Set Up Email on Android Phones | AT&T Community Forums (2024)

You're probably using your "normal" password, the one that works if you use a web browser to access your email.

For most email clients you need a special password called a Secure Mail Key to use in the client.

Here are the proper settings....

Let's get your email set up, @adlane!

Just as our ACE@tonydi mentioned and provided the link for, you will most likely require a secure mail key.

After trying the key, let us know if it works!

CalebP, AT&T Community Specialist

Well, like I said, it depends on the email client. Some use Oauth2 authentication which is what Yahoo wants to see (with the SMK being an acceptable alternative). But clients like the Yahoo Mail app can use your regular password because it has Oauth2 built in.

Since you were having issues I suggested the SMK. It's hard to say for sure because all of the carriers seem to play games with which Android email app comes on the phones.

Let's break this down further to help you set your email up on your phone,adlane.

Before setting up your email account on your phone, you will need to do what tonydi said, and that is to create the Secure Mail Key. You will need to do this online on a computer. Here are the steps:

1. Go toProfileand chooseSign-in info.
2. Select the email account that needs a secure mail key. (You’ll find a menu at the top if you have multiple accounts.)
3. Scroll toSecure mail keyand selectManage secure mail key.
4. Choose the email address that you’d like to use, if you have more than one.
5. SelectAdd secure mail keyand then enter a nickname for the secure mail key to make it easier to recognize.
6. ChooseCreate secure mail key.
7. SelectCopy secure mail key to clipboard. Make a note of your secure mail key, so you have it handy if you need to update an email app on several devices.
   • For security purposes, the secure mail key onlydisplays until you selectOK.
   • If you lose or forget the secure mail key, you can create new secure mail keys.
8. SelectOK.
9. Go to your preferred email app and replace the existing password with your secure mail key. For an IMAP account, delete the existing password for both the IMAP and SMTP servers and replace them with your secure mail key.

You can find the steps above and more information on why a secure mail key is need by reading over our great support article entitled: Create a secure mail key. Also, here is some information on the different email clients and apps that are using the Secure Mail Keys and OAuth or Open Authentication.

After creating the secure mail key, then you can set up your email account, on the mail app. Using the chart that again our ACE, tonydi provided, which gives you the settings needed. Our recommendation is that you IMAP instead of POP3.

Referencing back to the secure mail key, every time it mentioned something like, "password', that is where you use the secure mail key.

If you need the steps in setting up the account on your email app, you can use the aforementioned link provided to go directy to Microsoft.

Please update us on your progress.

Matthew, AT&T Community Specialist

Ok, back to the same question. Should I use the last Secure Mail Key or Create a new one. Well the Old one does not work, so I must create new Secure Mail Key; Will that in anyway interfere with my email on my computer which I use primarily(99% ) of the time?

I did try K-9 & Yandex Mail but ran into weird problems with them as well. So likely will go to Currently.com unless any one has a work around. Very Odd to me as AT&T email is quite common.

Right, the SMK (old one or a new one) has no effect on logging in with a browser.

What happened with K-9? I use that app but I don't do any AT&T/Yahoo email on it. It certainly needs the SMK at this point as the developer is still struggling with getting OAuth2 support included.