How to Set Up Your Mailbox in Gmail and Thunderbird

Prefer checking your RepublicNodes mailbox from Gmail's interface, or using Thunderbird as your desktop client? Both work fine over standard IMAP/SMTP — here's how.

Adding It to Gmail (Send/Receive via Gmail's Interface)

Gmail can both fetch your mailbox's mail and send as that address, without you ever needing to check a separate inbox.

1. In Gmail, go to Settings → See all settings → Accounts and Import.
2. Under "Check mail from other accounts," click Add a mail account, enter your full mailbox address, and choose to import via POP3 (Gmail's external-fetch feature uses POP3, not IMAP) — use the POP hostname/port from your service page, with SSL enabled.
3. Under "Send mail as," click Add another email address, enter your name and mailbox address, then configure the SMTP hostname/port/credentials from your service page (SSL/TLS, authentication required).
4. Gmail sends a verification — check the fetched mailbox (or your regular Gmail inbox, depending on timing) for the confirmation code/link and confirm it.

Once set up, new mail arrives in Gmail automatically, and you can choose your RepublicNodes address in the "From" field when composing.

Setting It Up in Thunderbird (Full Desktop Client)

1. Open Thunderbird and go to Account Settings → Account Actions → Add Mail Account.
2. Enter your name, mailbox email address, and password.
3. Click Configure manually and choose IMAP (recommended over POP3 for a real desktop client, since IMAP keeps your mail in sync across devices instead of just downloading a copy to one).
4. Enter the IMAP hostname/port and SMTP hostname/port from your service page, both with SSL/TLS enabled.
5. Click Done — Thunderbird tests the connection and, if successful, starts syncing your inbox.

Which Should You Use?

• Gmail integration is convenient if you already live in Gmail and just want one inbox to check — but it's fetch-based (POP3), so it's a one-way copy, not a live two-way sync.
• Thunderbird (or any real IMAP client) keeps everything properly synced — read status, folders, and deletions match across every device checking the same mailbox.

If Something's Not Working

• Wrong password errors almost always mean using your RepublicNodes account password instead of the mailbox's own password — they're separate credentials.
• If mail isn't arriving at all, confirm your domain's MX records are pointed correctly — see our DNS records guide if you're using a custom domain rather than our free shared domain.