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Translated from the Italian guide. Narciso itself is in Italian, so the names of buttons, menus and fields are shown exactly as they appear on screen, with a translation in brackets where it helps.
This links a mailbox with SMTP (to send) and IMAP (to receive). Received emails appear in the chat as «Email» conversations and you reply from there (Writing and sending a message). The same mailbox is also used to send Narciso's communications to clients (for example notifications).
Contents
What you need#
- The email address and the password; if the provider requires it (usually with two-step verification), an «app password», that is, a special password generated in the provider's security settings.
- IMAP enabled with the provider. Some keep it switched off by default.
- A non-temporary address: «disposable» emails are not allowed.
The screen#
Title «Configurazione Email» (Email configuration), subtitle «Collega il tuo provider di posta per inviare e ricevere email (IMAP/SMTP).» (Link your mail provider to send and receive email (IMAP/SMTP).) The step bar is Account → Parametri (Settings) (or Account → Autenticazione (Authentication)). Errors appear in a red box, successes in a green box. For a moment «Caricamento configurazione...» (Loading configuration...) appears: if the location already has a mailbox, the form jumps to the Parametri already filled in.
Step 1: Account#
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Indirizzo Email (Email address) | While you type, after half a second's pause (and only if there is an «@»), Narciso checks with an external service that it is not a temporary address; a circle spins in the field. If it is, the field turns red with «Email temporanea non consentita.» (Temporary email not allowed.) If the service does not respond, the address is accepted. It also becomes the login username (editable at step 2) |
| Password o App Password | Appears only after the address has been checked and is valid |
Salva e Testa (Save and Test) stays off until the address is valid and the password is filled in.
What «Salva e Testa» does#
- It recognises the provider: it compares the domain with an internal list of over 170 providers (Aruba, Libero, Virgilio, Alice/TIM, Register, Zoho, Fastmail, iCloud, GMX and many foreign ones); if the domain is not there, it looks at who the mail of that domain is entrusted to and recognises Google, Microsoft, Zoho, Titan, Aruba and Register.
- If it recognises no provider, it moves on to Parametri without an error, with the fields to fill in by hand.
- If the provider is Gmail/Google Workspace, Outlook/Hotmail/Live/Microsoft 365 or Yahoo, it moves on to the Autenticazione step (see below).
- In the other cases it fills in servers and ports by itself, tests the connection and, if it succeeds, saves and closes the window without notices. If it does not succeed, it moves on to Parametri with the values already written and the error message.
The «Autenticazione» step: why it does not work#
«Autenticazione con [gestore]» (Authentication with [provider]) appears, with the text «Il tuo provider richiede l'accesso tramite una pagina sicura. Clicca sul pulsante qui sotto per autorizzare l'applicazione.» (Your provider requires access through a secure page. Click the button below to authorise the application.) and the button «Accedi a [gestore]» (Log in to [provider]). Currently the button opens a window that does not lead to any real authorisation and there is no way out to the manual settings: for these mailboxes the link cannot be completed. Indietro (Back) returns to step 1.
The «Parametri» step (filling in by hand)#
You get here because the provider was not recognised, because the automatic test failed or because the mailbox was already configured.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Server SMTP | Yes | The server for sending, for example smtp.aruba.it |
| Porta (Port) | Yes | A number from 1 to 65535; 587 suggested. Common ports: 465 (with SSL on) and 587 (with SSL off, «STARTTLS») |
| Username (Email di accesso) | Yes | Usually the full address; it is pre-filled |
| Password o App Password | Yes | If the mailbox is already saved it appears as ••••••••: leaving the dots = do not change the password |
| Indirizzo Email Mittente (Sender email address) | Yes | The address the emails go out from |
| Usa connessione sicura (SSL/TLS) (Use secure connection) | — | On by default. With port 587 the tick must be removed; with 465 it must be left |
| Server IMAP (Ricezione) (Receiving) | No | For example imap.aruba.it. Without IMAP nothing is received and the mailbox stays grey in the links window |
| Porta IMAP (IMAP port) | Yes, if you give an IMAP server | 993 suggested |
Buttons: Indietro, Test Connessione (Test connection) and Salva Configurazione (Save configuration).
- Test Connessione tests SMTP and, if given, IMAP. If it goes well «Connessione SMTP verificata con successo!» (SMTP connection verified successfully!) appears (the phrase mentions SMTP even if IMAP was tested too). The test really sends a test email, from and to your own address, with the subject «Narciso - Test Connessione SMTP con React Email»: you will find it in your mail.
