Yandex Mail Settings: IMAP, SMTP and App Password

Q: What are the Yandex Mail IMAP settings?

Use imap.yandex.com on port 993 with SSL. Outside Russia, Yandex advises imap.ya.ru instead. Sign in with your full address and an app password . Both toggles have to be on first. The complete table sits in the IMAP settings section .

Quick answer: the Yandex Mail IMAP server is imap.yandex.com on port 993 with SSL. Outside Russia, Yandex tells you to use imap.ya.ru instead. The outgoing server is smtp.yandex.com on port 465 with SSL. The password has to be an app password. Before any of that matters though, two settings need switching on inside Yandex Mail. Most guides mention one of the two.

Every setting on this page is verified with live IMAP and SMTP connections from Univik email software. We have built email backup and converter tools since 2013, so servers of this kind are familiar ground here. See what changed →

What Changed Recently#

Yandex has been explicit about where it is taking this service, including one protocol it has stopped developing.

Latest update

Yandex has stopped developing POP3. In its own documentation Yandex says it cannot guarantee correct interaction with an email client over POP3, because its developers no longer work on updates to the protocol. That is unusually direct for a provider. Treat POP3 here as legacy rather than as an equal choice alongside IMAP.

Earlier change

There is a different IMAP host if you are outside Russia. Yandex documents imap.ya.ru for users elsewhere, alongside imap.yandex.com. No other provider on this site publishes a geographic host split of this kind. Almost no third party guide mentions it.

Earlier change

OAuth is what Yandex recommends. Where your client supports signing in through a Yandex window, that is the route Yandex points you at. It still depends on the app passwords and OAuth tokens setting being enabled, which is why an OAuth attempt can loop endlessly on a client that looks correctly configured.

Current status: IMAP and SMTP work normally once both toggles are on and you are using an app password. OAuth works on clients that support it, subject to the same second toggle.

Before You Begin#

Three things, in fact, all of them documented by Yandex. Skip any one and the connection is refused however carefully the server values are entered.

1. Turn on IMAP access

Yandex keeps client access off until you enable it. The option is worded as retrieving your mail from the imap.yandex.com server via IMAP. It has to be saved afterwards.

Where: Settings → Email clients

2. Turn on app passwords and OAuth

A second toggle sits beside the first. Without it, app passwords are refused and OAuth sign in cannot finish either. This is the one guides leave out.

Where: Both toggles below →

About Yandex Mail Mail#

Yandex Mail is the free email service run by Yandex, one of the largest technology companies operating in Russian speaking markets. It forms part of the wider Yandex 360 suite.

Connecting a mail client here differs from most providers in one respect. Rather than a single switch, Yandex asks for two, sitting next to each other in the same settings screen, plus a generated app password from a separate part of your account. Guides routinely cover the first switch and the password while missing the second switch entirely, which is why so many Yandex setups fail with settings that look complete.

Service Name	Yandex Mail Mail
Owned By	Yandex, delivered as part of Yandex 360
Launched	Long established. Still one of the most used free services in its markets
Email Domains	`@yandex.com`, `@yandex.ru`, `@ya.ru`
Webmail URL	mail.yandex.com
Protocols Supported	IMAP and SMTP. POP3 exists but Yandex has stopped developing it
App Password Needed	Yes, always. It works whether or not two-factor authentication is on
Free Storage	Not published in a form we could verify, so we are not printing a figure

Where you are changes the incoming host: Yandex documents imap.yandex.com, then adds that you should use imap.ya.ru if you are not in Russia. That is the provider's own instruction rather than folklore. It is close to absent from third party guides. Outgoing mail stays on smtp.yandex.com either way. We checked that across six separate pages of Yandex documentation. The outgoing host appears without a geographic alternative on every one. If your incoming connection fails from outside Russia while everything else looks right, try the other host before rebuilding anything.

One field changes. Everything else stays put.

