Email for life - Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Aliases

What is an Alias?

Your Email account will come with a number of Aliases that you may wish to use as another email address for your account. When an email is sent to an Alias, it will be delivered to your main email addresses inbox.

This is useful if you wish to set up another email address for different contacts, or if your name has changed recently.

Aliases are like giving your house a name. For example, let's say your address is 9 Colne Road, but you have put up a sign calling it The Orchard. Your address is still 9 Colne Road, and your post will still be delivered there. But it is also known as The Orchard, so post addressed to The Orchard will also be delivered.

How many Aliases can my account have?

You can view how many Email Aliases your Account can have by going to the My Account dashboard after logging in. Once here, click on Email Accounts on the left hand side. You will see the Aliases displayed in the Account information:

Your account will include at least one free Alias. If you have upgraded your Account, you will have access to more Aliases. To view how many Aliases each of our Packages includes, you can visit our help guide here.

To edit or set up your Aliases, you can click on the Manage Aliases button. You can find a help guide that details this more here.

 

If you have any questions about Aliases, please contact our helpdesk at help@aluminati.net
How do I set up/manage my aliases?

Aliases allow you to set up an additional email address on your account. To read more about Aliases, please see our help guide here.

You can set up and manage your Aliases by logging in to your Account and going to the My Account dashboard. If you are logged in to your webmail inbox, you can access My Account by clicking on the button in the top right of the page.

On the My Account page, you will be able to click on Email Accounts on the left. This will show you all the email accounts you currently own. Each of your email accounts will have a Manage Aliases button. It will also list how many Aliases you can have on your email account.

Clicking on Manage Aliases will take you to the page in order to set up or edit your Aliases.

If you are already using all of your Aliases and would like more, you can click on Purchase. This will take you to the Payment Portal, and you can select a Package or Bolt-On if you would like more Aliases.

  • To add an Alias: Use the Create New Alias box to set up a new Alias. You can choose what address the Alias has, and can select which domain you wish to use from the dropdown. You can then click Save All Changes to save your new Alias.
  • To edit an Alias: If you have an Alias already set up, it will appear in the Editable Aliases section. If you wish to change the Alias address, simply change it in the text box. You can also choose a different domain if these are available, by selecting this from the dropdown box. You can then click Save All Changesto save the changes you have made.

    You can update an Alias as much as you want, but when you update it, it will delete the old one. If an email is then sent to the old Alias, it will be bounced back to the sender. The new Alias you have set up will be active immediately, and emails can be sent to it as soon as you have saved it.
  • To delete an Alias: If you wish to remove an Alias completely, you can select the Delete? Tickbox in the Editable Aliases section. Once you have ticked this box, you can click Save All Changes to remove the Alias from your email account.

    If an email is then sent to the deleted Alias, it will be bounced back to the sender.

 

If you would like to set up your email account to send emails from your alias, you can set it up as a Multiple Identity. You can read more about Multiple Identities in our help guide here.

 

If you have any questions about setting up or editing your Aliases, please contact our helpdesk at help@aluminati.net
How can I archive my emails for safekeeping or transfer?
If you want to archive 1 messages at a time
 
This method can be used to archive one email at a time
  • Log into Webmail and select the email you would like to archive
  • Then click on More and select Download (.eml)
  • The email will then be downloaded to a file on your device

If you want to archive more than 100 messages at a time (This option is only available for paid accounts)

(This method is best if you want to archive more than 100 messages at a time, and is generally recommend as a much more convenient way of downloading emails to your computer.)

Set up a mail client (such as Outlook, Thunderbird, or Mac Mail) to connect with your account via IMAP. If you are not sure how to do this, this article will help you.

Once you have your email account set up, just drag and drop the chosen messages to a local folders file on your computer. At this point you will want to make sure your computer is backed up, as those files will no longer be on our servers.
I can't send/receive emails from my mail client/phone.

Some account packages come with access to IMAP/POP/SMTP, which allows them to be added to an Email Program or App. If you are unable to send or receive emails from your Account on an email program or app, please follow the troubleshooting steps below.

