Manage Email Accounts

Valid for versions 120 through the latest version

Version:

108

120

Last modified: November 7, 2024

Overview

This feature lets you edit an existing email account. In addition to standard email accounts, you can use the cPanel account’s system user email account to receive mail for nonexistent or invalid addresses for your domains.

To access this interface, locate the email address that you want to edit in cPanel’s Email Accounts interface (cPanel » Home » Email » Email Accounts) and click Manage.

Manage the system user email account

The system creates the cPanel account’s system user email account when your hosting provider creates your cPanel account. It uses the [email protected] format, where account is your cPanel account name and domain is your main domain. The username and password are the same as your cPanel account’s.

You should keep the following tips in mind for managing your cPanel account’s email and the system user email account:

• Check your account’s default address often for missing messages. The account default address may receive messages for your existing email addresses if they contain typos or other issues. For example, if your email address is [email protected] but a sender uses [email protected], the system user email account will receive it.
• If you have configured a domain default address for any of your domains, the system will send mail with invalid recipients to that address. You can configure default addresses for domains in cPanel’s Default Address interface (cPanel » Home » Email » Default Address).
• If you cannot access the system user email account, contact your hosting provider for assistance.
• You cannot rename, delete, or set a quota on the account’s system user email account. We recommend that you create a separate email account for daily use.
• You cannot rename an email account or change its address. However, you can use cPanel’s Forwarders interface (cPanel » Home » Email » Forwarders) to create a new address that forwards all mail from the existing account. For example, if you cannot access your account’s system user email account, you can create a forwarder that forwards the system user emails to another email address.
• The system uses the default email address for the From and Reply-to addresses on outgoing email that your account’s PHP scripts send.
• Because of the way the maildir mailbox format calculates disk usage, a discrepancy between reported and actual disk usage may exist for the default email account. For more information about mailbox formats, read our Mailbox Conversion documentation.

When you click Manage for this account, the system directs you to the Manage Email Accounts interface. It displays the following information:

Use the More Actions section of this interface to select one of the following settings:

Manage Email Accounts

You can modify the following settings in this section of the interface:

Manage an Email Account

When you click Manage for an email account, the system directs you to the Manage an Email Account interface. This interface lets you manage an email account. You can also select from the following account management settings:

Use the I Want To… section of the interface to select one of the following settings:

Use the Configure section of the interface to select one of the following settings:

Use the Authentication section of the interface to select the following setting:

Manage External Authentication — This lets a user access cPanel with external authentication credentials. The system will direct you to a new interface. For more information, read our Password and Security documentation.

Security

Use this feature to change the account’s password. Enter a secure password in the New Password text box. A secure password does not contain a dictionary word. It must also contain uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. The system will evaluate the password that you enter on a scale of 100. A weak password has a 0 value, while a very secure password has a 100 value.

You can perform the following actions with this feature:

• Click the reveal () icon to display the entered password.
• Click Generate to let the system create a secure password for you. The system will reveal this password.
• Click the more icon () to select password complexity settings. The system will use these settings when it generates a new password.

Storage

The quota for an email account defines the amount of mail that the account can store. When the account exceeds this limit, the system returns any incoming mail to the sender. It also sends a message that states that the recipient’s mailbox is full. The system administrator can change this behavior in WHM’s Exim Configuration Manager interface (WHM » Home » Service Configuration » Exim Configuration Manager).

Use the Storage feature to manage the following settings:

Bounce back email example

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This message was created automatically by mail delivery software.

A message that you sent could not be delivered to one or more of its
recipients. This is a permanent error. The following address(es) failed:

  "user+Subject"@example.com
    (ultimately generated from [email protected])
    LMTP error after RCPT TO:<"user+Subject"@example.com>:
    552 5.2.2 <[email protected]> Mailbox is full / Blocks limit exceeded / Inode limit exceeded

You can select one of the following settings for allocating storage space:

Restrictions

Use this feature to enable or disable a user’s ability to log in, receive mail, or send mail. You can also hold outgoing mail. Select Allow, Suspend, or Hold for the applicable setting.

You should keep the following tips in mind when using this feature:

• When you suspend an email account, the system also disables any aliases or forwarders that redirect email to the account.
• When you change the Sending Outgoing Email setting from Hold to Allow, the server will deliver all queued messages.

Plus Addressing

Plus addressing (or subaddressing) adds a plus character and string after an email account username. For example, the [email protected] email address could use the [email protected] plus address. The email account would recognize these messages and place them in the list mailbox.

You can configure how the system handles plus addresses when the appropriate folder does not already exist. Select one of the following settings:

Save or cancel your changes

At the bottom of the interface, you can perform the following actions:

Delete Email Account

Use this feature to permanently remove the email account and its data. When you click Delete Email Account, a confirmation message will appear. Click Delete to remove the account.