T-Online Email Settings: IMAP, SMTP, POP3 and the Email Password

Q: What are the T-Online IMAP settings?

Use secureimap.t-online.de on port 993 with SSL/TLS, with your full t-online.de address as the username. The password has to be the email program password rather than the one that opens your Kundencenter. The complete table sits in the IMAP settings section .

Quick answer: the T-Online IMAP server is secureimap.t-online.de on port 993 with SSL/TLS. The outgoing server is securesmtp.t-online.de on port 465 with SSL. Port 587 with STARTTLS works too. The POP3 server is securepop.t-online.de on port 995. Your username is the full t-online.de address. The password is the part that catches people: Telekom issues a separate password for email programs. The one you use to sign in to the Kundencenter is refused here.

This page is not assembled from other guides. Each value comes from live IMAP and SMTP connections made by Univik email software. We have built email backup and converter tools since 2013, so servers of this kind are daily work for us. See what changed →

What Changed Recently#

T-Online has kept its hostnames steady for years. The credential rules are where the change happened.

Latest update

Email programs need their own password. Telekom separates the account password, which opens the Kundencenter and the E-Mail Center in a browser, from a dedicated password for email programs. Outlook, Thunderbird, Apple Mail and phone mail apps all need the second one. Telekom describes the split as a security measure, so that a compromised mail client cannot reach the wider Telekom account.

Earlier change

Unencrypted connections are gone. The old plain ports no longer accept connections. Every hostname on this page begins with secure, which doubles as a reminder. An old configuration on port 143 or 110 will fail with what looks like a server fault.

Earlier change

The service has been Telekom Mail since 2013. The rebrand never displaced the @t-online.de address, which is what people still recognise and what every setting on this page refers to. Guides that call it Telekom Mail and guides that call it T-Online are describing the same mailbox.

Current status: IMAP, POP3 and SMTP all work normally on the encrypted ports, provided your client holds the email program password rather than the account one.

Before You Begin#

Two things to settle before the server values. The first is the reason most T-Online setups fail.

1. Get the email program password

Telekom keeps two separate passwords. The one that opens your Kundencenter will not work in Outlook or Thunderbird. You need the dedicated password for email programs.

Where: The two password model below →

2. Use the encrypted ports

Every T-Online host carries a secure prefix for a reason. Plain unencrypted ports are no longer accepted, so 993, 995 and 465 or 587 are the only options.

Where: Server tables below →

About T-Online Mail#

T-Online is Deutsche Telekom's mail service, one of the largest in Germany and often chosen for the data protection standards that come with a German provider.

The service launched in 1995 as Deutsche Telekom's internet provider with email attached, was spun off as T-Online International AG in 2000, then folded back into the parent. Telekom renamed it Telekom Mail in 2013, though almost nobody calls it that and the @t-online.de address carried on regardless. The one thing that separates T-Online from most providers is the credential. Telekom gives you two passwords and expects you to know which is which.

Service Name	T-Online Mail
Owned By	Deutsche Telekom AG
Launched	1995, rebranded Telekom Mail in 2013
Email Domains	`@t-online.de` and `@magenta.de`, on free and paid accounts alike
Webmail URL	email.t-online.de
Protocols Supported	IMAP, POP3, SMTP, on encrypted ports only
App Password Needed	Yes, always. Telekom calls it the password for email programs
Free Storage	1 GB on Telekom Freemail. The paid Mail M package raises it to 15 GB

Free and paid accounts use the same servers: a free Telekom Freemail mailbox and the paid Mail M package both sit on the hosts listed here. Paying changes your storage, removes the advertising and raises your sending allowance. It changes nothing about the server settings, so a guide written for one applies to the other.

The storage gap is wider than most free tiers. The settings gap is nil.

Telekom Mail and T-Online are the same thing: Telekom renamed the service in 2013 without changing the address anybody uses. A German guide saying Telekom Mail and an English one saying T-Online describe one mailbox on one set of servers. Telekom later added @magenta.de as a second domain, which it presents as a companion to the t-online.de one rather than a replacement. Existing t-online.de addresses stay exactly as they are. A magenta.de address uses the same servers on this page.

