Incoming Email Server
Configure an incoming email server and let requesters create tickets simply by sending an email, with no portal login required.
Configure incoming email servers to enable ServiceOps to receive email notifications and automatically convert incoming emails into service tickets. You can set up multiple incoming email servers.
To view the Incoming Email Servers tab, navigate to Admin > Support Channel > Emails > Incoming Email Servers.
After upgrading ServiceOps from version 8.0 to 8.1, re-configure all email servers as additional parameters have been added.
- Version 8.0: Client ID, Client Secret, Tenant ID, and Authorization URL.
- Version 8.1 and later: Client ID, Client Secret, Authorization URL, Token URL, Scope, and Redirect URL.
Supported Protocols
ServiceOps supports three protocols for connecting to incoming email servers. Choose based on your email provider and authentication method.
IMAP
IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) retrieves emails directly from the mail server without deleting them. Emails stay on the server and remain in sync across clients.
| Security | Port |
|---|---|
| None | 143 |
| SSL/TLS | 993 |
Use IMAP when your mail server is Gmail, Zoho, Yahoo, or any standard email server and you want to use Basic Auth or OAuth 2.0 via Azure.
IMAP must be enabled on your email account before configuring it in ServiceOps.
MAPI
MAPI connects via Microsoft Exchange Web Services (EWS), an HTTPS-based API provided by Microsoft Exchange and Office 365. It communicates over HTTPS (port 443) and provides live, rich mailbox access without a dedicated mail port.
Use MAPI when your organization uses Microsoft Exchange Online or Office 365 and authenticates via Azure App Registration (OAuth 2.0).
MAPI requires Office 365 Exchange Online Application-type permissions in Azure. Restrict mailbox access so the Azure app can access only a single mailbox.
POP3
POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3) downloads emails from the server to ServiceOps and typically removes them from the server afterwards. It does not keep emails in sync across multiple clients.
| Security | Port |
|---|---|
| None | 110 |
| SSL/TLS | 995 |
Use POP3 only when your mail server does not support IMAP or when running a legacy ServiceOps setup. POP3 supports only Basic Auth and is not recommended for new configurations.
Protocol Comparison
Use the table below to select the right protocol for your environment.
| Feature | IMAP | MAPI | POP3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Email Provider | Any standard server | Microsoft Exchange / Office 365 only | Any standard server |
| Emails stay on server | Yes | Yes | Usually deleted after download |
| Multi-client sync | Yes | Yes | No |
| OAuth 2.0 support | Yes (via Azure) | Yes (via Azure) | No |
| Recommended for | Standard and general use | Microsoft enterprise environments | Legacy setups only |
Adding an Incoming Email Server
Click the Add Incoming Email Servers button at the top-right corner of the page. A side pop-up window appears.
The server configuration information is available with your email service provider.
Select your Email Provider to see the relevant configuration fields and steps.
Setting Up a Microsoft Email Server
This option uses ServiceOps's pre-registered Azure enterprise application. No manual Azure App Registration is required. When Sign in with Microsoft is selected, the Server, Port, Security Type, and Email Auth Type fields are not shown and handled automatically by Microsoft.
Prerequisites:
- The URL
https://email-app.serviceops.ai/must be accessible. - Internet connectivity must be available.
- The protocol used must be enabled on your email account.
- Application consent must be enabled for the user and the group they belong to.
Enter the following details:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Enter a name to identify this email server in ServiceOps. |
| Enter the Microsoft mailbox email address. | |
| Protocol | Select IMAP or MAPI. The selected protocol must be enabled on your email account. |
| Technician Group | Select the technician group assigned when a new request is created via email. |
| Category | Select the category assigned when a new request is created via email. |
| Proxy Server | Select the desired proxy server. Leave blank if ServiceOps has direct internet access. |
| Email Provider | Select Sign in with Microsoft. |
| Enabled | Toggle to enable or disable the server. |
| Primary | Enable to use this server as the primary server for receiving emails. Enable this when multiple incoming servers are configured so ServiceOps has a fallback. |
| Outgoing Email Servers | Enable to link an outgoing email server for reply notifications from tickets created via this mailbox. If not set, ServiceOps uses the default primary outgoing server. |
- Click Sign in with Microsoft.
- Select or sign in to the Microsoft account you want to use.
- Click Accept to grant the required permissions. If application consent is controlled by an administrator, refer to Configuring Admin Consent first.
