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AutoConfig and Autodiscover

Last modified: March 15, 2024

Overview

The AutoConfigure (AutoConfig) and Autodiscover services quickly and easily configure a user’s mail client to receive their cPanel email. These services work with Microsoft Outlook®, Outlook Express®, Thunderbird, and most other popular mail clients.

Warning:

The Autodiscover feature doesn’t work with email addresses that you add in the following mail clients:

  • Microsoft Outlook 2016
  • Microsoft Outlook 2019
  • Microsoft Outlook for Office 365
  • Any mobile mail client.

Enable AutoConfig and Autodiscover

To enable AutoConfig and Autodiscover, perform the following steps:

  1. Navigate to the Domains section of WHM’s Tweak Settings interface (WHM » Home » Server Configuration » Tweak Settings).
  2. Locate the Service subdomains setting. If the setting is disabled, select On.
  3. Locate the Thunderbird and Outlook autodiscover and autoconfig support (enables service subdomain and SRV record creation) setting and select On.
  4. Click Save.
Note:
  • In cPanel & WHM version 120 and later, we enable the Service subdomains and Thunderbird and Outlook autodiscover and autoconfig support (enables service subdomain and SRV record creation) settings by default. For more information, read the Domains section of our Tweak Settings documentation.
  • For more information on service subdomains, read our Service and Proxy Subdomains documentation.

Additional settings

You can find the following additional AutoConfig and Autodiscover settings in the Domains section of WHM’s Tweak Settings interface (WHM » Home » Server Configuration » Tweak Settings):

  • Preferred mail service to configure to use for Thunderbird and Outlook® autodiscover and autoconfig support — This setting allows you to choose the email transfer method to use with Thunderbird and Outlook with Autodiscover and AutoConfig support.

    • This setting defaults to imap.
      Note:
      • We recommend that you select IMAP and not POP3.
      • You must enable the Thunderbird and Outlook autodiscover and autoconfig support (enables service subdomain and SRV record creation) option in order to configure this setting.

  • Host to publish in the SRV records for Outlook autodiscover support. — Microsoft Outlook’s Autodiscover service searches DNS for an SRV record for an email inbox’s domain that points to a particular server for Autodiscover. By default, this server is cpanelemaildiscovery.cpanel.net.

This setting allows system administrators to perform the following actions:

  • Choose the host that the system publishes to the SRV records.
  • Change the default host if they have an SSL-enabled host with an SSL certificate that a Certificate Authority signs.
  • Use their own server for Outlook® Autodiscover. Enter that server’s Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) in the available text box.
  • When you enable the Host to publish in the SRV records for Outlook autodiscover support feature, the system queries the server that you specify for the Autodiscover settings.
  • You must have a custom XML file for this feature to function properly.

This setting defaults to cpanelemaildiscovery.cpanel.net.

Note:
  • For more information about how to use a custom XML file, visit Mozilla’s autoconfiguration page, or the Exchange’s Autodiscover) page.
  • You must enable the Thunderbird and Outlook autodiscover and autoconfig support (enables service subdomain and SRV record creation) option in order to configure this setting.

For more information about Microsoft Outlook’s Autodiscover feature, visit Microsoft’s Support website.

Warning:

We recommend that you use signed certificates that a Certificate Authority (CA) signed, rather than self-signed certificates, which may cause security issues. If you use a self-signed certificate, the browser may generate a warning message.

Use AutoConfig and Autodiscover

To use AutoConfig and Autodiscover, enter a cPanel email address and password in your mail client. The services will automatically configure your mail client.

Apple mail clients

Apple® mail clients do not support AutoConfig or AutoDiscover for IMAP servers. To use AutoConfig and AutoDiscover with Apple products, your server must run Exchange rather than IMAP.

When you configure an Apple mail client to access your cPanel email address, we strongly recommend that you follow the directions in our Email Accounts documentation.

Additional Documentation