T-Online Webmail Login#

The browser is the one place your Telekom account password works. These are the official pages:

Webmail

email.t-online.de

Account Security

telekom.de/kundencenter

Password Recovery

telekom.de/hilfe

Watch out for fake support pages. A number of pages ranking for email settings open with a phone number and an offer of paid setup help. Neither Telekom nor Univik needs you to ring anybody to type in a server address. Every value here costs nothing.

Which Password Does T-Online Want?#

This is the section to read if nothing else on the page gets read. Telekom maintains two separate passwords for one mailbox. Using the wrong one produces an error that looks exactly like a typing mistake.

Password one, your Telekom account password. This opens the Kundencenter and the E-Mail Center in a browser. It is the password you probably think of as your T-Online password.
Password two, the password for email programs. Telekom issues this separately. It is what Outlook, Thunderbird, Apple Mail and your phone must send over IMAP, POP3 and SMTP.
They are not interchangeable. The account password is refused by the mail servers. No amount of retyping helps, because the credential is correct for a different door.
Telekom did this deliberately. The split means a mail client that gets compromised cannot reach your wider Telekom account, which holds rather more than email.
Everyone finds this confusing at first. A Telekom staff member had to explain it to a customer on Telekom's own community forum. The customer's reply, that two passwords for one mailbox remained confusing, is the standard reaction.

Two doors, two keys. Neither key opens the other door.

If this looks familiar, the loop is the diagnosis.

Most English language guides get this wrong. Search for T-Online settings and you will find page after page telling you to enter "your t-online.de password". For webmail that is right. For the mail client you are actually trying to configure it is wrong. It sends people off resetting a password that was never the problem. If a guide lists the hosts without mentioning a second password, it has not been checked against a real setup.

T-Online IMAP Settings#

IMAP is the incoming protocol worth choosing. Messages remain on the server, which is how every device ends up showing one inbox.

IMAP Server	`secureimap.t-online.de`
Port	`993`
Encryption	SSL/TLS (required)
Username	Your full email address, including `@t-online.de`
Password	Your password for email programs, not the Kundencenter one
Authentication	Required

T-Online POP3 Settings#

POP3 brings mail down onto one machine. Worth choosing for a single computer keeping a local copy, rarely otherwise. Torn? The comparison follows.

POP3 Server	`securepop.t-online.de`, written `securepop3.t-online.de` in some Telekom documentation
Port	`995`
Encryption	SSL/TLS (required)
Username	Your full email address
Password	The same email program password

Two spellings of the same host. Telekom documentation uses both securepop.t-online.de and securepop3.t-online.de. Either works, which is worth knowing if you are comparing two guides and assuming one made a typing error. As always with POP, tick "leave a copy on the server" unless you are certain you want the server copy emptied onto one computer.

T-Online SMTP Settings#

The hostnames tell you the rule: every T-Online server begins with secure. That is not decoration. Unencrypted connections are no longer accepted, so ports 143 and 110 will not answer whatever else you configure. Use 993 for IMAP, 995 for POP3, then 465 or 587 for outgoing mail.

The prefix is a mnemonic worth trusting.

SMTP carries outgoing mail. Reading fine while sending fails points here, though on T-Online a wrong password stops both directions at once rather than one.

SMTP Server	`securesmtp.t-online.de`
Port (SSL)	`465`, the usual choice
Port (STARTTLS)	`587`, an equally valid alternative
Encryption	SSL or STARTTLS (required)
Username	Your full email address
Password	Same as incoming, the email program password
Authentication	Required. Outlook labels this the outgoing server authentication tickbox.

Check T-Online IMAP Settings Online#

You don't need to download anything to check T-Online IMAP settings online. This page is the lookup: every value is verified, current and copyable straight from your browser. Not sure your address uses T-Online 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 T-Online 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 T-Online. 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

Check IMAP settings online →

Enter any email address and get the incoming and outgoing server settings for that domain in 1 step:

Incoming server: hostname, port, SSL/TLS and username format

Outgoing server: SMTP hostname, port and encryption

The address is inspected in your browser to work out the domain. It goes no further.