- Click Save. The server will appear in the list. Verify connectivity using the Test Connection button.
Setting Up Other Email Servers
Use this option for Gmail, Zoho, Yahoo, or any mail server that requires manual configuration of server address, port, security type, and authentication credentials.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Enter the name of the email server. |
| Enter the email address. | |
| Protocol | Select IMAP, MAPI, or POP3. To avoid delays, use MAPI or IMAP instead of POP3. POP3 supports only Basic Auth. |
| Technician Group | Select the technician group assigned to requests created via this email. |
| Category | Select the category assigned to requests created via this email. |
| Proxy Server | Select the desired proxy server. |
| Email Provider | Select Other. |
| Server | Enter the server address for the selected protocol. Common values: IMAP (Gmail): imap.gmail.com, IMAP (Microsoft): outlook.office365.com, MAPI: outlook.office365.com, POP3 (Gmail): pop.gmail.com, POP3 (Microsoft): outlook.office365.com. |
| Port | Enter the port number. Auto-populated based on Protocol and Security Type. Common values: IMAP: 993, POP: 995. |
| Security Type | Select None, SSL, or TLS. |
| Email Auth Type | Select Basic Auth (Gmail address and password) or OAuth (Client ID, Client Secret, Authorization URL, Token URL, and Scope). Refer to Configuring Microsoft Azure for OAuth or Configuring Gmail for OAuth for OAuth setup details. Basic Auth is not supported for Microsoft Outlook. |
| Company | Select the company assigned to requests created via email. Available only if the Managed Services Provider feature is enabled. |
| Enabled | Toggle to enable or disable the server. |
| Primary | Enable to use this server as primary for receiving emails. The system prioritizes this address when the default email is unavailable. |
| Outgoing Email Server | Enable to associate an outgoing email server. If enabled, select the desired outgoing server from the dropdown. |
| Real Time Scanning | Enable to scan emails in real time. If disabled, the system scans for new emails every 2 minutes. |
| Filter Type | Select Allow to accept only emails from the specified addresses, domains, or keywords (all others are blocked), or Ignore to silently discard emails matching the specified values (all others are allowed). If no filter is configured, ServiceOps accepts emails from all senders by default. |
| Emails | Enter specific email addresses to filter. With Allow, only these addresses can create tickets. With Ignore, emails from these addresses are silently discarded. Example: hr@company.com. Multiple entries work as OR conditions. |
| Domains | Enter domain names to filter, without the @ symbol. Example: yahoo.com. With Allow, only emails from these domains create tickets. With Ignore, all emails from these domains are silently discarded. Multiple entries work as OR conditions. |
| Keywords | Enter words or phrases for ServiceOps to match against the email subject and body. With Allow, only emails containing these keywords create tickets. With Ignore, matching emails are silently discarded. Use keywords like Auto Reply and Out of Office with Ignore to prevent auto-response loops. Multiple entries work as OR conditions. |
Click Save to add the server. Verify connectivity using the Test Connection button from the list page.
Testing Your Configuration
After saving the incoming email server, verify connectivity before relying on it for ticket creation.
Test Connection
Click the Test Connection button from the server list page. ServiceOps attempts to connect to the mail server using the saved protocol, server address, port, security type, and credentials.
| Result | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Success | ServiceOps connected to the mail server. The configuration is correct. |
| Error / Failure | The connection could not be established. Review the configuration and try again. |
Test Connection validates server connectivity and authentication only. It does not verify filter rules or confirm that emails will create tickets.
Use the table below to diagnose connection failures:
| What Is Checked | Common Causes of Failure |
|---|---|
| Server hostname or IP reachability | Wrong server address, DNS resolution failure, or firewall blocking the connection |
| Port accessibility | Wrong port number, or the port is blocked by a firewall |
| Security type handshake | SSL/TLS certificate issue, or wrong security type selected |
| Authentication credentials | Wrong username or password, expired App Password, or OAuth token issue |
| Protocol availability | IMAP, MAPI, or POP3 not enabled on the email account |
Verifying End-to-End Ticket Creation
After a successful Test Connection, confirm that incoming emails are converted into tickets:
- Send a test email to the configured incoming email address.
- Wait for ServiceOps to poll the mailbox. If Real Time Scanning is enabled (IMAP only), the ticket appears almost immediately. If disabled, allow up to 2 minutes.
- Go to the Requests list in the Technician Portal.