Yandex Mail Webmail Login#

Webmail is also where both required toggles live, so you will be here at least once during setup:

Webmail

mail.yandex.com

Account Security

id.yandex.com

Password Recovery

yandex.com/support/mail

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

Three Things to Switch On First#

Yandex keeps client access off until you enable it. There are two separate options to find rather than one. The second is the reason most Yandex setups fail.

Open Yandex Mail in a browser, then go to Settings and choose Email clients. Both toggles live on this one screen.
Switch on the IMAP option. Yandex words it as using a mail client to retrieve your mail from the imap.yandex.com server via IMAP.
Switch on App passwords and OAuth tokens. This is the one that gets missed. With it off, an app password is refused and OAuth sign in cannot complete either.
Save your changes. Neither toggle takes effect until you do.
Then create the app password from Yandex ID, covered in the next section. Your ordinary account password will not work in a mail client.

Step two is the one that costs people an evening.

If this is your symptom, the diagnosis is already made.

The Thunderbird login loop has one cause. If Thunderbird keeps opening the Yandex sign in page and never finishes, people usually assume the client is broken or that OAuth is unsupported. Neither is true. OAuth authorisation cannot complete while the app passwords and OAuth tokens setting is off, so the loop continues no matter how many times you sign in. Enabling that second toggle ends it.

Yandex Mail IMAP Settings#

IMAP is the incoming protocol most people should use. It keeps your mail on the server so every device shows the same inbox.

IMAP Server	`imap.yandex.com`
IMAP Server, outside Russia	`imap.ya.ru`, which is what Yandex tells users elsewhere to use
Port	`993`
Encryption	SSL/TLS (required)
Username	Only the part before the @. For `alice@yandex.com` the username is `alice`
Password	An app password from Yandex ID, never your account password
Requires	Both toggles enabled and saved beforehand

Yandex Mail POP3 Settings#

POP3 downloads mail to 1 device. Pick it only if you want a local copy on a single computer. Not sure? See the comparison below.

POP3	Yandex has stopped developing this protocol. It publishes POP3 settings but will not guarantee they work correctly with your client
Port	`995`
Encryption	SSL/TLS (required)
Username	The part before the @, not the whole address
Password	The same app password

Yandex says this itself, so we are repeating it rather than softening it. Yandex states it cannot guarantee correct interaction with an email client over POP3, because its developers no longer work on updates to the protocol. Providers rarely put it that plainly. We are not publishing POP3 host values here, because doing so would present a protocol the provider has stepped back from as though it were an equal choice. Use IMAP.

Rarely does a provider mark its own protocol this plainly.

Yandex Mail SMTP Settings#

The username is not your email address. Yandex is unusual here. For a mailbox like alice@yandex.com, the username your client wants is alice, the part before the at sign. Nearly every other provider on this site takes the full address, so this is easy to get wrong without noticing. It then fails in a way that looks identical to a bad password.

On the outgoing side: Yandex publishes smtp.yandex.com on port 465 with SSL. It notes that where a client opens the connection without encryption, port 587 is used instead. Use 465 with SSL unless your client gives you no choice.

SMTP carries outgoing mail. Reading fine while sending fails points here, though on Yandex a missing toggle usually stops both directions at once rather than one.

SMTP Server	`smtp.yandex.com`
Port	`465` with SSL, the value Yandex publishes
Port, unencrypted start	`587`, used where the client opens without encryption
Encryption	SSL or STARTTLS (required)
Username	The part before the @, not the whole address
Password	The same app password. There is no separate outgoing credential
Authentication	Required. Check "My outgoing server requires authentication" in Outlook.

Check Yandex Mail IMAP Settings Online#

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

Your address is used only to find the settings for that domain. Nothing is stored or shared.

