IMAP settings · cox.net
Cox email IMAP settings
There is no Cox mail server left to point a client at. Cox finished moving residential cox.net mailboxes to Yahoo in 2024: the address stayed the same, the servers behind it did not. Anything still configured with an old cox.net host will simply stop connecting, and the settings to use are Yahoo's.
IMAP connection
- Server
- imap.mail.yahoo.com
- Port
- 993
- Encryption
- SSL/TLS
- Username
- full address
- Password
- app password
Sending, SMTP
- Server
- smtp.mail.yahoo.com
- Port
- 465
- Encryption
- SSL/TLS
Checked against the service's own autoconfiguration file on 2026-09-15 — the same source Thunderbird reads when it fills the settings in for you. Source: autoconfig.thunderbird.net, help.yahoo.com
What breaks here.
- The host is imap.mail.yahoo.com, not anything at cox.net. Old settings kept from before the move are the usual reason a client suddenly stopped working.
- A Yahoo app password is required. The password you use to sign in is refused by third-party clients.
- The username stays your full cox.net address — the mailbox moved, the address did not.
- Yahoo also offers export.imap.mail.yahoo.com for pulling a whole mailbox; that is the host meant for bulk reads such as a migration.
Questions
The short answers
Why did my Cox email stop working in Outlook?
Because the mailbox moved to Yahoo and the old Cox server no longer answers. Replace the host with imap.mail.yahoo.com and the password with a Yahoo app password.
Can I move my cox.net mail somewhere else entirely?
Yes, and many people do after a move like this. Use imap.mail.yahoo.com as the source with an app password; messages, folders and dates come across.
Where do I generate the app password?
In Yahoo Account Security, under app passwords. Sign in with the cox.net address — the account is a Yahoo account now.
Is my old mail still there?
Messages, folders and other eligible data moved with the account. Whatever is visible in the web interface is what a client sees over IMAP.
Find out how big your mailbox is. It costs nothing.
Connect two servers, look at the size and decide. Or take the client and keep everything on your side.
Code on GitHub · built on imapsync · no sign-up