Check your account package

If you are repeatedly informed that your username/password is invalid despite it being entered correctly, it could be that you have an account without IMAP/POP/SMTP access.

You can find out if your account has this enabled by logging in to the My Account dashboard. If you click on Email Accounts on the left, you will see details of your email account and what Package it is currently using. It will also list if your account has access to IMAP/POP/SMTP.

 

If you do not have access to IMAP/POP/SMTP, it will be shown as Webmail access only:

If you wish to upgrade your account to include this feature, you can do so by clicking on the See Upgrades button on the same page.

Check the settings of your email program or app

If your Account is set up with IMAP/POP/SMTP access, you will have to check the settings for your Account in your Email Program or App. If you are unable to find where these settings are, please refer to the help guides that came with the Email program or app you are using.

The settings will need to be set up as follows, depending if you are using IMAP or POP, and if you wish to use Secure or Standard connections:

Check username and password fields even where 'optional'

In your client's account settings, you need to make sure the username and password are filled in even if it says the information is optional. You will need to enter your full email address in to the username field.

Change port number 

If you can receive emails but are unable to send them, check your outgoing server settings. If the port is 25, try changing it to 26. Some ISPs block port 25 to try and cut down on the amount of spam sent from their networks. Changing it to 26 usually circumvents this, though in some instances port 26 will also be blocked, and port 587 should be tried instead.

Please refer to the settings above for details of the different configurations that can be used to set up your email address.

Contact us 

If none of the solutions here have worked for you, please contact our helpdesk at help@aluminati.net with your email address, the full error message you are receiving, and as much information as possible about what issue you are experiencing.
How do I set up an Out of Office automated response?

If needed, you can set up an Out of Office autoreply for your account. This is useful for alerting anyone emailing you that you are currently not able to access your Emails. See below for how to set this up in Webmail

Webmail

To set up an Out of Office autoreply using Webmail, simply log in to your webmail account and Follow the steps below:

  • Go to Settings found in the top right hand of the screen.
  • Go to the Out of Office section.

 

  • Here you can add a Subject and Body text of the auto response you would like (just like a normal email). The Subject will be the subject for the Email, and the Body will be the main email message.
  • In the Start Time and End Time boxes, you can set the dates and times you want the Autoreply to be active between. Clicking on these boxes will bring up a small calendar/time list for you to select from.

 

  • The Send auto-reply when email is sent to... allows you to specify which alias on your account you want the auto reply to work for. For more about Aliases, you can read our help guide here.
  • Status allows you to turn the autoreply on and off.
  • When you have finished creating or editing your auto response, click the Save button at the bottom.

 

If you have any further issues setting up a automated response, please contact our helpdesk at help@aluminati.net
How do I Block or mark an email address as safe?

What are the Block/Safe lists?

  • Block list allow you to completely block an email address or domain from coming into your email account.
  • Safe list allow an email address or domain to always arrive in your email account as sometimes legitimate emails can end up being mark as spam.

If you add a contact or domain to your Block list, then email from them will not be delivered to you (unless they are also in your Safe list). Entries in your Safe list will always be delivered to your account, even if they are from a blocked server (though they are still scanned for viruses).

There are a couple of ways of adding contacts to your Block or Safe list.

1)  After opening an email from them, you can find these options at the top of the Email.

Webmail

 

 

2)  You can also access your Safe list and Block list from the My Account section. If you click on Spam Settings, you can manually add email addresses or domains to your Block or Safe list, and remove any addresses if you need to:

 

PLEASE NOTE: Disabling Spam and/or Virus scanning on your account will disable your Block/Safe list as they rely on these to function. If you find that your Block or Safe lists are not working as expected, please make sure these are enabled.

If you have any further issues regarding your Block/Safe list settings, please contact our helpdesk at help@aluminati.net
What is the total maximum file size an email attachment can be?

Files attached to an email on the cantab.net service must not total more than 25MB. 

