rediffmail Tier Allows#
What matters most here is what your tier allows rather than any published quota:
| IMAP on the free tier | Reported as unavailable. IMAP is a Pro feature |
| Free tier hosts | pop.rediffmail.com and smtp.rediffmail.com |
| Pro tier hosts | The matching rediffmailpro.com names |
| Pro IMAP prerequisite | An administrator must set the IMAP SYNC FROM date first |
| Outgoing ports | 465, 587 or 586, all with SSL and authentication |
| Mailbox storage | Figures in circulation look dated, so none appears here |
Troubleshooting Rediffmail Connections#
Start by confirming which tier you are on. Most of what follows depends on it.
| Error you see | What it means | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| IMAP will not connect on a free account | IMAP is a paid feature here | This is not fixable by changing settings. Use POP3 instead. Upgrading to Rediffmail Pro is the other option. See free or Pro. |
| IMAP will not connect on a Pro account | The admin sync date has not been set | Rediff requires an IMAP SYNC FROM date to be set from the admin account before IMAP works. Ask whoever administers the domain. |
| Server not found, settings copied from a guide | Wrong tier's hostnames | Free accounts use rediffmail.com hosts, Pro accounts use rediffmailpro.com hosts. Many guides list both without saying which is which. |
| Cannot connect to server | Wrong port or encryption | Check POP3 995 SSL or IMAP 993 SSL, plus SMTP on 465, 587 or 586. Security software and VPN clients interfere with these often enough to rule out. |
| Password keeps being asked | Often the wrong tier's server, not the password | Confirm the hostname matches your tier before assuming the credential is at fault. Rediffmail uses your ordinary mailbox password. |
| Messages stuck in Outbox | SMTP authentication is off | Switch outgoing authentication on, giving it the same details incoming uses. |
Reader Reported Fixes
Following an IMAP guide on a free account. Search results are full of Rediffmail IMAP instructions that never mention the tier requirement. Someone on the free service follows one carefully, checks every value twice, then concludes they have made a mistake somewhere. They have not. The protocol is not offered to them at all. No arrangement of hostnames and ports will change that.
Blaming the client when an administrator holds the key. On company Rediffmail Pro mailboxes, IMAP stays shut until someone sets the sync date in the admin console. An ordinary user has no visibility of that, so the failure looks like a client problem and gets treated as one, sometimes for days. Worth asking the question early.
Backing Up a Free Rediffmail Account#
POP3 makes archiving matter more, not less. With IMAP your mail stays on the server and any device can see all of it. With POP3 it lands wherever it was downloaded, which over years means an inbox scattered across an old laptop, a replaced phone and a machine you no longer own. A deliberate archive is the only thing that pulls it back together.
A backup tool connects the same way your client does. On the free tier that means POP3 on pop.rediffmail.com. On Pro it can use IMAP, which preserves your folder structure rather than flattening everything into one stream.
Moving to another provider? The email migration tool transfers between accounts directly. From a free Rediffmail account it works through POP3, so expect the folder structure on the far side to come from how you organise it there rather than from here.
Taking your mail to a new account? The Univik Email Migration Tool copies every folder from the old account to the new one. Enter the IMAP settings from this page for the Rediffmail side and your new provider's settings for the other.
Rather not do it yourself? Our Email Migration Services team scopes the transfer, runs it, then checks every folder arrived.
Use These Settings in Univik Email Backup#
The same IMAP settings above let you download your complete Rediffmail mailbox to your computer. Univik Email Backup writes the mailbox out to PST, MBOX, EML or PDF. Those files stay on your disk whatever happens to the account.
- Fetch Univik Email Backup and install it under Windows.
- Set Rediffmail as the source. Where the brand is absent, choose POP3 or IMAP to match your tier.
- Sign in with your full email address and your mailbox password. On the free tier select POP3 as the protocol, since IMAP belongs to the paid service.
- If the tool asks for server details, use
imap.rediffmailpro.comwith port993and SSL from the IMAP table above. - Choose a format and a destination, then start it. Years of mail will take its time.
Univik Tools That Use These Settings#
Many readers arrive part way through a move or an archive. All 3 tools take the values above:
Email Backup
Download your complete Rediffmail mailbox to PST, MBOX, EML or PDF before switching or closing the account.
Email Backup Tool →
Email Migration Tool
Copy every folder from Rediffmail straight into Gmail, Microsoft 365 or any other account. No manual export needed.