Creating Your T-Online Email Program Password#

Telekom sets this up in the Kundencenter, where you sign in with the other password. Here is which credential belongs where:

Where you sign in	Telekom account password	Email program password
Telekom Kundencenter	✓ Works	✗ Wrong door
E-Mail Center in a browser	✓ Works	✗ Wrong door
Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird	✗ Rejected	✓ Required
Phone mail apps, backup and migration tools	✗ Rejected	✓ Required

How to Create the Email Program Password

Sign in to the Telekom Kundencenter using your Telekom account password, the browser one.
Find the email settings for your address. Telekom publishes a help topic on why the email program password exists and how to create or change it, worth having open alongside.
Set the password for email programs. Unlike a generated app password, you choose this one yourself, so it can be memorable without being the same as your account password.
Enter it in every mail client. The same credential covers IMAP, POP3 and SMTP. There is no separate outgoing password.
Changing it later affects every device. One email program password serves them all, so a change means updating each one.

Unlike most app passwords, you can see this one again: because you set it rather than receiving a generated code, it can be viewed and changed in the Kundencenter later. That is friendlier than the write-it-down-now model other providers use. It also means the password is only as strong as you made it, so avoid reusing your account password, which would undo the point of the split entirely.

Set Up T-Online in Email Clients#

Every client wants the same three hosts and the same email program password. Only the menus change. Pick your app:

Outlook Apple Mail iPhone and iPad Android Thunderbird

Six fields. One of them is the whole difficulty.

Outlook (Windows and Mac)

In Outlook choose File, then Add Account. New Outlook keeps it under Settings, then Accounts.
Enter your T-Online address, open Advanced options and check "Let me set up my account manually".
Choose IMAP and enter secureimap.t-online.de on port 993 with SSL, then securesmtp.t-online.de on port 465 with SSL.
Enter the email program password when Outlook asks, then tick outgoing server authentication under More Settings.
Mail yourself once it is running. One round trip confirms both directions at once.

Apple Mail (macOS)

In Apple Mail, take Settings, Accounts, Add Account.
Choose Other Mail Account. Apple lists no T-Online entry among its providers.
Enter your name, full address and email program password, then continue.
Prompted for host names? They sit in the tables further up.
Keep Mail selected among the offered services, then finish.

iPhone and iPad

On iOS, follow Settings, Apps, Mail, Mail Accounts, Add Account.
Tap Other, then Add Mail Account. iOS has no T-Online option built in.
Enter your details using the email program password, then tap Next.
Stay on IMAP, supplying both host names where iOS asks.
Tap Save, giving iOS a moment to check the account.

Android

Whichever Android mail app you use, pick Add account.
Select Other, then IMAP, since T-Online is absent from the list.
Enter your full address and email program password. Where automatic setup fails, switch to Manual setup.
Enter the servers: secureimap.t-online.de 993 SSL incoming, securesmtp.t-online.de 465 SSL outgoing.
Wrap up, then swipe down on the inbox for a first fetch.

Thunderbird

In Thunderbird, take Account Settings, Account Actions, Add Mail Account.
Enter your name, full address and email program password, then select Continue.
Let Thunderbird detect the servers, confirming it chose IMAP.
Detection unhelpful? Pick Configure manually and enter the values yourself.
Set the IMAP server directory to INBOX under Server Settings, then Advanced. Thunderbird's own German support forum recommends this for T-Online. Without it the folder list can fail to populate properly. Select Done afterwards.

T-Online Webmail Settings#

The values above connect your apps. This next group governs the mailbox itself. It lives in the E-Mail Center in a browser, where your Telekom account password is the one that works.

Signature

Set in the E-Mail Center settings. It applies to mail sent from the browser. Outlook, Thunderbird and Apple Mail each hold their own, which is how people end up with two slightly different versions in circulation.

Vacation Auto Reply

Give the away message a start and an end date so it switches off without you. It runs on Telekom's servers, so replies keep going out with every device of yours turned off.