Creating Your Yandex App Password#

Your Yandex account password does not work in a mail client, whether or not two-factor authentication is switched on. Here is which credential belongs where:

Where you sign in	Yandex account password	App password
Yandex Mail in a browser	✓ Works	Not used here
Official Yandex mobile apps	✓ Works	Not used here
Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird	✗ Rejected	✓ Required
Clients signing in through a Yandex window	OAuth instead	Needs the same toggle on

How to Create a Yandex App Password

Enable both toggles first. Without the app passwords and OAuth tokens setting on, a generated password is refused. See the two toggles above.
Go to Yandex ID and open App passwords.
Create a new app password and choose the Mail type, then give it a name you will recognise later, something like Outlook or iPhone Mail.
Copy it while it is on screen. Yandex shows an app password once. If the window closes before you copy it, delete that password and create another rather than trying to recover it.
Two-factor authentication is not required. App passwords work either way here, which is unlike several providers that hide them behind 2FA.

Yandex would rather you used OAuth: where your client can sign in through a Yandex window, that is the method Yandex recommends over an app password. Thunderbird and several others support it. Do note that OAuth depends on the same second toggle, so enabling it is worthwhile even if you never generate a password at all.

Set Up Yandex Mail in Email Clients#

Same hosts and the same app password in every client. Only the menus change. All of this assumes both toggles are already saved. Pick your app:

Outlook Apple Mail iPhone and iPad Android Thunderbird

Six fields. One depends on where you are sitting.

Outlook (Windows and Mac)

In Outlook choose File, then Add Account. New Outlook keeps it under Settings, then Accounts.
Enter your Yandex Mail address, open Advanced options and check "Let me set up my account manually".
Choose IMAP and enter imap.yandex.com on port 993 with SSL, then smtp.yandex.com on port 465 with SSL. Outside Russia, use imap.ya.ru for incoming.
Enter the app password from Yandex ID, then tick outgoing server authentication under More Settings.
Finish and send a test email to yourself to confirm both directions work.

Apple Mail (macOS)

Open Mail → Settings → Accounts → Add Account.
Choose Other Mail Account. Apple carries no Yandex entry among its providers.
Enter your name, full address and app password, then continue.
If asked for servers, enter the IMAP and SMTP values from the tables above.
Enable Mail in the checkbox list and finish.

iPhone and iPad

Open Settings → Apps → Mail → Mail Accounts → Add Account.
Tap Other, then Add Mail Account. iOS has no Yandex option built in.
Enter your details using the app password, then tap Next.
Keep IMAP selected and fill the incoming and outgoing servers if iOS asks.
Tap Save and wait for iOS to verify the account.

Android

Open your mail app (Gmail app, Samsung Email or another) → Add account.
Choose Other (IMAP) when your provider is not in the list.
Enter your full address and app password. Where automatic setup fails, switch to Manual setup.
Enter the servers: imap.yandex.com 993 SSL incoming, smtp.yandex.com 465 SSL outgoing.
Finish setup and pull down to sync your inbox.

Thunderbird

Open Thunderbird → Account Settings → Account Actions → Add Mail Account.
Enter your name, full address and app password, then select Continue.
Thunderbird may offer OAuth here. That is the route Yandex prefers. It works provided the app passwords and OAuth tokens toggle is on. If the sign in window keeps reopening without finishing, that toggle is off.
If detection fails, choose Configure manually and enter the table values above.
Select Done. Folders sync on first open.

Yandex Mail Webmail Settings#

The values above connect your apps. This next group governs the mailbox itself. All of it sits in Yandex Mail settings in a browser, the same place as the two toggles.

Signature

Found in the Yandex Mail settings. It applies to messages sent from the browser. Outlook, Apple Mail and Thunderbird each keep their own, which is how people end up maintaining two versions without noticing.

Vacation Auto Reply

Give the away message a start and an end date so it switches off unattended. It runs on Yandex servers, so replies keep going out with every device of yours shut down.

Filters and Folders

Rules created in webmail run server side, filing mail before any device collects it. A rule built inside Outlook fires only while Outlook is open, which is why two devices can disagree about where a message went. The Email clients screen also carries an option to keep messages for a while after a client marks them deleted over IMAP, worth enabling before any bulk clear out.