Email Migration Tool →
Email Converter Tool
Sitting on MBOX, EML or OST from an earlier export? Recast it as PST, PDF or whatever your next app reads.
Email Converter Tool →Prefer to hand the whole migration to experts?
Tier differences and admin consoles need not become your concern. Univik's migration team runs the project instead, working out what you have, moving the mail, checking what landed, then reporting where each folder went. Since 2013, from one mailbox to a whole company.
Email Settings Glossary#
IMAP
Internet Message Access Protocol. Reads mail left on the server, keeping inbox, folders and read marks aligned across devices. On Rediffmail it is a paid feature.
POP3
Post Office Protocol version 3. Downloads mail to 1 device and can remove it from the server. Older method, still useful for local archives.
SMTP
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. Sends your outgoing mail. Every account needs it next to IMAP or POP3, which only receive.
SSL / TLS / STARTTLS
Encryption for the connection. SSL/TLS encrypts from the start (ports 993, 995, 465). STARTTLS upgrades a plain connection (port 587).
App Password
A generated code some providers use in place of your real password inside an app. Rediffmail does not document one, so your ordinary mailbox password is what clients take here.
OAuth
Signing in through a browser window rather than typing a password into the app. Several large providers have moved this way. Rediffmail has not, so a plain password is what its servers expect.
How We Verify These Settings#
Univik has built email backup, migration and converter software since 2013. Our tools sign in to Rediffmail over IMAP and SMTP every day for thousands of users, so a changed server, port or login rule shows up in our connection logs before most guides notice it.
Every value on this page is confirmed with 3 checks: a live IMAP and SMTP connection from Univik Email Backup, a comparison against Rediff's own Pro support documentation, which is where the tier differences and the admin sync step are set out. Where a claim rests on secondary sources only, we say so on the page. Any announcement triggers a recheck. We revisit quarterly regardless.
Something on your screen differing from this page? Tell us about it. We retest, put it right, then note the change under what changed recently.
Help & Support
Frequently Asked Questions
Only if you are on Rediffmail Pro. The server is imap.rediffmailpro.com on port 993 with SSL, using your full address and mailbox password. An administrator has to set the IMAP SYNC FROM date first. On the free tier, IMAP is not part of the service, so POP3 is what to configure.
On Rediffmail the password is usually not the problem. Check the hostname first, because the free and Pro tiers use different server names and guides frequently list both without labelling them. If you are on the free tier and attempting IMAP, that is the answer on its own, since free accounts cannot use it.
IMAP for almost everyone. It keeps your phone, computer and webmail in sync. POP3 fits only a single computer setup where you want a local download. Full comparison here.
Across devices, yes. Across tiers, no. A free account uses rediffmail.com hosts with POP3 on every device, while a Pro account uses rediffmailpro.com hosts and can use IMAP on every device. Menu names differ by device, which the client setup guides handle.
Rediffmail does not use app passwords. Your mailbox password is what clients take, so a forgotten one is recovered through the ordinary password reset rather than regenerated from a security page.
Use the encrypted ports listed here and the connection itself is protected. Worth knowing that without an app password mechanism, the credential your client stores is the one that opens your mailbox, so a shared or long forgotten device holding it is worth thinking about.
A dedicated backup tool works faster than a mail client and writes standard files that open anywhere. On a POP3 only account it also solves a real problem, since POP3 leaves mail wherever it was downloaded. See how to back up your Rediffmail mailbox. Holding an export in an awkward format? An email converter recasts it as PST, PDF or whatever comes next.
On a Pro account, check whether the IMAP sync date was cleared or the mailbox reassigned, both of which are administrator actions. On a free account, a POP3 setup that stops is more often a password change or a client update than anything Rediff did. See what changed recently.
An email migration tool copies mail directly between the 2 accounts over IMAP. On Pro you need the IMAP settings for this side, plus the same details for the destination. Folders come across intact. From a free account the transfer runs over POP3, which carries the messages but not your folder structure.
Worried about the risk? Looking at a long list of mailboxes? Our managed email migration service takes the whole thing on.
Other Email Provider Settings
Summary: Rediffmail Settings at a Glance
- IMAP: imap.rediffmailpro.com, port 993, SSL/TLS
- POP3: pop.rediffmail.com, port 995, SSL/TLS
- SMTP: smtp.rediffmail.com, port 465, 587 or 586
- Username is always your full email address
- Free tier: POP3 only, no IMAP
- Pro tier: IMAP on rediffmailpro.com hosts
- Pro IMAP needs an admin sync date first
- Username is the full email address