Important: Change in receiving business email

Written by:
Leo Hoogma, 28 August 2026

Starting in January 2027, Google (Gmail) will stop automatically retrieving business email addresses in Gmail on your computer, such as info@...nl.

Many of our customers have been using this feature for years. If you do nothing, your business email will no longer be automatically delivered to Gmail. Sending email from Gmail using your business email address will also no longer be supported.

Your business mailbox and emails will not disappear. You will simply need to use your business email address in a different way.

Our recommended solution

We recommend setting up your business email address directly in an email program. This allows you to continue receiving and sending business email. You can use your mailbox on your computer as well as on your phone or tablet.

Are you already using an email program?

Are you currently using hwmail.nl, Apple Mail, Outlook, Thunderbird or another email program to read your business email? Then you do not need to switch to another program. You can continue using your current email program.

Make sure that your business email address is set up using IMAP. IMAP synchronizes your email with your mailbox on the server. This allows you to use the same mailbox on multiple devices.

Are you not using an email program yet?

We recommend Mozilla Thunderbird. This is a free email program for Windows, Mac and Linux.

Download Mozilla Thunderbird »

Thunderbird is our recommended choice, but other email programs can also be used as long as they support IMAP.

Prefer not to use an email program?

You can always access your business email through our webmail:

www.hwmail.nl »

Here you can log in using your business email address and password. You can read and reply to emails and send new emails.

What do you need?

To set up your business email, you will need the following information:

• your business email address (for example info@...nl)
• your email password
• the mail server name that we provided to you

Set up email using Mozilla Thunderbird

With these steps, you can set up your business email yourself. Follow the steps one by one. In most cases, the screenshots will make it possible to complete the setup without assistance.

1. Download Mozilla Thunderbird on your computer.
2. Click `Next` and `Finish` to complete the installation. In most cases, Thunderbird will open automatically afterwards.
   
3. Enter your name and business email address and click `Manual configuration`.
   
4. Go to the settings for the incoming server. Set the protocol to IMAP and enter d-hoogma3.host-ed.eu as the Hostname.
5. Select port 993 and choose SSL/TLS under Connection Security.
6. The authentication method and username are normally already set correctly. Click `Continue`.
   
7. Next, go to the settings for the outgoing server. Enter d-hoogma3.host-ed.eu again as the Hostname. Select port 587 and choose STARTTLS under Connection Security.
8. Click `Continue`.
   

Your business email is now set up in Thunderbird. You can now receive and send business email through Thunderbird.

Important: IMAP synchronizes your email

With IMAP, your mailbox is synchronized between your email program and our mail server.

For example:
You receive an email on your computer → the email is also visible on your phone.

But it also works the other way around:
You delete an email on your phone → the email is also deleted from your mailbox.

This is normal behavior with IMAP and allows you to use the same mailbox across multiple devices.

Keep your mailbox tidy regularly

Because your emails are stored on the server, it is important to regularly clean up your mailbox, especially if you receive or send a lot of email. This helps prevent your mailbox from becoming full and stopping you from receiving new emails.

Regularly delete old emails that you no longer need. Important emails can be saved locally or archived if necessary.

Please note: existing folders and emails

Have you created folders in Gmail to store and organize your emails? When switching to a new email program, existing folders and emails may be displayed differently or may not be transferred automatically.

Would you like to keep your existing folders and old emails? We can help you with this.

We can transfer the mailbox folder by folder to the new system, so that your old emails and folder structure are preserved as much as possible.

Please contact us in good time so that we can discuss the options with you.

Alternative: webmail

Would you rather not install an email program? You can always access your business email through our webmail:

www.hwmail.nl »

Log in using your business email address and password.

Through webmail, you can read and reply to emails and send new emails.

However, we recommend setting up an email program in good time if you are used to working with your business email every day.

Check your webmail access now

We recommend logging in to www.hwmail.nl now.

This way, you can make sure that you have access to your business mailbox. If you can no longer use Gmail for your business email in the future, you will always be able to access your mailbox through webmail.

Need help?

Are you having trouble or do you have questions about this change? Please feel free to contact us.

It is best not to wait until January 2027. If many customers need help at the same time, it may take longer for us to assist everyone.

Would you like us to help you set up your email or transfer your existing folders and emails? Please let us know in good time!

Would you like to read more blog posts? Go to the page Blog.