1. Open up Mail.app and press Command+Comma to invoke the Preferences window.
  2. Switch to the "Accounts" pane and press the + button in the lower-left corner.
  3. Under "Account Information", fill out the following information:
    • Account Type: POP or IMAP
    • Email Address: email-name@your-domain-name.com
    • Incoming Mail Server: mail.your-domain-name.com
    • Username: email-name@your-domain-name.com
    • Password: your email password
    • Note that POP uses port 110 and IMAP uses port 143
  4. Select "Add Server..." from the Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP) pop-up menu. Here are the details for it:
    • Outgoing Mail Server: mail.your-domain-name.com
    • Server port: 26
    • Use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL): NO
    • Authentication: password
    • User Name: email-name@your-domain-name.com
    • Password: your email password
    • Dismiss the window by pressing "OK."
  5. Back in the "Accounts" pane, switch to the "Advanced" tab and do not check the box marked "Use SSL" towards the bottom.

What is the imap path prefix?

The correct code is INBOX (all caps).

Removing an Email account

 

WARNING: Removing an account in MacMail will permanently delete its mailboxes, messages, notes, and to do items. If you want to keep those, be sure to copy them to an On My Mac mailbox before deleting the account.

 

Exchange, IMAP, and MobileMe accounts store their mailboxes and messages on the server; deleting these account types in Mail will not permanently delete messages from the server. However, if you are not completely certain that your account is one of those types, be sure to copy the mailboxes and messages you want to keep into an On My Mac mailbox, or save individual messages manually by selecting them and choosing Save As from the File menu.

Apple's Basic Troubleshooting Guide
Apple's Email Configuration Guide (see Removing an email account)

We recommend MacMail users perform a local backup before proceeding to remove entire email settings.

Troubleshooting

If you receive an error regarding "too many connections" or "error 500", you have a couple of options. If neither one solves your problem, please contact HostGator Support for assistance.

1. Try a different mail client. We recommend Mozilla Thunderbird because it's stable, easy to use, and freely licensed.

  • You can install and use Thunderbird without affecting your current Mac Mail settings.
  • Download Mozilla Thunderbird here.

2. If you'd rather not use a different mail client, you can disable the "IDLE" function in Mac Mail.

  • With the "IDLE" function enabled, Mac Mail will make a continuous connection to the HG server, and this will contribute to the problem.
  • Instead, you can configure Mac Mail to periodically check for new mail. A good frequency is every 5 minutes.

Here's how:

  1. Select "Mail | Preferences..." from the menu.
  2. Choose "Accounts".
  3. Select the desired IMAP account.
  4. Go to the "Advanced" tab.
  5. Make sure to uncheck "Use IDLE command if the server supports it".
  6. You can additionally uncheck "Include when automatically checking for new mail".