IMAP setup

The IMAP provider connects to any IMAP/IMAPS mail server. Use it when your mailbox is not on Microsoft 365 or Gmail — or when you prefer not to use those dedicated integrations.

What you need

Field	Typical value
Host and port	imap.your-provider.com, port 993 (TLS) or 143 (STARTTLS)
Security	Leave TLS enabled unless a trusted internal server has none
Username and password	The mailbox’s own IMAP credentials
Folder	INBOX by default

Two-factor authentication?

Most providers then require a dedicated app password for IMAP instead of the account password — generate one in your provider’s security settings.

Connect

1. In Settings → Email channels, choose Generic IMAP.
2. Fill in the fields, create the channel, and choose Test connection.
3. Finish — the channel activates immediately; IMAP needs no external consent step.

Result: the channel shows Connected and new mail starts becoming tickets.

How new mail is detected

• ServiceOps keeps a persistent IMAP IDLE connection where the server supports it — near real-time pickup.
• A polling check every 2 minutes always runs as a backstop, so an unreliable IDLE implementation costs latency, never delivery.
• The first sync sets the baseline at the mailbox’s current state — historical mail is not imported; only messages arriving after connection become tickets.
• If the server recreates the mailbox (a UIDVALIDITY change — defined IMAP behavior), ServiceOps re-baselines automatically rather than mistracking messages.

Changing the password

If the mailbox password changes at the provider, the channel will show Authentication error. Update the channel’s configuration with the new password and test again.