OhRelay
Apple Mail & Desktop Clients

Send from your domain in Apple Mail.

Desktop email clients like Apple Mail, Spark, and Thunderbird can use OhRelay as the outgoing SMTP server. Once configured, you keep receiving mail in your normal inbox and can send replies through OhRelay without setting up a separate sender for each domain address.

You only need to configure one gateway per working inbox. All your domain addresses route through the same sender.

Apple Mail on Mac

Adding OhRelay to Apple Mail

You'll add OhRelay as a custom outgoing SMTP server to your existing iCloud (or Gmail) account. Apple Mail doesn't support standalone SMTP-only accounts — it must be attached to an existing account.

1

Open Mail Settings → Accounts

In Apple Mail, go to Mail → Settings (macOS Ventura or later) or Mail → Preferences (older macOS). Click the Accounts tab. In the left column, select the account you use as your working inbox (e.g. iCloud).

2

Open Server Settings and edit the SMTP list

Click the Server Settings tab on the right. Find the Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP) dropdown, click it, and choose Edit SMTP Server List…

3

Add OhRelay as a new server

Click the + (plus) button. In the Server Settings tab, fill in:

  • Description: OhRelay
  • Server Name: smtp.ohrelay.com

Then switch to the Advanced tab and:

  • Uncheck "Automatically manage connection settings"
  • Port: 587
  • Use TLS/SSL: checked (STARTTLS)
  • Authentication: Password
  • User Name: the Gateway Email shown in your OhRelay dashboard
  • Password: your OhRelay SMTP password

Click OK to save.

4

Set OhRelay as the outgoing server for this account

Back in Server Settings, use the Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP) dropdown to select OhRelay. Click Save. All outbound mail from this account will now go through OhRelay.

5

Once it's configured, sending is usually automatic

When composing or replying, Apple Mail will normally send through the OhRelay SMTP server you configured for that account. In many setups, you don't need to keep selecting the gateway again for each message. OhRelay delivers the message with the correct domain sender address, and recipients never see the gateway address.

✅ Tip: If your client exposes a From selector, leaving the account on the OhRelay-backed sender is usually enough. The important part is that the SMTP server is already routed through OhRelay.

Other desktop clients

Works the same way in Spark, Thunderbird, and others

Any mail client that supports custom SMTP will work with OhRelay. The settings are always the same.

  • SMTP Server: smtp.ohrelay.com
  • Port: 587 (STARTTLS) or 465 (TLS)
  • Username: the Gateway Email shown in your OhRelay dashboard
  • Password: from your OhRelay dashboard
  • Sending identity: route the account through the Gateway Email from your dashboard
vs Gmail

Different client behavior, same single gateway

Gmail is the stricter case: you typically choose the gateway from the From field when sending. Apple Mail and many desktop clients usually keep using the configured SMTP server once it's attached to the account, so daily sending feels more automatic.

The good news is the same either way: you only add one gateway address per working inbox. All your domain addresses — no matter how many — are handled through that single gateway.

Using Gmail instead?

We have a guide for that too.

Gmail works great with OhRelay — it just needs one extra setting.

Gmail setup guide Back to Quick Start