Spam and Blocked Senders

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

Yandex POP3 vs IMAP#

Feature	IMAP	POP3
Where mail lives	On the Yandex Mail 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. On Yandex that is close to the only sensible answer. The provider has stopped developing POP3 and says so, which turns the usual trade off into a straightforward choice. For an offline archive use a backup tool rather than leaning on a protocol nobody is maintaining.

Yandex Requirements and Limits#

Yandex publishes requirements more readily than numbers. These are the constraints that actually shape a client setup:

Required before any client connects	The IMAP toggle, the app passwords and OAuth tokens toggle, then an app password
Incoming host	`imap.yandex.com`. Outside Russia, `imap.ya.ru`
POP3	No longer developed by Yandex. Not guaranteed to work with your client
App password visibility	Shown once. Delete and recreate rather than trying to recover one
Mailbox storage	Not published in a form we could verify, so no figure appears here
Sending limits	Not published. Treat it as a personal mailbox rather than a sending platform

Troubleshooting Yandex Mail Connections#

Almost every Yandex failure traces back to one of the two toggles. Work down from there.

Error you see	What it means	Fix
Sign in window keeps reopening, OAuth never finishes	The app passwords and OAuth tokens toggle is off	The signature Yandex fault. Enable that second toggle under Settings, then Email clients. Save afterwards. See both toggles.
App password rejected straight away	The same toggle. Failing that, IMAP itself is still off	A correctly generated password is refused until both toggles are saved. Check them before creating another password.
Authentication required / Sender address rejected: Access denied / Send auth command first	Outgoing authentication is switched off in your client	Yandex names all three of these together and gives one cause: authorisation for the Yandex SMTP server is disabled in the mail client settings. Turn on outgoing server authentication and set it to use the same details as incoming.
Password refused while both toggles are on	The full email address is sitting in the username field	Yandex wants only the part before the at sign. For `alice@yandex.com`, enter `alice`.
Incoming fails from outside Russia	Wrong host for your location	Yandex documents `imap.ya.ru` for users outside Russia. Swap the incoming host and leave the outgoing one alone.
Cannot connect to server	Wrong port or encryption	Check IMAP 993 SSL and SMTP 465 SSL. Antivirus software and VPN clients block these ports often enough to rule out.
Password keeps being asked	Your account password is in the client. Failing that, a toggle is off	Replace it with an app password. If that is already correct, the cause is one of the two toggles.
Messages stuck in Outbox	SMTP authentication is off	Enable "outgoing server requires authentication" with the same login as incoming mail.

In that order. Password last, not first.

Reader Reported Fixes

Generating app password after app password. This is the loop Yandex users fall into. The client refuses the password, so a new one gets created. Refused again. And again. None of them was ever wrong. With the app passwords and OAuth tokens setting switched off, Yandex declines every password you generate, so the only fix is the toggle rather than the credential.

Assuming the client does not support Yandex. When the OAuth window reopens endlessly, the natural conclusion is that Thunderbird or the app in question has broken Yandex support. It has not. Yandex will not complete an OAuth authorisation while that second toggle is off. The client has no way to tell you that is the reason.

Moving Mail Into or Out of Yandex#

Moving mail out of Yandex? A migration tool connects over IMAP like any client, so it needs both toggles on and an app password of its own. Plan for that before you start, because a transfer that fails at the authentication step tends to get blamed on the tool.

Working from outside Russia? Point the tool at imap.ya.ru rather than the .com host. This is the single most likely reason a Yandex migration refuses to begin from elsewhere.

Keeping a copy instead? Back the mailbox up to files on your own disk. Given Yandex has stepped back from POP3, an archive built with a proper backup tool is the dependable route rather than a protocol nobody is maintaining.

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 Yandex Mail side and your new provider's settings for the other.

Rather not do it yourself? Our Email Migration Services team plans and runs the whole transfer for you and verifies every folder arrived.

Use These Settings in Univik Email Backup#

The same IMAP settings above let you download your complete Yandex Mail mailbox to your computer. Univik Email Backup saves everything as PST, MBOX, EML or PDF files you keep forever, even if the account closes.

