Using FastMail.FM with nPOP for PocketPC

What you need to know

Note 1: If you already know how to set up your client, and you already understand the information below, see this FAQ entry for the server information you need to set up your e-mail client. The Troubleshooting Issues section at the bottom of this page may be helpful if you have problems.

In order to use nPOP for PocketPC with FastMail.FM, you'll need to enter the following information:

username - When you signed up for FastMail.FM, you chose a username which is also your e-mail address. You must use the full username, including the name and the domain part, which is the part after the '@' symbol. For example, a user named John Doe might have chosen a username of "johndoe@fastmail.fm". Make sure that you specify your username in lowercase only.
password - When you signed up for FastMail.FM, you chose a password to go along with your username. You will need the password to access your account. The password also keeps others from being able to access your e-mail. Your password is case sensitive, so be sure that you type it in correctly. "PASS123" is different to "pass123". Often, users forget about the CapsLock button and mistype their password.
incoming mail server (IMAP or POP) - This is the server that you get your e-mail from. Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) and Post Office Protocol (POP) are retrieval methods used to move e-mail messages from the server to your e-mail client so that you can read your messages. POP access is not available for all service levels, please check the pricing table for details. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is available for your protection as well. By enabling this option, you can keep people from reading your e-mail as it is transmitted between the e-mail server and your computer.
outgoing mail server (SMTP) - This is the server that sends your e-mail. Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is the method that your client uses to move e-mail messages from your client to the server so that it can send your messages. The FastMail.FM SMTP server is not available for all service levels, please check the pricing table for details. If your service level does not allow use of the FastMail.FM SMTP server, you must use the SMTP server provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

The FastMail.FM SMTP server requires SMTP Authentication. This keeps people who are not users of the FastMail.FM service from using the SMTP server to send spam messages on the Internet. SSL is also available for the FastMail.FM SMTP server. If you don't use the FastMail.FM SMTP server, you may have different options or requirements. You will need to get that information from your ISP.

These images and text were kindly donated by Andrew Wels. Thanks!

Incoming/Outgoing Server Setup

As background I am using an iPAQ 3635 with and aircard 300 CDPD wireless modem and Aethersystems as my ISP.

After installing nPOP you are prompted to establish an e-mail account. In the 'Account' field, enter some name to identify your FastMail.FM account. Enter 'mail.messagingengine.com' in the 'Server:' field in the green box. In the 'Username:' field in the yellow box, enter your FastMail.FM email address, and enter your FastMail.FM password in the 'Password:' field.
The next tab asks for SMTP information. For the 'Name:' field, again enter some value with which you can identify your SMTP server. Note that for the POP3 page (above) and the SMTP page (below) I used the Port numbers that were preset by nPOP. In the 'Address:' field in the yellow box below, enter your FastMail.FM email address. Also put 'mail.messagingengine.com' in the 'Server:' field in the red box below. Clicking 'Enable SMTP-AUTH' is of course, required for FastMail.FM.

Note: Guest users do not have access to the 'mail.messagingengine.com' SMTP server. Member, Full and Enhanced users do have access to the 'mail.messagingengine.com' SMTP server, so the following does not apply. Guest users should instead set the 'Server' field to your ISP's SMTP server. You should be able to find this information in your ISP's documentation; we don't have the information, so please don't email us asking what it is. Also, depending on the strictness of your ISP, you may also need to set the 'Address:' field to your ISP's email address. The only way to be sure of if this is required or not is to try and send an email, and if you get an error, try again after changing to your ISP's email address. Finally, you should make sure that the 'Enable SMTP-AUTH' checkbox displayed below is NOT checked.
Then click on the 'Setup' button to make sure that the box 'Use POP3 Option' is checked.
The 'Signature' and 'Filter' tabs are optional extras that I have not used. To complete the process, go to the 'Connection' screen and fill in information about your internet connection. I use an Aircard CDPD with an ISP Proxy, so on this screen all I had to do was click on the Aircard connection from the drop down menu.
However, to make the connection to my proxy I had to set up a POP3 Mail Service using the 'New Service' set up process in POCKET OUTLOOK. In this process I used the proxy server 'localhost' for the 'Server:' field, and my FastMail.FM email address in the 'User ID:' field in the yellow box and my FastMail.FM password in the 'Password:' field.

Learning more about IMAP

IMAP is a powerful protocol that allows you keep to your email synchronised, whether you're at home, at work, at a friends place or an internet cafe. You don't have to worry about what computer the email is on, because all the email is kept on the server and each client sees the same 'view' of the email. See this FAQ page to learn more about IMAP.

Troubleshooting Issues

There are currently no known troubleshooting issues with this client.

Last modified on: Wed May 14 12:00:00 UTC 2003