Connect a mailbox via IMAP/SMTP

With IMAP/SMTP you connect any mailbox that isn’t hosted on Microsoft 365. The app checks it automatically, processes every EDI email exactly once and tidies up processed emails itself.

Ideally use a mailbox just for EDI, e.g. edi@yourshop.com. Emails without an EDI attachment are left untouched.

Connecting the mailbox

1. Open Settings → Email mailbox and click Connect next to SMTP / IMAP.
2. Enter the email address and click Continue. The app looks up your provider’s server settings automatically. If it finds none, the server fields stay empty – enter your provider’s IMAP and SMTP servers under Advanced settings.
3. Enter the password. Under Advanced settings you can change the username, server, port and security, or enter separate credentials for sending.
4. Click Test connection. The app checks the server, sign-in, folder, trash folder and – on the Pro plan – sending. If a step fails, the reason and what to do appear right below it.
5. Confirm what the app does with processed emails (see below) and click Connect.

The app stores the credentials in its database and only uses them to check the mailbox and to send reports.

Sending (SMTP)

The app sends outgoing reports (INVRPT, SLSRPT) through your provider’s SMTP server (port 465 or 587). If only sending fails, you can still connect with Continue without sending – reports then aren’t sent until you set up sending under Edit settings.

After processing

Once an EDI email has been read, the app does one of the following with it in the mailbox:

Action	What happens
Delete (move to trash) – default	The email moves to the trash folder. Your provider empties it on its own schedule.
Mark as read and move	The email is marked as read and moved to a folder of your choice, e.g. Archive/EDI.
Mark as read and add tag	The email stays where it is, marked as read, with the tag $FashionbitsProcessed.
Mark as read	The email stays in the folder, marked as read.
Do nothing	The email stays as it is. The mailbox will keep growing.

With every action, the app never reads a processed email twice – it remembers how far it has read. It never touches emails without an EDI attachment or emails whose attachment can’t be read.

By default the app reads the Inbox. If your EDI emails arrive in another folder (e.g. through a filter rule), choose it when connecting or later under Edit settings.

Checking and the cursor

The app checks the mailbox automatically every few minutes. The Connected mailbox card shows:

• Last checked – when the app last looked, and below it how often it checks automatically. If the server doesn’t respond, the app waits a little longer before the next attempt (Delayed). If the server rejects the sign-in, checking pauses until you update the password (Error).
• Processed up to – the cursor: every email up to this point has been read.

Check now fetches new emails right away.

Resetting the cursor

If emails are missing – for example because they arrived before you connected – use Reset cursor… to move the cursor back by 1 to 30 days. The app reads the emails from that period that are still in the folder again and skips the ones it already processed.

Emails read again are not processed automatically. They appear in the message list with the status Awaiting review. Use Show in the notice at the top of the list, select them and click Process or Discard. The same applies to the Also import emails from the last … days option when connecting.

If your provider rebuilds the mailbox (rare, e.g. after a migration), the card shows a notice. Reset the cursor if emails are missing.

Provider notes

GMX and WEB.DE

At GMX and WEB.DE, IMAP access is off by default. Sign in to the webmail and turn on Allow POP3 and IMAP access under Settings → POP3/IMAP. Then test again.

App password

If two-factor sign-in is on at your provider, the server won’t accept your normal password. Create an app password and enter it in the app:

• Gmail / Google Workspace: Google Account → Security → App passwords (requires 2-Step Verification). Also check under Gmail → Settings → Forwarding and POP/IMAP that IMAP is enabled.
• iCloud: appleid.apple.com → Sign-In and Security → App-Specific Passwords.
• Outlook.com / Hotmail: Microsoft account → Security → App passwords. If your mailbox is on Microsoft 365, connect it via Microsoft 365 instead.

T-Online

T-Online requires a separate email password for IMAP and SMTP, not the password of your Telekom login. You create it in the Telekom customer center under E-Mail-Passwort.

IONOS, Strato and your own domain

At IONOS, Strato and most hosts, IMAP works right away. If your domain is with one of these providers, the app usually detects the servers automatically. If not, your provider lists the values in its help pages (search for “IMAP server”), e.g. imap.ionos.de or imap.strato.de.

Connection test errors

Message	What to do
Invalid server address	There’s no server with that name. Check the spelling under Advanced settings and enter the address your provider gives.
Server not reachable	Check the server and port under Advanced settings. IMAP usually uses port 993 (SSL/TLS) or 143 (STARTTLS).
Sign-in rejected	Check the password. With two-factor sign-in you need an app password; at GMX and WEB.DE you first have to turn on IMAP.
Couldn’t connect securely	The certificate doesn’t match the server name or has expired. Enter the server name your provider gives (often not your own domain).
Folder not found	In the error, choose the folder where EDI emails arrive.
No trash folder detected	Your provider doesn’t mark its trash folder. Choose the folder processed emails should move to.
Sending: sign-in failed	Enter the credentials for sending under Separate SMTP credentials, or continue without sending.

If none of this helps, send us the message at support@fashionbits.de.

Changing the password and disconnecting

If you changed the password at your provider, the card shows Check failed: sign-in rejected. Click Update password, enter the new password and click Save and test.

You change all other settings under Edit settings. When you save, the app tests the connection again; an empty password field keeps the current password.

Disconnect stops checking and deletes the stored credentials. Messages already imported are kept, and the app doesn’t touch the emails in the mailbox. Afterwards you can connect a different mailbox.