What you will need

Before you start, gather the following information from your DirectAdmin control panel or 0724 Hosting welcome email:

  • Your full email address (e.g. you@yourdomain.co.za)
  • Your email password
  • Incoming mail server (IMAP): mail.yourdomain.co.za or your server hostname
  • Outgoing mail server (SMTP): mail.yourdomain.co.za or your server hostname

If you do not have these details, contact 0724 Hosting support or check your DirectAdmin Email Accounts section.

Step 1: Download and install Thunderbird

If you do not already have Thunderbird installed:

  1. Visit thunderbird.net and download the latest version for your operating system
  2. Install Thunderbird following the on-screen prompts
  3. Launch Thunderbird once installation is complete

Step 2: Add your email account

When you first open Thunderbird, you will be prompted to set up an account. If you already have accounts configured, go to Tools → Account Settings → Account Actions → Add Mail Account.

  1. Enter your name (how it will appear to recipients)
  2. Enter your full email address: you@yourdomain.co.za
  3. Enter your email password
  4. Click Continue

Step 3: Configure server settings manually

Thunderbird will attempt to auto-detect settings. For 0724 Hosting, you should configure manually for best results:

  1. Click Manual config at the bottom of the setup window
  2. Configure the incoming server (IMAP):
    • Protocol: IMAP
    • Hostname: mail.yourdomain.co.za (replace with your actual domain)
    • Port: 993
    • SSL: SSL/TLS
    • Authentication: Normal password
    • Username: your full email address
  3. Configure the outgoing server (SMTP):
    • Hostname: mail.yourdomain.co.za (same as incoming)
    • Port: 465
    • SSL: SSL/TLS
    • Authentication: Normal password
    • Username: your full email address
  4. Click Re-test to verify the settings
  5. Click Done to complete the setup

Why use IMAP instead of POP3?

IMAP keeps your email synchronised across all your devices. When you read, delete, or move an email on one device, the change appears everywhere. POP3 downloads email to a single device and removes it from the server, which causes problems if you check email from multiple locations.

If you specifically need POP3, use port 995 with SSL/TLS for the incoming server.

Troubleshooting common issues

Authentication failed

If Thunderbird cannot connect or reports an authentication error:

  • Double-check your email address and password are correct
  • Ensure you are using your full email address as the username, not just the part before the @
  • Verify the hostname matches your domain (mail.yourdomain.co.za)
  • Check with 0724 Hosting support that your account is active

Cannot send email

If you can receive email but not send:

  • Confirm the SMTP port is 465 with SSL/TLS enabled
  • Check that SMTP authentication is enabled
  • Ensure your username for SMTP is your full email address
  • Some ISPs block port 465; try port 587 with STARTTLS if 465 does not work

Certificate warnings

If you see an SSL certificate warning, it may be because you are using a shared hosting server with a generic hostname. You can safely add an exception for mail servers provided by 0724 Hosting, or contact support to confirm the correct hostname to use.

Advanced: Multiple email accounts

To add more email accounts to Thunderbird, repeat the process above by going to Tools → Account Settings → Account Actions → Add Mail Account. Thunderbird supports unlimited email accounts in a single interface.

Getting further help

If you are still experiencing issues after following this guide, contact 0724 Hosting support with details of the error message you are seeing. We can verify your account settings and server configuration.