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E-Mail - Using a POP/IMAP Mail Client

Many people choose to view their pair Networks' e-mail messages using an e-mail reader such as Microsoft Outlook, Netscape Messenger, or Eudora. Others use a Web-based e-mail program such as webmail.pair.com. Still others use the program that came with their cell phone or mobile device. To view your pair Networks' e-mail messages using a particular e-mail reader or mobile device, you must set up the reader by specifying which e-mail protocol you will use.

There are two different protocols of transmitting e-mail messages, Post Office Protocol (POP3) or Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP). POP3 gives you the ability to read e-mail "offline" after downloading the e-mail messages to your computer and to read e-mail in HTML-format (if desired). IMAP allows you to read e-mail messages without downloading them to your computer, thereby reducing your risk of downloading junk e-mail or e-mail that contains viruses.

E-mail readers such as Outlook and Eudora use POP3 but can also be configured to use IMAP. Web-based e-mail readers such as webmail.pair.com use IMAP.

But no matter which e-mail protocol you use, be it POP3 or IMAP, there are five basic pieces of information that you will need to enter into your e-mail reader. Entering this information will allow you to access e-mail sent to particular pair Networks' e-mail address(es).

1. E-Mail Address: To read your pair Networks' main account mailbox e-mail messages, include your main account mailbox e-mail address (username) in the appropriate field. To read e-mail messages from any mailbox you created in the Account Control Center (ACC), include that e-mail address (example) in the appropriate field.
   
   
2. Username: To read your main account mailbox e-mail messages, use your pair Networks' main account username. This username can be found in your pair Networks' Welcome Message. To read e-mail messages from any mailbox you have created in the Account Control Center (ACC), your username will be the username you have specified in the E-Mail Management interface for this mailbox.
   
   
3. Password: Use the password associated with the mailbox you wish to access with your e-mail reader. Passwords and usernames are case sensitive, so be sure to pay close attention when entering your password and username.
   
   
4. Incoming Mail Server (POP3 or IMAP): Regardless of which e-mail protocol you use, you must must include the name of the server from which you receive your e-mail messages. To view e-mail from your main account mailbox, you must use the following:
   
   mailX.pair.com
   
   If you wish to view e-mail from a mailbox you created in the ACC, use the following:
   
   mail.example.com
   
   If the first example, replace X with your pair Networks' server number. This information can be found on the Welcome Message you received when you signed up for your account. You can also find this information by logging into the Account Control Center (ACC), clicking on the E-Mail Management link, and clicking on the username Delivery Settings link. The server names and numbers are listed on the Server Details page as well.

   In the second example, replace example.com with the domain for the mailbox you wish to use. The mail.example.com format should be used if accessing a virtual mailbox.

   If you are interested in using SSL (Secure Socket Layer) to secure your e-mail sessions, please review the infomation below.
   

5. Outgoing E-Mail Server (SMTP): Regardless of what e-mail protocol you are using, you must include the name of the outgoing e-mail server into your e-mail reader. SMTP, or Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, refers to this outgoing e-mail server. The SMTP sever name is provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). If they are unable to provide you with the name of their mailserver, then you may need to use pair Networks' SMTP mailserver, relay.pair.com. Read our knowledge base support page SMTP Service at pair Networks for our policies regarding the use of relay.pair.com.

The screen shot below shows a correctly configured POP3 e-mail reader. Please note that other e-mail readers, such as Outlook, allow you to specify which protocol you wish to use (i.e. POP or IMAP) and then asks you for your e-mail address, username, password, incoming e-mail server, and outgoing e-mail server.

Please note that each e-mail reader's graphic interface will be different. We do not offer screenshots and configuration instructions for each of the different e-mail readers or mobile devices due to the large number of them that exist. If you are having trouble entering in your username, password, incoming e-mail server, and outgoing e-mail server, try searching for SMTP, POP, or IMAP in your e-mail reader's help files.

If you are still having difficulty setting up your pair Networks e-mail on your mobile device, cell phone, or e-mail reader, please contact our friendly support staff via the phone (1 412-381-7247, option 2) or e-mail (support), and we'll help you the best we can.

Using SSL to Secure Your E-Mail

pair Networks has now made IMAPS and POPS available on all its mail servers. IMAPS and POPS are IMAP and POP3 mail servers that use SSL (Secure Socket Layer) to transparently encrypt your e-mail session.

Your e-mail reader may include an option to secure POP3 or IMAP traffic using SSL. All pair Networks mail servers support this option.

Please note that our mail servers use a particular SSL certificate which uses the name of your pair Networks server as the domain name (e.g. If your account resides on the server gamma, gamma.pair.com would be the domain name).

If you use this SSL option in conjunction with a domain name, your e-mail reader may warn you that the domain names do not match. You may safely ignore this warning. Your incoming e-mail will remain secured.

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