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Connect your own email provider

Connect your own SMTP relay, SendGrid, Mailgun or Postmark account so your emails leave through it. At the end, the provider's card shows Active, and campaigns and transactional emails send through it instead of Ohanvi's shared default sender.

Before you start

  • You do not need this page to send email. With nothing connected, every send uses Ohanvi's shared default sender (Amazon SES).
  • You have your provider's details: SMTP host, port, username and password, or an API key. For Mailgun you also need your sending domain.
  • You can see Connect in the left rail with Email Provider in its panel, or Manage → Email Sending Server in the Email panel. Both open the same screen. If you see neither, ask your admin for access.

Steps

Open the Email Provider screen

  1. Open Connect in the left rail, then select Email Provider. You can also open Email, select Manage, then Email Sending Server.
  2. The Email Provider screen shows 1 card each for SMTP, SendGrid, Mailgun and Postmark. A card you have not set up reads not connected with a Set up chip.

Connect an SMTP server

  1. On the SMTP card, click Connect. The Connect SMTP dialog opens.
  2. Optional: in Name (optional), type a name you will recognise.
  3. In SMTP Host *, type your server's host name.
  4. In Port *, type the port your provider gives you.
  5. In Username and Password, type your SMTP login.
  6. Turn Auth, STARTTLS or SSL on or off to match your provider's settings.
  7. Click Test connection. Wait for Connected successfully.
  8. Leave Use for sending once saved ticked if this provider should send from now on.
  9. Click Connect. The card shows Connected, or Active when it is the sender.

Connect SendGrid, Mailgun or Postmark

  1. On the provider's card, click Connect.
  2. In API Key *, paste the API key from your provider's dashboard.
  3. For Mailgun only: in Sending Domain *, type your Mailgun domain, and choose US or EU in Region.
  4. Optional: fill in API Base URL Override (optional) only if your provider told you to use a different address.
  5. Click Test connection, then click Connect.

Switch, edit or remove a provider

  • To make a connected provider the sender, click Set active on its card. Only 1 provider is active at a time. The message … is now sending email. appears.
  • To change details, click Configure. Leave Password (leave blank to keep) or API Key (leave blank to keep) empty to keep the saved secret. Click Save changes.
  • To remove a provider, click Disconnect, then click Disconnect again in the dialog.

Note

You cannot change the provider type of a saved connection. Disconnect it and connect the other provider instead.

What changes when your own provider sends

  • Your sender address still comes from Sender Identities. See Set up a sender address and verify your domain.
  • The DNS records on Sender Identities authenticate your domain for Ohanvi's default sender. When your own provider sends, also add the SPF and DKIM records your provider gives you.
  • Emails still use credits. With your own provider, each email is charged when it is sent, because your provider does not report delivery back to Ohanvi. See Credits and billing.
  • Opens, clicks and unsubscribes are still tracked. Delivered, bounce and complaint figures come from Ohanvi's default sender only [VERIFY: own-provider delivery tracking].

Video walkthrough

[VIDEO]

Troubleshooting

Issue Cause Fix
Could not connect — check the details and try again. The host, port, login or API key is wrong, or the TLS setting does not match the port. Check each value against your provider's settings page, then click Test connection again.
SMTP username is required when auth is enabled. Auth is on but Username is empty. Type the username, or turn Auth off if your relay does not need a login.
Mailgun sending domain is required. Sending Domain * is empty. Type the domain you set up in Mailgun.
Emails stop after you disconnect — Nothing is lost. Disconnecting the active provider falls back to Ohanvi's default sender automatically.