The main reason for this file size limit is security. Without these limits it would be possible for malicious users to bombard email servers with huge email attachments and ultimately crash the servers. Even if we were to increase the file size limit on our end, there is no way of ensuring that a recipient's server would accept a file of that size.

If the file attachment size is too big, and rejected by the recipient's server, you will usually be notified with what is known as a bounce message. These exist primarily to inform users that their email has not been received, and provides a brief reason why.

Should you wish to send a file to a recipient that is over 25MB in size (or has otherwise been rejected by their mail server) there are two alternatives available that would allow you to work around these limits:

- Using a cloud storage or FTP link (a solution such as Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.) can provide users with a link to download the file, this can then be inserted into an email.

- Using file compression software (such as Winzip, or the native functionality built into most operating systems) to make the file smaller for the purposes of attachment.
Outlook App Setup Guide
This guide supports both Android and IOS devices.


Adding an email address

1. Find Outlook on your device and open it. If this is the the first time opening this App, you will see the screen below in 1A. However if you already use this App for another address, please follow the steps in 1B.


1A. Press Get Started to proceed.




1B. Go to Menu (the three lines) > Settings (Cog icon) > Add account.


2. Enter your email address and press continue


3. In this step, make sure your do not proceed with entering your password and instead press the Question Mark icon. Select Change account provider from the popup and choose either IMAP or POP3. If you are not sure which one to choose, check out our guide here. 




4. You can now proceed to enter your email accounts password. You can also enter your Display name and a Description if you wish. When you have finished, press the tick icon in the top right hand corner.

 


5. Your account should now be successfully added to your Outlook app. You can either click continue to add another email address or skip to go straight into your inbox. 




6. Your emails will start to populate your inbox. It may take some time for them to start appearing.




Enjoy!



If you still unable to add your account to the Outlook app, please contact our support team at help@aluminati.net who will be happy to help you further.


Please be aware that the IT Support Team will only be able to offer limited support in regards to problems with third party software, such as Outlook. Our support team will always try to help the best they can, but in some cases they may need to refer you to the support team of the software in question. If you are unsure if we can help with your query, please contact us anyway and we will be happy to point you in the right direction if needed.
Apple Mail App Setup Guide
Contents


Introduction


This guide was completed on an iPad Pro (2018) running iPadOS 13.2. While iPadOS is a different iOS to an iPhone, this guide can be used for both current versions. Only the presentation of settings can differ slightly.


Locations of settings may also vary depending on what version of the iOS you are currently running. If you are unable to find these settings while following this guide, please email our helpdesk at help@aluminati.net. Please include details of your iPhone/iPad model and version and we will be able to point out where these settings are located. If you are not sure what iPhone/iPad you are using, you can use the following pages to assist you:
 
 






Adding a new email address



1. If this is the first time using your Mail App, follow step 1A only. If you already have an email address setup, please follow 1B instead.


1A. Open your Mail App on your iPhone/iPad
 




1B. Open the Settings App




Scroll down and select Passwords & Accounts > Add Account 


(Note: On some versions you may need to go to Mail > Accounts > Add Account)
 




2. Select Other




3. Enter your email account details on the next page.
 


 


  • Name - This will be your display name as well as what the account is called on your device.
  • Email - Your full email address.
  • Password - Your full email password.
  • Description - You can add a description of the account in this field in order to identify the account easier (e.g. Work email).
Press Next once you have finished filling in this page


4. As our accounts do not support auto configuration with Apple. It will ask you for extra details in order for your account to connect successfully. First choose either IMAP or POP3 Depending on your preference then scroll to the next section.




5. Enter our server details along with your email address and password.


 


  • Name - This will be your display name as well as what the account is called on your device
  • Email - Your full email address
  • Description - You can add a description of the account in this field in order to identify the account easier (e.g. Work email)
  • Incoming Host Name - mail.secure.aluminati.net
  • Incoming Username - Your full email address
  • Incoming Password - Your full email password
  • Outgoing Host Name - mail.secure.aluminati.net
  • Outgoing Username - Your full email address
  • Outgoing Password - Your full email password
Once all of this is filled out, press Next. (It may several minutes for it to connect to these settings before continuing to the next step).