Filters and Folders

Rules built in the E-Mail Center run server side, filing mail before any device collects it. A rule inside Outlook fires only while Outlook is running, which is why two devices can disagree about where a message went.

Spam and Blocked Senders

Block senders or whole domains from the same settings area. Check the spam folder in the browser first when mail goes missing, since a rule in your client cannot fetch back what the server already filed.

T-Online POP3 vs IMAP#

Feature	IMAP	POP3
Where mail lives	On the T-Online 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

Our verdict: IMAP, unless you have a specific reason otherwise. The free tier holds only 1 GB, so if storage pressure is pushing you towards POP the better answer is a proper archive. For a lasting offline copy a backup tool handles it better than bending POP3 into the role.

T-Online Storage and Account Limits#

Telekom publishes storage clearly and stays quiet on sending. Here is what can be established:

Free mailbox storage	1 GB on Telekom Freemail, with roughly 3 GB of separate cloud storage
Attachment size	Up to 32 MB per message
Sending limit, free tier	Up to 100 emails a day and 1,000 a month
Folders, free tier	Up to 30
Paid package	Mail M raises storage to 15 GB, drops the advertising, lifts sending to around 5,000 messages per 24 hours and allows up to 100 folders
Domain	`@t-online.de` on free and paid accounts alike
Client credential	The email program password, always. Never the Telekom account password
Encryption	Required. Unencrypted ports are no longer accepted
Who can register	Anyone. Telekom Freemail does not require a Telekom internet contract

Troubleshooting T-Online Connections#

One cause dominates on T-Online. Start there, then work down.

Error you see	What it means	Fix
Login to server secureimap.t-online.de failed	The client is holding your Telekom account password	This is the T-Online error. Your client needs the email program password instead. The account password is correct for the Kundencenter and refused by the mail servers.
Connects but folders never appear	Thunderbird needs the IMAP directory set	Under Server Settings, then Advanced, put `INBOX` in the IMAP server directory field.
Worked for years, stopped recently	An old unencrypted configuration	Plain ports 143 and 110 are no longer accepted. Move to 993 and 995 with SSL, keeping the `secure` hostnames.
Cannot connect to server	Wrong port or encryption	Check IMAP 993 SSL and SMTP 465 or 587. Antivirus software and VPN apps block these ports often enough to be worth ruling out.
Password keeps being asked	Almost always the wrong one of the two passwords	Replace it with the email program password. Resetting the account password will not help and costs you a browser sign in.
Messages stuck in Outbox	SMTP authentication is off	Turn on outgoing authentication, giving it the same credentials as incoming.

One field. Then the folder list appears.

Reader Reported Fixes

Changing the account password and expecting mail to follow. This is the loop people get stuck in. The client rejects the password, so they reset their Telekom password, which changes the browser credential and leaves the email program password untouched. The client rejects it again. Round it goes. The two passwords are independent. Only the second one reaches the mail servers.

Assuming a German language guide describes something different. Telekom Mail, T-Online and the E-Mail Center all name parts of one service. German guides discussing the "Passwort für E-Mail-Programme" are describing exactly the credential this page calls the email program password. If the German instructions look more thorough than the English ones, that is because they usually are.

Telekom Mail, T-Online and Moving Your Mail#

Reading about Telekom Mail rather than T-Online? They are the same service. Telekom applied the new name in 2013 and the @t-online.de address stayed put, so guides using either name describe the same mailbox on the same servers.

Moving mail off T-Online? A migration tool connects over IMAP like any client, so it needs the email program password rather than your account one. That single detail accounts for most failed T-Online migrations.

Leaving Telekom entirely? A t-online.de address is tied to the Telekom relationship, so back the mailbox up before you cancel. Even a 1 GB mailbox is a lot to move one message at a time through a browser.

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 T-Online side and your new provider's settings for the other.

Rather not do it yourself? The Email Migration Services team designs the move, performs it, then checks every folder arrived.

