What Changes and How to Keep Receiving Emails via IMAP (Outlook, Thunderbird, or cPanel)
📩 What Changes and How to Keep Receiving Emails via IMAP (Outlook, Thunderbird, or cPanel)
1. What Changes Starting 2026
Google announced that from January 2026 it will stop supporting the “Check mail from other accounts” feature in Gmail, which relied on the POP3 protocol. This means you will no longer be able to receive emails from external accounts (e.g., corporate, cPanel, Plesk, or ISP) inside Gmail via POP3. ➡️ In other words, if you had set up an account likeinfo@mydomain.gr in Gmail via POP3 to automatically download your emails from the Domain Market server or any cPanel hosting, this feature will stop working.
2. What This Means for cPanel and Corporate Email Users
Many professionals and businesses use Gmail to manage their professional emails by connecting their corporate account via POP3 from a cPanel mail server. For example:✉️ Gmail downloads emails from info@mydomain.gr on the cPanel mail server via POP3, displaying them inside the Gmail inbox.
This setting is found in Gmail under Settings → Accounts and Import → Check mail from other accounts. From 2026, Google announced this feature will be removed, meaning Gmail will no longer be able to connect to cPanel mail servers via POP3 to retrieve corporate emails.
⚠️ You will not lose access to your emails! Gmail will simply no longer "pull" messages from other accounts via POP3. Instead, it is recommended to switch to IMAP or create email forwarding within cPanel to continue receiving your messages normally in Gmail.
For more information, see Domain Market's email hosting services.
3. What is POP3 and Why Is It Being Deprecated
POP3 (Post Office Protocol) is an old protocol that downloads emails from the server to one device and usually deletes them from the server. It was useful when users read email from only one computer. Today, most people use multiple devices and need synchronization. Here, IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) excels by syncing folders, read messages, and drafts across all devices. Google chooses to end POP3 mainly for reasons of security, synchronization, and maintenance.4. Alternatives for Users with cPanel Email
✅ Option 1: Use IMAP in Gmail via Outlook or Thunderbird
- Set up your email in a program like Outlook or Thunderbird using IMAP:
- Incoming server:
mail.mydomain.gr(port 993 SSL/TLS) - Outgoing server:
mail.mydomain.gr(port 465 or 587 SSL/TLS)
- Incoming server:
- If you use Outlook or Thunderbird, add your Gmail account via IMAP as well to view both accounts in one interface.
- If you want to transfer old emails, copy them from the POP3 folder to the folders of the new IMAP account.
✅ Option 2: Forwarding from cPanel to Gmail
- Log into cPanel → Email → Forwarders
- Create a forwarder so that all emails to
info@mydomain.grare forwarded to your Gmail (e.g.,you@gmail.com). - This way, new incoming emails will arrive normally in Gmail without POP3.
- To send emails as
info@mydomain.gr, use Gmail’s “Send mail as” feature with SMTP:- Server:
mail.mydomain.gr - Port: 465 or 587 (SSL)
- User:
info@mydomain.gr - Password: your email password or App Password (if 2FA is enabled)
- Server:
✅ Option 3: Switch to an IMAP Client with Full Synchronization
If you have many corporate emails, the best choice is to manage them with IMAP through applications such as:- Microsoft Outlook
- Mozilla Thunderbird
- Apple Mail
- K-9 Mail / FairEmail (Android)
5. What to Do Now
- Go to Gmail → Settings → Accounts and Import and check if you are using POP3.
- Set up IMAP in Outlook/Thunderbird or create a Forwarder from cPanel.
- Test sending/receiving to ensure everything works correctly.
- Disable POP3 in Gmail to avoid future issues.
6. Conclusion
The removal of POP3 from Gmail is not the "end of email," but a transition to a more secure and modern model. For cPanel users who brought their corporate emails into Gmail via POP3, the solution is forwarding or IMAP. IMAP not only continues to be supported but offers multiple access, better synchronization, and security.| Old System | New System |
|---|---|
| Gmail POP3 from cPanel | IMAP or Forwarder |
| Simple authentication | OAuth or App Password |
| Email on only 1 device | Synchronization on all devices |
💡 Domain Market Tip
If you host your email with Domain Market, there is no need to worry. Our mail servers fully support IMAP + SSL/TLS and you can easily:- Forward your emails to Gmail
- Or manage them with IMAP in Outlook / Thunderbird / mobile