6. Make sure the Mail toggled is enabled, you can also enable Notes as well, but this is not required. Press Save.
 



 


7. Your emails will start to populate your inbox. Enjoy!


It is worth testing to see if you are able to send emails as well. To do this, send a test email to yourself to see if it sends successfully. If an error message pops up similar to the one below, then it won't send the email and will leave it in your outbox.
 
 


If this is the case then please follow the guide below to edit your account details.


Editing an existing email address



1. Open the Settings App




2.  Scroll down to Passwords & Accounts and select your email account from the Accounts list




3. Make sure all of your details are correct and up to date.


 


  • Name - This will be your display name as well as what the account is called on your device
  • Email - Your full email address
  • Description - You can add a description of the account in this field in order to identify the account easier (e.g. Work email)
  • Incoming Host Name - mail.secure.aluminati.net
  • Incoming Username - Your full email address
  • Incoming Password - Your full email password
Once this is done, check your Outgoing mail server settings by pressing the SMTP button below these details.


4. Make sure our Aluminati server address is the Primary server. Click on it to view the Outgoing settings.




5. Ensure all of your details are correct and up to date on this page. If you are still having issues sending after checking this settings, try changing the Server Port from 587 to 465. If you do, it may take several minutes to complete connecting again.




  • Server - Enabled
  • Host Name - mail.secure.aluminati.net
  • Username - Your full email address
  • Password - Your full email password
  • Use SSL - Enabled
  • Authentication - Password
  • Server Port - 587 or 465
When you are happy, press Done and your account details should now be updated on your account.




If you are still experiencing issues using your account on your Apple device, please email our support team at help@aluminati.net who will be happy to guide you further.


Please be aware that the IT Support Team will only be able to offer limited support in regards to problems with third party software, such as Apple Mail. Our support team will always try to help the best they can, but in some cases they may need to refer you to the support team of the software in question. If you are unsure if we can help with your query, please contact us anyway and we will be happy to point you in the right direction if needed.
Apple Mail Client Guide
Contents
 

Introduction


This guide supports the current version of the Apple mail program (Catalina Version 10.15.1). Locations of settings may vary depending on which version you are currently running. If you are unable to find these settings, please email our helpdesk at help@aluminati.net and let us know your Mac version and we will be able to point out where these settings are located. If you are not sure what Mac version you are running, please use the following page to find out: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201260






Adding a new email address



1. Open up Apple Mail and go to Mail > Add Account...

2. Select Add Other Account...




3. This will show more options to choose from, select Mail account




4. Enter your details in the window that will pop up.


  • Name - Set your display name, which will be used when sending emails from your Apple mail.
  • Email Address - Enter your full email address.
  • Password - Enter the password for your email address.
Once filled in, press Sign in.


5. As our accounts are not able to automatically configure with Apple mail, it should error and ask for further details.




Enter the following details into each field:
  • Email address - Your full email address
  • Username - Your full email address (again)
  • Password - Your password for your email address
  • Account Type - Select either IMAP or POP3
  • Incoming Mail Server - mail.secure.aluminati.net
  • Outgoing Mail Server - mail.secure.aluminati.net
Hit Sign in again once the details have been filled out.


6. It will now ask you if you would like to use Notes as well as email with your account. You can leave this checked and press Done.




7. You can now close this window and your emails should start to load into Apple mail. Enjoy!






Editing an existing email address - Method One



You can edit your email account details in Apple mail if you have recently changed your account information or you are experiencing issues sending/receiving email.


1. Go to Mail > Accounts...




2. Select the account from the left side Panel




3. Here you can edit your account details and update your password. If you would like to edit your server details, press Advanced.




4. Make sure the Hostname box has mail.secure.aluminati.net entered correctly and the Path Prefix field is left Blank.



5. Click OK and your account should attempt to verify. If successful, then no error message will appear and you can now close this window. You account should now be up and running again.






