Email server settings

Windstream IMAP settings and SMTP server

Q: What are the Windstream IMAP settings?

Server imap.windstream.net, port 993 with SSL. User name: your full email address; password: your email password. Kinetic also lists the non-SSL port 143, but recommends the SSL port.

Q: What is the Windstream SMTP server?

smtp.windstream.net on port 465 with SSL, or port 587 (with TLS in Outlook). Turn on authentication with the same address and password you use for incoming mail.

Q: What are the Windstream email IMAP settings for iPhone?

Add an Other mail account, choose IMAP, and enter imap.windstream.net as the incoming and smtp.windstream.net as the outgoing server, both with your full address and email password. Kinetic recommends the SSL ports: 993 incoming, 465 outgoing.

The Windstream IMAP settings are imap.windstream.net, port 993 with SSL, and the SMTP server is smtp.windstream.net, port 465 with SSL (or port 587). Both servers take your full email address and email password. Windstream’s help pages for home email are now published under the Kinetic name.

Last checked October 10, 2026, against Kinetic by Windstream’s own documentation.

Windstream email servers

Server, port and securityServer	Port and security
IMAP · incomingimap.windstream.net993 · SSL/TLSRecommended	993SSL/TLS
SMTP · outgoingsmtp.windstream.net465 · SSL/TLSRecommended	465SSL/TLS
SMTP · outgoingsmtp.windstream.net587 · STARTTLSAlternative; Kinetic’s Outlook guide calls it TLS	587STARTTLS

Sign-in: Full email address + email password

User name: your full email address, for example jane.doe@windstream.net, and your email password, for incoming and outgoing mail.

Windstream email IMAP settings in detail

The values come from Kinetic’s article Server settings for Kinetic email. Enter them by hand if your mail app doesn’t find the servers after you type your address.

IMAP for incoming mail. Kinetic says “IMAP is recommended for the incoming”: mail stays on the server, so phone and computer show the same inbox.
Use the SSL ports. “Kinetic recommends using the incoming and outgoing SSL mail server ports when configuring all email clients” (Android guide): 993 for IMAP and 465 for SMTP.
Port 587 is the alternative for outgoing mail; Kinetic’s Outlook guide pairs it with TLS. Port 143 is the non-SSL IMAP port, so prefer 993.
The outgoing server requires authentication with the same user name and password as the incoming server (Windows 8 guide).
POP3: the settings article describes POP (messages are downloaded to one device, then deleted from the server) but publishes no POP server, and warns that mail can then seem to disappear from the inbox on other devices.

Log in with “the full email address you currently use”: a windstream.net address, or the legacy address you had before you moved to Windstream (Windstream email support). The password is your email password. The user name is always the full address, not just the part before the @.

Kinetic’s setup guides don’t mention app passwords or OAuth sign-in for email; mail apps use the normal email password.

Set up Windstream email on iPhone, Android and Outlook

iPhone and iPad (Kinetic’s iOS guide; its menu names come from an older iOS version):

In Settings, add a new mail account and choose Other → Add Mail Account.
Enter your name, email address, password and a description, then tap Next.
Tap IMAP if the option appears.
Incoming Mail Server: host imap.windstream.net, with your full address as the user name, and your password. Outgoing Mail Server: host smtp.windstream.net, same user name and password. Tap Next.
Wait for “Verifying IMAP account information”, then open the Mail app.

Kinetic’s iOS guide warns: if your iPhone or iPad uses IMAP, set up the mail apps on your computers with IMAP too, or the account can run into a “POP lock”.

Android (Kinetic’s Android guide): in the Email app, add an account, choose IMAP, and enter your full windstream.net address and password. Incoming: imap.windstream.net, 993 with SSL. Outgoing: smtp.windstream.net, 465 with SSL (or 587).

Outlook (Kinetic’s Outlook 2010 guide):

Choose manual setup and the account type IMAP; enter the two servers, your full address and password.
Under More Settings → Advanced: incoming port 993 with “This server requires an encrypted connection (SSL)”, outgoing port 587 with TLS as the encrypted connection type.
On the Outgoing Server tab, turn on authentication and keep Use same settings as my incoming mail server.

Thunderbird and other apps use the same values: IMAP 993 SSL/TLS, SMTP 465 SSL/TLS (or 587 STARTTLS), with your full address as the user name.

Common Windstream email problems

Error or symptom	Fix
Receiving works, sending fails	Authentication on the outgoing server is off, or port and encryption don’t match. Turn on Outgoing server requires authentication and use 465 with SSL or 587 with TLS.
Login rejected	Enter the full email address as the user name, including `@windstream.net` (or your legacy domain), and your email password.
Mail seems to disappear, or the account locks (“POP lock”)	One device uses POP while others use IMAP. Switch every device on the account to IMAP.
Password rejected after you changed it	Update the password in the mail app for both the incoming and the outgoing server.

When a message to someone else comes back, the bounce code tells you why: see the SMTP error codes and the difference between a hard vs. soft bounce.

Is @windstream.net a valid email domain?

Yes. windstream.net is the email domain in Kinetic’s setup guides, and the same login works for legacy addresses that customers kept when they moved to Windstream. A windstream.net address is still no proof that the mailbox exists today: an address that worked years ago may have been closed since, and mail to it then hard bounces.

If an older list contains many windstream.net contacts, run it through a bulk email verifier before you mail it, or check one contact with is this a real email address. Every dead address on it raises your email bounce rate.

Sources

Checked on October 10, 2026. Server names, ports and sign-in rules come from these official pages:

Other internet providers

Windstream email settings: FAQ

What are the Windstream IMAP settings?

Server imap.windstream.net, port 993 with SSL. User name: your full email address; password: your email password. Kinetic also lists the non-SSL port 143, but recommends the SSL port.

What is the Windstream SMTP server?

smtp.windstream.net on port 465 with SSL, or port 587 (with TLS in Outlook). Turn on authentication with the same address and password you use for incoming mail.

What are the Windstream email IMAP settings for iPhone?

Add an Other mail account, choose IMAP, and enter imap.windstream.net as the incoming and smtp.windstream.net as the outgoing server, both with your full address and email password. Kinetic recommends the SSL ports: 993 incoming, 465 outgoing.

Is Windstream email the same as Kinetic email?

Yes. Windstream’s home internet support pages now appear under the Kinetic name, and the servers are still imap.windstream.net and smtp.windstream.net.

Does Windstream support POP3?

Kinetic’s settings article describes POP but lists only IMAP servers and recommends IMAP. Mixing POP and IMAP devices on one account can cause a “POP lock”.

Email validation API

Validate windstream.net addresses before you send

emailvalidation.io checks syntax, MX records and the mailbox over SMTP, flags disposable, role and free addresses and returns a quality score, in one request.

/v1/info Email validation API Read the documentation

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GET https://api.emailvalidation.io/v1/info?email=support@emailvalidation.io

{
  "email": "support@emailvalidation.io",
  "user": "support",
  "tag": "",
  "domain": "emailvalidation.io",
  "format_valid": true,
  "mx_found": true,
  "smtp_check": true,
  "catch_all": null,
  "role": true,
  "disposable": false,
  "free": false,
  "score": 0.64,
  "state": "deliverable",
  "reason": "valid_mailbox",
  "did_you_mean": ""
}

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