Email

The Email channel links a mailbox you already use, such as [email protected], to a SquadOS inbox. Incoming emails become conversations, and replies, from the agent or from an operator, go out from that same mailbox, in the same thread as the customer’s email.

The connection uses the standard email protocols: IMAP to read what arrives and SMTP to send replies. It works with any provider that offers IMAP and SMTP access with a password.

Before connecting

Get these details from your email provider:

• the mailbox address, which is also the login username;
• the mailbox password;
• the incoming server (IMAP) and port — the form defaults to 143;
• the outgoing server (SMTP) and port — usually 465.

Use the ports specified by your provider. On IMAP port 143, SquadOS requires STARTTLS to encrypt the connection; on 993, the connection starts with TLS. A failure on 993 does not mean that 143 is also unavailable. When editing an existing inbox, the form keeps the saved port.

On Gmail, enable IMAP in the account settings and use an app password instead of the regular password. The form reminds you of this when the incoming server is Gmail’s.

Also prepare the inbox destination:

• for AI support, the agent must be active;
• for human support, someone must follow the inbox in Conversations.

The same email address cannot be connected to two active SquadOS inboxes, even if they belong to different organizations.

Connecting from the inbox

1. In the admin panel, open Inboxes.
2. Click Connect inbox.
3. In the Email group, choose Email — the option is described as Connect a mailbox via IMAP and SMTP.
4. Click Connect and fill in Email, Password, Incoming server (IMAP), Port, Outgoing server (SMTP) and Port. For a new connection, the ports come prefilled with 143 and 465; adjust them according to your provider.
5. Click Connect and wait for the check.
6. Click Continue, choose the Destination in Who handles this inbox?, give it an Inbox name and click Done.

Before saving, SquadOS logs in to the mailbox through the incoming server and tests the login on the outgoing server. If verification fails, a toast explains the cause. The error also appears next to the related field, or above the fields when it affects the whole form, and the form keeps what you typed:

• The incoming server rejected the password. or The outgoing server rejected the password. — check the password (on Gmail, the app password);

• The incoming server did not respond. Check the address and port. — and the same for the outgoing server;

• Could not open a secure connection. Check the servers and ports. — the connection requires encryption; check that the ports are your provider’s secure ones.

• The email service is unavailable. Try again shortly. — SquadOS could not reach the service that verifies the connection. Try again shortly; this message does not confirm that your password was rejected.

The address is saved in lowercase, even if you type it with capitals.

How conversations work

• Only emails received after the connection come in. The mailbox’s old history is not imported.
• SquadOS does not mark emails as read, move or delete anything in the mailbox.
• Each contact has one conversation per inbox. When the customer starts a new subject, the subject shows in bold at the start of the message.
• When the customer replies quoting the previous email, the quoted history is trimmed and only the new text enters the conversation.
• Attachments come in with the message, up to 10 MB combined per email. Anything above that is left out, with a note in the message itself.
• Automatic replies (such as out-of-office notices), mailing lists and newsletters, and messages sent by the mailbox itself are ignored, so the agent does not answer robots.

Replies

The agent’s reply goes out from your mailbox, through your outgoing server, as Re: of the subject and in the same thread as the customer’s email. A copy is kept in the mailbox’s sent folder (on Gmail, the provider keeps that copy itself). Agent replies are marked as automatic replies, which keeps the customer’s system from answering back in a loop.

When an operator replies from the Conversations screen, the message also goes out by email, in the same thread, without the automatic-reply mark. See Human intervention.

Review and confirm an email reply

Every human reply through the Email channel requires review before sending. This step reminds you that the reply goes to the customer’s mailbox and lets you check the recipient and content.

1. In the conversation, choose Reply, write your response, and add attachments if needed.
2. Click the send button or press Enter. The Confirm email delivery dialog opens; the email has not been sent yet.
3. Check From, To, Subject, the formatted body preview, and the Attachments list, if present. The recipient and subject come from the latest email received in the conversation.
4. To make changes, choose Back to editing. To send, click Confirm and send email.

Initial focus is on Back to editing. Closing the dialog or pressing Esc also keeps the text and attachments so you can continue editing. Review appears for every reply; it does not apply to the Internal note tab, which remains visible only to the team.

While sending, the button shows Sending email…, and confirmation and closing controls are blocked. If sending fails, your draft is preserved and a toast explains the reason. If the sender or recipient cannot be identified, confirmation is disabled: wait for the conversation to load or reconnect the inbox, as instructed by the message shown.

Editing the connection

On the connected inbox, open Information to see the form with the current details.

• To keep the password, leave Password blank and click Save.
• If you change the email, a server or a port, enter the password again. This keeps the stored password from being sent to another server.

The change goes through the same check as the connection. If it fails, nothing is saved and the inbox keeps its previous details.

Password rejected by the mail server

If the mailbox password changes at the provider, SquadOS can no longer log in. The inbox is deactivated, the list shows Password rejected by the mail server, and the organization receives the disconnected-inbox notice.

To start receiving again, click Connect on the inbox, enter the new password and finish. Emails that arrive from then on become conversations again.

Disconnecting

Disconnecting deletes the password stored in SquadOS and stops reading the mailbox. The emails stay at your provider, and conversations already created stay in Conversations.

Common problems

• The inbox connected, but emails don’t show up — check that the email arrived after the connection and in the inbox (not in spam), and that it is not an automatic reply or newsletter.
• The customer didn’t get the reply — check the mailbox’s sent folder and the customer’s spam. If the reply isn’t in the sent folder, check that the outgoing server accepts sending with the username and password provided.
• This number, bot or email is already connected to an inbox. — the same address belongs to another active inbox; disconnect it there before connecting here.