- Salva Configurazione repeats the same connection and saves only if it succeeds. Once done, the window closes without notices.
Check messages
«Il server SMTP è obbligatorio.» (The SMTP server is required.), «La porta SMTP è obbligatoria.» (The SMTP port is required.), «L'username è obbligatorio.» (The username is required.), «L'indirizzo email di invio è obbligatorio.» (The sending email address is required.), «La password è obbligatoria.» (The password is required.), «La porta IMAP è obbligatoria se si specifica un server IMAP.» (The IMAP port is required if an IMAP server is specified.), «Inserisci email e password.» (Enter email and password.), «Indirizzo email temporaneo non consentito.» (Temporary email address not allowed.), «Porta SMTP non valida (1-65535)» (Invalid SMTP port (1-65535)), «Password mancante per il test» (Password missing for the test), «Dati mancanti per il test» (Data missing for the test), «Errore durante il salvataggio.» (Error while saving.), «Errore durante il test di connessione.» (Error during the connection test.)
The provider's errors, explained
| Situation | Message (in brief) | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| IMAP switched off | «L'accesso IMAP è disattivato sul tuo account di posta. Accedi al pannello del tuo provider e abilita l'IMAP…» (IMAP access is disabled on your mail account. Log in to your provider's panel and enable IMAP…) | Enable IMAP from the provider's panel |
| An app password is needed | «Il provider richiede una 'Password per le App'…» (The provider requires an 'App Password'…) | Generate it from the security settings and use it instead of the normal password |
| Credentials rejected | «Il server [SMTP/IMAP] [server:porta] ha rifiutato le credenziali. Controlla username e password…» (The [SMTP/IMAP] server [server:port] rejected the credentials. Check username and password…) | Check username, password and that SMTP/IMAP access is enabled |
| Server does not exist | «Server [SMTP/IMAP] … non trovato. Controlla che il nome del server sia scritto correttamente.» (Server [SMTP/IMAP] … not found. Check that the server name is spelled correctly.) | Correct the server name |
| Port unreachable | «Impossibile raggiungere il server … Controlla il nome del server e la porta.» (Unable to reach the server … Check the server name and the port.) | Check server and port |
| No response | «Il server … non risponde. Di solito la porta o l'impostazione SSL/TLS non sono corrette: prova porta 465 con SSL attivo oppure porta 587 con SSL disattivato (STARTTLS).» (The server … does not respond. Usually the port or the SSL/TLS setting is not correct: try port 465 with SSL on or port 587 with SSL off (STARTTLS).) | Try the two combinations |
| Security mismatch | «Errore SSL/TLS sul server …: la combinazione porta/sicurezza non è corretta.» (SSL/TLS error on the server …: the port/security combination is not correct.) | As above |
| Other | «Errore di connessione [SMTP/IMAP] [server:porta]: [motivo].» (Connection error [SMTP/IMAP] [server:port]: [reason].) | Read the reason |
Particular providers#
For some providers it is better to fill in by hand following the provider's instructions: Zoho (IMAP has to be enabled by hand), iCloud (app-specific password), Fastmail (app password), Mailfence (the username is the user name, not the full address), Startmail (device password).
Editing a mailbox that is already linked (Ricollega)#
Ricollega (Link again) opens Parametri directly with all the saved values and the password as ••••••••.
If you write a different address in a location that had a non-shared mailbox, the new one replaces the old one in that location. If the mailbox was shared with other locations, the location leaves the old one (which stays for the others) and creates a new one (Multiple locations and shared channels).
After linking#
- Mail is checked about every 30 seconds. The first time only the emails of the last 24 hours are downloaded; after that only the new ones.
- The Posta in arrivo (Inbox) and the Posta inviata (Sent) folder (recognised by type or by name) are read: emails sent from the phone or webmail appear as outgoing.
- Emails from blocked contacts are not even downloaded (Muting, banning and deleting a conversation).
- Outgoing emails (replies and notifications to clients) go out with this mailbox; if a send fails, Narciso retries by itself a few times and then the message appears as unsent (Writing and sending a message).
- No on-screen warning if the password changes or the provider stops responding: emails simply stop arriving and outgoing ones do not go out. If you change the password with the provider, update the mailbox with Ricollega (When a link breaks on its own).