Send via your own SMTP server
In short: If you choose Via your own SMTP server, aishaa sends email through the mail server you already use. On the SMTP page you create a connection with the server details and login details, validate it, and then activate it in the wizard with Activate sending via SMTP. Receiving works through forwarding to your aishaa Mail address.
Where to find this
Go to Organisation > Channels > Mail and choose the Own domain or mail server card. Then choose Via your own SMTP server (Use the mail server you already have; aishaa sends through it.). If email has already been set up, first click Change setup. The screen is called Own SMTP server.
You open the page with all SMTP connections via Add SMTP connection in the wizard or via Advanced settings > Providers > Manage SMTP.
Who: from the Organisation admin role. SMTP connections apply per organisation.
What you need
Ask your mail provider or administrator for the following details:
- the host name of the SMTP server (for example smtp.yourprovider.com);
- the port and the type of security (usually STARTTLS on port 587);
- the username and password aishaa may use to send;
- the sender address you want to use, for example support@yourcompany.com.
Step 1: add an SMTP connection
- In the wizard, click Add SMTP connection. You arrive on the SMTP page. The section below the title is called SMTP connections (Add SMTP servers, validate credentials, and enable/disable usage.).
- Click Add connection. The Add SMTP connection dialog opens.
- Fill in the fields:
| Field | Meaning | Default |
|---|---|---|
| SMTP host | The host name of the mail server. Required. | empty |
| Port | The port number, between 1 and 65535. Required. | 587 |
| Security | STARTTLS (recommended, usually port 587), SSL/TLS (implicit, usually port 465) or None (not recommended). | STARTTLS |
| Username | Required. Explanation on the screen: Usually your email address; some providers use a separate login (e.g. an API key). If you type an email address here, aishaa also fills it in under From address, as long as you have not changed that field yourself. | empty |
| Password | Required when creating. Use the eye icon to make it visible. | empty |
| From address | The sender address, for example support@company.com. Required and must be a valid email address. | empty |
| Display name (optional) | The sender name customers see, for example Support team. | empty |
| Maximum message size (MB) | The largest email this server accepts, between 1 and 150 MB. Leave the field empty for the smart default (see below). | empty |
| Enabled | Only enabled connections can be activated and chosen as a sending method. | on |
- Click Save. You see Saved. and the connection appears in the table.
About the maximum message size: if aishaa recognises the server, the field shows Recognized server: default (n) MB. Known limits are 25 MB for Gmail and Google Workspace, Office 365, Mailgun and Zoho, 30 MB for SendGrid, 40 MB for Amazon SES and 10 MB for Postmark. For an unknown server it says Empty = safe default of 10 MB. If you enter a value yourself, that value always applies. What aishaa does with attachments that do not fit is explained in Sending limits and image optimisation.
The Add SMTP connection dialog on the SMTP page, with the fields SMTP host, Port, Security, Username, Password, From address, Display name (optional), Maximum message size (MB) and the Enabled switch.
Step 2: validate the connection
The table on the SMTP page has the columns From (address and display name), Server (host and port), User, Security (STARTTLS, SSL/TLS or None), Enabled (switch) and Validation. Each connection has the buttons Validate, Edit and Delete; at the top are Refresh and Add connection.
- Click Validate next to the new connection. aishaa connects to the server and logs in.
- If it works, you see SMTP validated successfully. and the Validation column shows Last: with the date and time. If it fails, you see SMTP validation failed: with the error message from the server; it also stays in the column. Check the host, port, security and login details and try again.
As long as you have not validated, it says Not validated. Validating is not required before activating, but it stops you from only finding out with the first reply that the details are wrong.
Step 3: activate sending via SMTP
- Go back to Organisation > Channels > Mail and open Own domain or mail server > Via your own SMTP server.
- Under SMTP connection, choose the connection. Each connection appears in the list as its sender address followed by the host in brackets. Only enabled connections appear in the list.
- Click Activate sending via SMTP. You see Sending via your own SMTP server is active. and the Current setup overview shows the label Own SMTP server with the sender address under Sending via.
When you activate, aishaa automatically creates an endpoint for the sender address of the connection (with the display name of the connection), a routing rule for email sent to that address and the sending method SMTP with this connection. The endpoint becomes the default sender if the aishaa Mail address was the default until then.
The Own SMTP server screen in the email wizard under Organisation > Channels > Mail, with the SMTP connection dropdown and the Activate sending via SMTP button, and below it the Receiving: set up forwarding block.
Step 4: receiving through forwarding
An SMTP connection only sends. To receive customer email, you forward your mailbox to your aishaa Mail address. For this, the bottom of the wizard screen shows the Receiving: set up forwarding block with the address, a copy button and instructions for Microsoft 365, Gmail and other mailboxes. As soon as the first forwarded email arrives, the block reports that receiving works. See Your aishaa Mail address and forwarding.
Editing, disabling or deleting a connection
- Edit opens the Edit SMTP connection dialog. The password is never shown; the field is then called Password (leave empty to keep current) with the explanation Only set this if you want to rotate credentials.
- Use the switch in the Enabled column to switch a connection off temporarily without deleting it. A disabled connection disappears from the dropdown in the wizard and from the sending methods under Advanced settings.
- Delete asks for confirmation: Delete (host):(port) for (sender address)? If this connection is the active sending method of an endpoint, first choose a different route or sending method.
Good to know
- One sender address goes with one connection as its sending method. If you want multiple sender addresses (for example support@ and info@), create a connection for each address and link each one to its own endpoint under Advanced settings. When you choose a sending method, aishaa only shows SMTP connections whose sender address matches the address of the endpoint.
- If you choose SSL/TLS under Security, you usually use port 465; with STARTTLS, port 587. The dialog does not adjust the port automatically when you change the security.
- Email that aishaa sends via SMTP is stored in aishaa on the ticket and not in the Sent Items folder of your mailbox.
- If sending from a ticket fails, the message shows a notice that SMTP sending has failed. Then check the connection with Validate.
- On the Advanced mail configuration page, the SMTP card shows the number of connections and the label Warnings with the text One or more SMTP connections have validation errors if an enabled connection has a validation error.