Use These Settings in Univik Email Backup#

The same IMAP settings above let you download your complete T-Online mailbox to your computer. Univik Email Backup writes the mailbox into PST, MBOX, EML or PDF. Those files stay yours whatever happens to the Telekom account.

Install Univik Email Backup on a Windows PC.
Choose T-Online as the source. Not there by name? Generic IMAP behaves identically.
Sign in with your full email address and the email program password. A backup tool is an IMAP client, so the account password is refused here as well.
If the tool asks for server details, use secureimap.t-online.de with port 993 and SSL from the IMAP table above.
Choose the file format and where it lands, then run it. Years of mail work through unattended.

Why back up before switching providers: POP3 only grabs the inbox and vacation replies to a closed account bounce. Read over IMAP, the copy preserves folders, attachments and original dates in formats any mail app opens. Changing accounts rather than archiving? The email migration tool carries mail across directly.

Email Settings Glossary#

IMAP

Internet Message Access Protocol. Reads mail held on the server, keeping folders and read marks aligned across devices.

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 separate credential standing in for your real password inside an app. Telekom's version is the password for email programs, which you set yourself rather than receiving as a generated code.

OAuth

Signing in through a browser window rather than typing a password into the app. Several large providers have moved this way. Telekom solves the same problem with its second password instead.

How We Verify These Settings#

Univik has built email backup, migration and converter software since 2013. Our tools sign in to T-Online 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 Telekom's own published help pages and a sign in run through the current E-Mail Center. Any announcement triggers a recheck. We revisit the page quarterly regardless.

Page disagreeing with your screen? Let us know. We retest, amend it, then log the change in what changed recently.

Help & Support

Frequently Asked Questions

Use secureimap.t-online.de on port 993 with SSL/TLS, with your full t-online.de address as the username. The password has to be the email program password rather than the one that opens your Kundencenter. The complete table sits in the IMAP settings section.

Because Telekom keeps two passwords and your client almost certainly has the wrong one. The account password opens the Kundencenter and the E-Mail Center in a browser. Mail clients need the separate password for email programs, set in the Kundencenter. Retyping the account password will never work, however carefully you type 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.

Yes. That holds on free and paid accounts alike. The paid Mail M package uses the same hosts as a free Freemail mailbox. Only the menu names differ by device, which the client setup guides cover. Thunderbird has one extra step worth knowing about.

Telekom's works differently from most. Because you set the email program password yourself rather than receiving a generated code, you can view and change it again in the Kundencenter. That is more forgiving than the write-it-down-immediately model elsewhere.

Yes. The two password design is the reason. Your mail client holds a credential that reaches the mailbox and nothing else, so a compromised client cannot touch your wider Telekom account. Connections run encrypted throughout, since unencrypted ports are no longer accepted.

An IMAP client pulls mail down as it syncs, though a dedicated backup tool moves faster and writes standard files that open anywhere. With only 1 GB on the free tier, a full mailbox fills sooner than people expect, which makes archiving worth doing properly. See how to back up your T-Online mailbox. Left with an export in an awkward format? An email converter turns it into PST, PDF or whatever comes next.

Two likely causes on T-Online. Either the email program password was changed while the device still holds the old one. Or the setup predates the move to encrypted ports and still points at 143 or 110. Neither is a fault in your client. See what changed recently.

An email migration tool copies mail directly between the 2 accounts over IMAP. You need the T-Online IMAP settings and the email program password for this side, plus the same details for the destination account. Every folder, label and date stays intact.

High stakes? A stack of mailboxes? Our managed email migration service takes on the whole thing.

Other Email Provider Settings

Gmail Settings Outlook.com Settings Yahoo Mail Settings AOL Mail Settings iCloud Mail Settings Comcast Settings

Summary: T-Online Settings at a Glance

IMAP: secureimap.t-online.de, port 993, SSL/TLS
POP3: securepop.t-online.de, port 995, SSL/TLS
SMTP: securesmtp.t-online.de, port 465 or 587
Username is always your full email address

Use the email program password
Never the Kundencenter password
Every host starts with secure
Thunderbird: set IMAP directory to INBOX