Getting started
Connect your email account
By the end of this page, your existing mailbox can send campaigns with the limits and schedule you choose.
Connect Gmail or Outlook (recommended)
Use the one-click OAuth connection for Gmail or Outlook whenever possible. You approve access with your provider without sharing a mailbox password with InboxJoy.
Open the Mailboxes page
Click Connect mailbox, then choose Gmail or Outlook.
Approve provider access
Complete the one-click OAuth connection through Composio. Your provider redirects you back to InboxJoy with the mailbox ready to use as a campaign sender.
Confirm the mailbox is active
Check that the mailbox shows Active. With OAuth, you do not need to enter SMTP settings or an app password.
Connect any other mailbox (SMTP/IMAP)
If your workspace has SMTP/IMAP connections enabled, choose Connect mailbox → SMTP/IMAP on the Mailboxes page. This option supports password-based mail access where your provider permits it, including Zoho, Fastmail, and hosted custom-domain mailboxes.
Get your provider’s connection settings
Use the email address you want as the From address. Find the SMTP sending server and IMAP receiving server in your provider’s settings. Your website or domain name is not necessarily the mail server.
Create an app password if required
Use a dedicated app password rather than your regular sign-in password when your provider supports it. Enable IMAP access and password-based SMTP access if required by your provider or administrator.
Enter both connections
Enter the host, port, security, username, and password for SMTP and IMAP. Usernames start with your email address and can be edited. Use same password as SMTP is checked by default; uncheck it if your IMAP password is different. A display name is optional.
Test and connect
Click Connect mailbox. InboxJoy tests SMTP and IMAP access before saving the connection. Testing can take about ten seconds; an error identifies the setting to check. Credentials are stored encrypted and saved passwords are never returned to the browser.
| Required setting | SMTP (sending) | IMAP (receiving) |
|---|---|---|
| Host | Your provider’s SMTP hostname | Your provider’s IMAP hostname |
| Port and security | 587 with STARTTLS (default), or 465 with SSL/TLS | 993 with SSL/TLS (default), or 143 with STARTTLS |
| Username | Usually your full email address | Usually your full email address |
| Password | A provider-issued app password, where required | The same password, or a separate IMAP app password |
SMTP ports 25 and 2525 are also accepted when your provider requires them. Use the provider’s prescribed TLS setting; InboxJoy does not offer an unencrypted connection option.
- Gmail: Prefer the Gmail OAuth option. If your account permits app passwords, enable two-step verification and create an app password in your Google Account security settings. Workspace administrators may restrict this option.
- Outlook: Prefer the Outlook OAuth option. If your Microsoft account offers app passwords, create one after enabling two-step verification. An app password does not override a requirement for OAuth or an administrator’s SMTP/IMAP restrictions; use the Outlook connection when password-based access is unavailable.
- Zoho, Fastmail, and custom domains: Follow your host’s app-password instructions and use its exact server names. Check whether your plan and administrator permit SMTP/IMAP access. For a custom domain, the settings come from the mailbox host, not necessarily the domain registrar.
Keep app passwords private. Do not paste them into support messages, screenshots, or campaign content. If an app password is revoked, reconnect with a replacement.
Check the mailbox status
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Connecting | The provider connection is in progress. |
| Active | The mailbox is connected and can send campaign email. |
| Paused | Sending is manually paused from the Mailboxes page. Resume to start sending again. |
| Expired | The OAuth authorization or SMTP/IMAP credentials need attention. Reconnect the mailbox. |
| Error | The provider rejected the last request. Reconnect the mailbox. |
| Disconnected | The mailbox was disconnected and is no longer used for sending. |
If the address shows Address pending — reconnect, the connection did not fully complete. Reconnect it from the Mailboxes page.
Reconnect a mailbox
Open the Mailboxes page and use the reconnect action when a mailbox shows Expired, Error, or a pending address.
For SMTP/IMAP mailboxes, Reconnect opens the saved host, port, security, and username settings. Passwords remain blank: use Replace password to change them, or leave them unchanged to retain the stored credentials. A replacement SMTP password also replaces the IMAP password when Use same password as SMTP is checked. Reconnecting tests both connections before saving.
Use Check connection on a non-paused, connected SMTP/IMAP mailbox to test its saved credentials without entering them again. Pause or disconnect remains a separate action; resume a paused mailbox explicitly before checking it.
If a mailbox connects successfully but reply detection could not be set up, InboxJoy still lets it send. A banner asks you to reconnect. Reply detection lets InboxJoy stop follow-ups automatically when someone replies.
Set caps, a sending window, and a timezone
Edit these safety settings for each connected mailbox on the Mailboxes page:
- Daily limit: Set up to 200 emails per day.
- Hourly limit: Set up to 50 emails per hour.
- Sending window: Choose the days of the week and start and end times when campaigns can send.
- Timezone: Choose the timezone used to evaluate that mailbox’s sending window.
A new mailbox does not send at its configured daily limit right away. It warms up gradually. See Manage warm-up and sending limits.
Pause, resume, or disconnect a mailbox
Click Pause on the Mailboxes page to stop sending immediately without disconnecting the mailbox. Click Resume to continue sending.
Disconnecting removes the mailbox as a sender for active campaigns.