Download Univik Email Backup and install it on Windows.
Select Yandex Mail from the source list. If it isn't listed by name, choose IMAP.
Sign in with the part of your address before the @ and your app password. A backup tool is an IMAP client, so both toggles apply here as well.
If the tool asks for server details, use imap.yandex.com with port 993 and SSL from the IMAP table above.
Pick a saving format and folder, then start the backup. Large mailboxes download in the background.

Why back up before switching providers: POP3 only grabs the inbox and vacation replies to a closed account bounce. A full IMAP backup keeps every folder, attachment and date stamp in files any email app can open later. Moving to a new account instead of archiving? Use the email migration tool to copy mail directly between accounts.

Email Settings Glossary#

IMAP

Internet Message Access Protocol. Reads mail that stays on the server, so all your devices see the same inbox, folders and read status.

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 standing in for your real password inside an app, revocable on its own. Yandex shows one once. It also requires a separate setting to be enabled before accepting any of them.

OAuth

Signing in through a browser window rather than handing a password to the app. Yandex recommends it where the client supports it, though it depends on the same toggle an app password does.

How We Verify These Settings#

Univik has built email backup, migration and converter software since 2013. Our tools sign in to Yandex Mail 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 Yandex's own Yandex 360 documentation and a sign in run through current webmail. Where we cannot verify a value from the provider, we say so on the page rather than filling the gap. Any announcement triggers a recheck. We revisit quarterly regardless.

Found something that no longer matches what Yandex Mail shows you? Tell us and we will retest and update the page, with the change logged in what changed recently.

Help & Support

Frequently Asked Questions

Use imap.yandex.com on port 993 with SSL. Outside Russia, Yandex advises imap.ya.ru instead. Sign in with your full address and an app password. Both toggles have to be on first. The complete table sits in the IMAP settings section.

Two reasons on Yandex. People usually chase the wrong one. Your account password genuinely is refused in mail clients, so an app password is required. The commoner cause though is that the app passwords and OAuth tokens setting is switched off, in which case Yandex declines every app password you generate. Check the toggle before creating another credential.

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. What changes the incoming host is not the device but your location, since Yandex publishes imap.ya.ru for users outside Russia alongside the .com host. Menus differ by device, which the client setup guides cover.

No. Yandex displays an app password once and will not show it again. Delete that entry in Yandex ID and create a fresh one rather than trying to recover it. Do check both toggles first, because a refused password is more often a toggle problem than a lost one.

Yes, on the encrypted ports listed here. The app password model helps, since your client never holds the credential that opens your whole Yandex account. Worth knowing that app passwords work whether or not two-factor authentication is on, so enabling 2FA costs you nothing in terms of client access.

An IMAP client pulls mail down as it syncs, though a dedicated backup tool moves faster and writes standard files that open anywhere. That matters more here than usual, given POP3 is no longer maintained. See how to back up your Yandex mailbox. If you already exported files in another format, an email converter changes them to PST, PDF or whatever your new app opens.

On Yandex, check whether one of the two toggles has been turned off, since that stops working setups without warning. A POP3 configuration is the other candidate, given Yandex no longer develops that protocol. See what changed recently.

An email migration tool copies mail directly between the 2 accounts over IMAP. You need the Yandex IMAP settings and an app password for this side, plus the same details for the destination. Outside Russia, point it at imap.ya.ru. Every folder, label and date stays intact.

If setting this up feels risky or you have many accounts to move, our managed email migration service does the entire job for you.

Other Email Provider Settings

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

Summary: Yandex Mail Settings at a Glance

IMAP: imap.yandex.com, port 993, SSL/TLS
POP3: not developed by Yandex any more
SMTP: smtp.yandex.com, port 465, SSL
Username is the part before the @

Two toggles before anything works
App password required, shown once
Outside Russia use imap.ya.ru
POP3 no longer developed by Yandex