Skip to main content

How to add your email account to an iPhone

If you recently got a new iPhone or a new email address, connecting your email account to your phone is probably a top priority. Apple makes this process as painless as possible — that is, assuming your Mail app hasn’t disappeared from your home screen — but it’s still important to know where to go so you can link your account when you have a couple of spare minutes.

Here’s everything you need to know about adding your email, either automatically or manually.

Further reading

Option 1: Add email automatically

Apple makes it easy to set up email by connecting to a popular provider via the settings. The key is that this process only works with major email platforms like Google, iCloud, Microsoft Exchange, and Yahoo, which can also integrate other information like calendar events with your phone. Unless you use a smaller, lesser-known email client, this is the best place to begin.

Step 1: Make sure your iPhone is on and connected to the internet before you begin. Start at the home screen, and select the Settings app to begin.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 2: In Settings, scroll down until you see the option for Passwords & Accounts with the key logo. Select this. On the next screen, you will be able to see any connected accounts you may already have (iCloud, for example, may already be there based on how you set up your iPhone). Choose Add Account to begin the process of adding your email.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 3: Apple will now show you several of the top email providers that it can connect with automatically — currently six in all. Choose your email platform from this list, or head down to our section on manually entering an email.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 4: Enter your email address and the password for your email account on the new screen. Each provider will have their own separate login process, so this will look a little different based on what you choose. Microsoft Exchange, for example, will give you a basic form to fill out and an Exchange Device ID for your Exchange administrator to use. Yahoo will simply take you to a version of its login webpage. Whatever the screen looks like, sign up with the right information, and select Next.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 5: Apple Mail will then verify your account and link your email. You will now have the option to import and use specific information from your calendar or email contacts. It’s generally a good idea to have this info sync across devices, but you can pick whichever is right for you. Save your email when finished, and you are done!

Option 2: Add email manually

This option works if you want to connect an email address that isn’t one of the several big providers that Apple has listed or if your email isn’t available online in the same manner. Fortunately, it’s still very easy to set up and won’t take that much longer, although you may not have the option to link your contacts and calendar.

Step 1: Just as with the automatic option, start by going to Settings. Scroll down to Passwords & Accounts, then choose Add Account.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 2: Here, you will see Apple’s list of compatible automatic providers, but at the bottom, notice there is an option for Other. Choose Other to begin.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 3: You will now have a number of options to add various accounts, but you want the first option at the top, Add Mail Account. Apple will give you a form to fill out with your name, email address, password, and description (you might want to label it a work or school email, for example). Fill out all this information, and then select Next.

Step 4: Wait for the app to verify your email information. If something goes wrong, make sure your address and password are completely accurate. If everything goes according to plan, your email will be located, and you can select Done to finish the process.

Your email account should now be linked! Head to the Mail app and wait for it to update, which could take a couple of minutes. When finished, you should be able to access all of your email messages, along with basic functions for creating and managing emails. Remember to refresh the app to make sure that it’s searching for any new emails when you use it!

You can also check out our guides on how to unlock your iPhone without face recognition or how to move photos between iPhones if you get a new model.

Editors' Recommendations

Tyler Lacoma
Former Digital Trends Contributor
If it can be streamed, voice-activated, made better with an app, or beaten by mashing buttons, Tyler's into it. When he's not…
YouTube TV just got even better on iPhones and iPads
Multiview on YouTube TV on an iPad.

If you use the most popular live-streaming service on an iPhone or iPad, things just got even better. YouTube TV — which boasts more than 8 million subscribers — just pushed multiview live on Apple's mobile devices, as previously promised.

It works basically the same way it does on a television. YouTube TV picks the programs available in multiview, and you get them all at once, with audio coming from one of the shows. Tap another, and the audio switches. And just as before, you can get multiview for sports, news, business, or weather. (Though we definitely don't recommend watching four news channels at once in an election year.) It's just in time for March Madness, which is great, though we hope you'll be able to pick your own games instead of just sticking with the multiple viewing options YouTube TV gives. This will be great come fall, though, when the new season of NFL Sunday Ticket takes hold.

Read more
iPhone 16 buyers may be treated to slimmer bezels and bigger screens
Lock Screen on the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Apple is reportedly planning to further shrink bezels with the upcoming iPhone 16 series. According to Korea’s Sisa Journal, Apple is banking on a new display tech called BRS (Border Reduction Structure) that has allowed suppliers like Samsung, LG, and BOE to reduce the size of the black borders around the screen.

Notably, all four iPhone 16 trims will get the display tech upgrade, but its true benefits will be reserved for the pricier Pro models. The report, citing market research firm Omdia, notes that both the Pro models will see their screen size go up by 0.2 inches thanks to slimmer bezels.

Read more
iPhone not holding charge? How to replace an iPhone battery
How-to-replace-iPhone-battery-feature-image

When smartphones were in their infancy, battery packs were easy to replace. Most products let users open a flap on the back of the device to easily remove the battery, giving them a quick way to ditch a dead battery and install a new one. Fast forward to 2024, and that's a rarity. Replacing batteries is much more difficult today than it was a decade ago, and that's especially true for all iPhone models.

Whether you're working with the new iPhone 15 or an old iPhone 12, you can't just run out to the store and snag a new battery for your smartphone. Instead, you'll need to contact Apple directly or go through elaborate workarounds to install the battery yourself.

Read more