Editing an existing email address - Method Two



If this above method is not working for you, try the following instead:


1. This time, don't got to Mail > Accounts, instead go to Mail > Preferences 

 

 

2. In the window that appears, make sure you are on the Accounts tab at the top as well as having your address selected on the left, then select the Server settings tab.




3. You should now see your Incoming and Outgoing server settings. Make sure your details are the following:


Incoming Mail server (IMAP/POP3)


  • Username: Your full email address
  • Password: The password for this account
  • Host Name: mail.secure.aluminati.net
  • Automatically manage connection settings: Uncheck this option for the below options to appear
  • IMAP Port: 993
  • POP3 Port: 995
  • Use TLS/SSL: Check this option
  • Authentication: Password
Outgoing Mail server (SMTP)
  • Account: Make sure the mail.secure.aluminati.net option is ticked (it should display as what you have named it)
  • Username: Your full email address
  • Password: The password for this account
  • Host Name: mail.secure.aluminati.net
  • Automatically manage connection settings: Uncheck this option for the below options to appear
  • Port: Try 587 first, then 465 if it doesn't work
  • Use TLS/SSL: Check this option
  • Authentication: Password
4. Hit save at the bottom.




Your account should attempt to verify. If successful, then no error message will appear and you can now close this window. Your account should now be up and running again.






Email are being received but are not sending



If you have followed the above guides and have been able to start receiving emails but unable able to send any (they will sit in your Outbox), please follow the steps below:


1. Go back to your server settings in Mail > Preferences




2. Click on the Account option in your Outgoing Mail server settings, a dropdown should appear, select Edit SMTP Server List...




3. Make sure the right server is selected at the top in this new window. 




Enter or make sure the following is entered into each field:
  • Description: This is used to identify what this server is called. This can be anything you wish
  • Username: Your full email address
  • Password: The password for this account
  • Host Name: mail.secure.aluminati.net
  • Automatically manage connection settings: Uncheck this option for the below options to appear
  • Port: Try 587 first, then 465 if it doesn't work
  • Use TLS/SSL: Check this option
  • Authentication: Password
4. Hit OK once you are happy and it should then attempt to verify. If successful, then no error message will appear and you can now close this window. Your account should now be up and running again and any emails that were sitting in your Outbox should start to send automatically.






If you can't get your account to work after using this guide, please email our Support team at help@aluminati.net and they will be happy to help you.


Please be aware that the IT Support Team will only be able to offer limited support in regards to problems with third party software, such as Apple Mail. Our support team will always try to help the best they can, but in some cases they may need to refer you to the support team of the software in question. If you are unsure if we can help with your query, please contact us anyway and we will be happy to point you in the right direction if needed.
Outlook Setup Guide

Contents

Introduction


This guide supports Office 365, 2019 and 2016. This also supports Office 2013 and 2010 but the layout will be slightly different.



Adding a new email address - Method One


Outlook should let you sign straight in to your account. This is the easiest method for getting your account up and running, so please try this method first. If this doesn't work for you, try our manual account setup guide by scrolling past this guide.


Signing straight in



1. Open up Outlook and go to File in the top left.
 


2. Click on Add Account.




3. Enter your email address in the text box and press Connect.




4. Choose either IMAP or POP3 depending on what you prefer to use. If you are not sure which one to choose, check out our guide here. 




5. Enter your password for your account and press Connect.




6. Your account is now added successfully. Click Done or enter another email address if you would like to add another account.




7. Your emails should now start to load into your Outlook inbox. Outlook will also send you a test email to make sure everything is working.




Enjoy!






Manually configuring a new account


When following the steps above you might be presented with the following page:




In this case, follow the instructions below:


1. Press Change Account settings.


2. Make sure these details match with the ones below (they should already be pre filled).

  • Server (Incoming and Outgoing) - mail.secure.aluminati.net
  • IMAP Incoming Port - 993
  • POP3 Incoming Port - 995
  • Outgoing Port - 465
  • Encryption method - SSL/TLS
3. Press Next.


4. It will ask you to confirm your Password. Please double check this. If you are not sure, login to your account online first to check to see if your password is working. Hit Connect when you are happy.



