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Rediffmail and IMAP: What Works and What Does Not

A free rediffmail.com account cannot be added to Patriot Mail, or to any app that connects over IMAP: Rediffmail keeps IMAP for its paid Pro accounts and offers only POP on the free ones. Here is what that means and what to do instead.

Before you start

What is different about Rediffmail

Worth knowing

Free accounts offer POP, not IMAP

The free service offers POP only. POP hands mail to one device and was designed for a single computer, so a hosted app that shows the same inbox everywhere cannot use it.

Worth knowing

Rediffmail Pro is different

Rediffmail Pro, the paid service, does offer IMAP on its own servers. If your address is a Pro address, it connects like any other mailbox.

Step by step

How to connect Rediffmail

1

Check which Rediffmail account you have

Check whether your address is a free rediffmail.com one or a paid Rediffmail Pro one. Only the Pro accounts offer the connection an email app needs.

2

Add a Pro account normally

If it is a Pro account, add it in Patriot Mail as you would any other address: your full address and your password, on imap.rediffmailpro.com.

3

For a free account, add another address

If it is a free account, add a mailbox that offers IMAP instead, such as Gmail, Outlook or iCloud. Nothing happens to your Rediffmail mail, and you can keep reading it on the Rediff website.

Common questions

Rediffmail and Patriot Mail

Can I add my free Rediffmail account to an email app?

No. A free rediffmail.com account offers POP only, and Patriot Mail connects over IMAP like most email apps do. There is no address or password that would work.

What is the difference between IMAP and POP?

IMAP keeps one copy of your mail on the server and shows the same inbox on every device. POP downloads mail to one device and is the older way of doing it. Rediffmail keeps IMAP for its paid Pro accounts.

Does Rediffmail Pro work with an email app?

Yes. Rediffmail Pro offers IMAP on imap.rediffmailpro.com, port 993 with SSL, and outgoing mail on smtp.rediffmailpro.com. A Pro address connects like any other mailbox.

What happens to my Rediffmail account?

Nothing happens to it. Your Rediffmail account and everything in it stays exactly as it is, and you keep reading it on the Rediff website as you do today.

What can I use instead?

Add a free mailbox that offers IMAP, such as Gmail, Outlook or iCloud, and give that address out from now on. Your Rediffmail mail stays where it is.

Keep your Rediffmail address

Patriot Mail connects the mailbox you already have. Your address does not change, your mail stays with Rediffmail, and it is free to use.

Connect your inbox

Related guides

Other resources

Forwarding addresses

Some addresses are real and still cannot be added, because they forward to a mailbox somewhere else.

Read about forwarding

All provider settings

Server names and ports for every provider Patriot Mail does connect, in one place.

Open IMAP Guide

All provider settings

Server names and ports for every provider Patriot Mail connects, in one place.

Open IMAP Guide

Help center

Setup guides for the other providers, and answers to the questions people ask most.

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