Forward email from any other provider

Create a forwarding inbox

Skip this part if you already have one.

1. In Deskwoot, go to Settings > Inboxes. Under Add a channel, click Email (IMAP/SMTP).
2. Give the inbox a name and choose Email Forwarding under Connection Mode.
3. Under Choose your forwarding address, type the part before @mail.deskwoot.com, or leave it empty and Deskwoot creates one.
4. Click Create Inbox. The next page shows Your forwarding address with a Copy button.

Set up forwarding

1. In Deskwoot, go to Settings > Inboxes, click Configure next to your email inbox, open the Configuration tab and click Copy under Forward to Email.
2. In your email provider, look for a setting called forwarding, redirect, mail rules or filters. Hosting control panels often call it forwarders.
3. Forward all incoming email to your Deskwoot address. If you can choose between redirect and forward, pick redirect.
4. Some providers send a confirmation email first. It arrives in Deskwoot as a new conversation in this inbox. Open it and confirm.
5. Send a test email from another address and check that it shows up in Deskwoot.

Your replies go out from your Deskwoot forwarding address, with your workspace name as the sender name, and the customer's answers come back into the same conversation.

When your provider wraps the email

Some providers can only forward an email as a new message from your mailbox. Then your mailbox looks like the sender, and Deskwoot has to unwrap the email:

1. In the Configuration tab of your Deskwoot inbox, find Trusted forwarding sources.
2. Type the address of the mailbox that forwards and click Add address.
3. Click Save forwarding sources.

Deskwoot then unwraps these emails: the original sender becomes the contact, the forwarded header block is removed and your replies go to the customer. The message shows forwarded by and the name of your mailbox, and anything written above the forwarded part becomes a private note. Deskwoot recognizes the forward formats of Outlook, Gmail, Apple Mail and Thunderbird. Only emails that pass SPF or DKIM for your mailbox are unwrapped. The address of an active teammate counts as trusted without adding it, and you can add up to 20 addresses for each inbox.

Frequently asked questions

Which plan do I need?

Email forwarding works on every plan, including Hacker. On the Hacker plan, a forwarding inbox does not count toward the one inbox the plan includes.

Can I choose my forwarding address?

When you create the inbox you can pick the part before @mail.deskwoot.com: lowercase letters, numbers and single hyphens, 3 to 32 characters. Leave it empty and Deskwoot creates one. Names like support, noreply or billing are reserved.

My provider has no forwarding. What else can I do?

Connect the mailbox with IMAP / SMTP instead. That needs the Startup plan or higher, and replies then come from your own address. See Connecting your email inbox.

The emails arrive with me as the sender. Why?

Your provider forwards by wrapping the email. Add your mailbox under Trusted forwarding sources, as described above. If your mailbox still shows as the sender, Deskwoot could not unwrap the email safely. The most common reason is that it does not pass SPF or DKIM for your mailbox, so check those records with your provider.

My test email does not show up. What should I check?

Check the forwarding address in your provider's setting. If you use the spam filter, open Settings > Spam Filter and look in the Spam Folder tab. An email listed there never became a conversation, so remove the blocked word or sender shown next to it under the Settings tab and send the test again.

Can several mailboxes forward into the same inbox?

Yes. Point each mailbox at the same forwarding address. If they wrap their forwards, add each one under Trusted forwarding sources.