5. You should now successfully connect to your account. Hit done to be brought to your emails.








Adding a new email address - Method Two


If the first method isn't working for you, please follow this method instead:


1. Open up Outlook and go to File in the top left.




2. Go to Info > Account settings (doesn't matter which account) > Manage profiles




3. Choose Email Accounts...




3. Select New...




4. Enter The following:


  • Your Name: This can be anything as it is used to Identify your account
  • Email address: Your full email address
  • Password: Your accounts password
  • Retype Password: Your accounts password again
Hit Next and it should start to auto configure your account.




Once this is done, it should say your email account is set up. Close all the windows and go to your inbox on the side on the main window. You should see your emails and folders start to appear. Your account is now set up!






Update an existing email

1. Open Outlook and go to File.


 


2. Make sure you select the email account you would like to edit from the dropdown first.




3. Select Account Settings > Server Settings.




4. You can now proceed to update your server setting on your account. Update them to match the following:


Incoming


  • Username - Your full email address
  • Password - The password for your email address
  • Server - mail.secure.aluminati.net
  • IMAP Incoming Port - 993
  • POP3 Incoming Port - 995
  • Encryption method - SSL/TLS
Outgoing


  • Server - mail.secure.aluminati.net
  • Outgoing Port - 465
  • Encryption method - SSL/TLS
  • My outgoing (SMTP) server requires authentication - Checked with Use same settings... selected
5. Select Next when you are happy.


6. Your account is now updated. Hit Done and your account should be up and running.








If you still unable to connect to your account, or you have a different issue, please contact our Support Team at help@aluminati.net


Please be aware that the IT Support Team will only be able to offer limited support in regards to problems with third party software, such as Outlook. Our support team will always try to help the best they can, but in some cases they may need to refer you to the support team of the software in question. If you are unsure if we can help with your query, please contact us anyway and we will be happy to point you in the right direction if needed.
Phone Support

Phone Policy

IT Support Team 

The IT Support is here to support you with any technical query you may have about your account or our services. Our team operates entirely from our online Helpdesk via email, for which you can message at any time at help@aluminati.net or the unique help email address for your institution. 

With that in mind, we would like to clarify that this team does not provide over the phone support due to the long resolution times needed for such queries. Our remote-only support means that the cost to your accounts are kept as low whilst still providing quick and reliable support. 

We understand that in some instances, email-only support cannot be conducted in order to correct the error. For these exceptions, we offer a premium option which is chargeable on a time block basis.

Pricing

Gold and Silver customers, as a part of their subscription, are allowed two 15-minute free sessions within one term. Free and Pro accounts are required to pay the below standard fee. 

  • Free - £30 for a 15 minutes time slot
  • Pro - £30 for a 15 minutes time slot
  • Silver - Two free sessions a year
  • Gold - Two free sessions a year

Payment Methods

All Phone Support sessions will need to be paid for via a Bank Transfer.

Remote software

When you require a phone support appointment, we will ask you to install remote access software so that we can view and/or take control of your device.

Teamviewer is the best software available for remote access and we use this for all over-the-phone troubleshooting. 

Before your appointment, you will need to have this installed. All you need to do is click and download:

Appointments

All Phone Support sessions will have to be booked in advance and are up to one hour in length (four - fifteen minute slots). 

When a support ticket is escalated into a phone appointment, you will be requested to prepare for the phone call with all the necessary information that is needed for troubleshooting, as well as having the remote software pre-installed. 

The support team will then confirm a date with and request your phone number. Appointments can be canceled and rescheduled without notice if the user wishes. There is no penalty for this.

Our support team will work with you to troubleshoot and correct the issue using the Teamviewer software, which will allow us to view your screen as well as make changes directly to your account. 

When the call has been completed, a follow-up email will be send by our support team to confirm:

  • The time, date and duration of the call
  • Clarification as to whether this is the 1st or 2nd appointment of this subscription term
  • A description of the issue
  • A summary of the resolution completed on the call