- Verify the ticket appears with the correct Subject, Description, Requester, Technician Group, and Category.
If the ticket does not appear, check the Email Audit logs at Admin > Organization > Security > Operation Audit. Confirm that Email to Ticket is enabled in Admin > Support Channel > Emails > Email Preference, and check whether a filter is blocking the sender's address.
Monitoring Incoming Email Server Health
Each incoming email server card displays a real-time status indicator (Reachable or Unreachable), the Last Sync Time of the most recent polling cycle, and an Inbound Queue count showing emails pending processing. When a server becomes unreachable, an inline error message appears on the card. Click the link in the error message to view the error details. ServiceOps sends an in-app notification to the Super Admin and all users with the Manage Support Channels permission. A recovery notification is generated when the server returns to a reachable state.
Configuring Incoming Email Rules
Incoming email rules provide granular control over email-to-ticket automation, routing emails to the right team and request type based on conditions such as mailbox, subject, or description. All changes are recorded in the Configuration Audit Trail.
Click the Configure Incoming Email Rules button from the server list page to open the rules panel. For full configuration details and a worked example, see Incoming Email Rules.
Best Practices
For best practices that apply across all email server configuration, see Email Best Practices.
Troubleshooting
Use the sections below to resolve common issues with incoming email server setup and email-to-ticket conversion.
Test Connection fails after saving the server
Check each of the following in order:
- Server address: Confirm the hostname or IP is correct and reachable from the ServiceOps server. For Microsoft, the address is
outlook.office365.com. - Port and security type: IMAP with SSL uses port 993; POP3 with SSL uses port 995. Mismatched combinations cause handshake failures.
- Protocol enabled on the account: IMAP or POP3 must be explicitly enabled in the mailbox settings of your email provider before ServiceOps can connect.
- Credentials: For Basic Auth, verify the username and password (or App Password for Gmail). For OAuth, check that the Client ID, Client Secret, and Scope are copied correctly from Azure or Gmail.
- Firewall or proxy: Ensure the port is open between ServiceOps and the mail server. If using a proxy, confirm it is configured under Proxy Server.
- OAuth token expired: If the connection was working and suddenly fails, the OAuth token or client secret may have expired. Regenerate the secret in Azure or Gmail and update the server configuration.
Emails are not converting into tickets
A successful Test Connection confirms server access but does not guarantee ticket creation. Check the following:
- Email to Ticket setting: Navigate to Admin > Support Channel > Emails > Email Preference and confirm that Email to Ticket is enabled.
- Filter configuration: If a Filter Type is set, verify that the sender's address, domain, or email subject does not match an Ignore rule, and that it matches an Allow rule if one is configured.
- Real Time Scanning: If IMAP is configured without Real Time Scanning, the system polls every 2 minutes. Wait and check again before investigating further.
- Email Audit logs: Navigate to Admin > Organization > Security > Operation Audit and review the Email Audit entries for the time the email was sent. Look for rejection reasons such as filter matches or parsing errors.
- Duplicate detection: If the same email was received before, ServiceOps may suppress it as a duplicate. Check the Email Preference settings for duplicate detection thresholds.
OAuth authentication errors for Microsoft Azure
OAuth failures for Microsoft-based servers are usually caused by one of the following:
- Incorrect scope: The scope must match the protocol. For IMAP use
offline_access https://outlook.office365.com/IMAP.AccessAsUser.All; for MAPI useoffline_access https://outlook.office365.com/EWS.AccessAsUser.All. - Admin consent not granted: Navigate to Azure > API Permissions and confirm that Grant admin consent has been clicked and all permissions show a green checkmark. Refer to Configuring Admin Consent.
- Redirect URL mismatch: The Redirect URL in ServiceOps must exactly match the Redirect URI registered in the Azure App Registration, including trailing slashes.
- Client secret expired: Azure client secrets have an expiry date. Check the Certificates & secrets page in Azure and regenerate if expired.
- Mailbox access not restricted correctly: For MAPI, the Azure app requires Application-type permissions and mailbox access must be scoped to a single mailbox. Refer to Configuring Microsoft Azure for OAuth.
Auto-reply emails are creating duplicate tickets
Out-of-office replies and auto-responses can trigger repeated ticket creation. To prevent this:
- Navigate to the incoming email server configuration and open the filter settings.
- Set Filter Type to Ignore.
- Under Keywords, add terms such as
Auto Reply,Out of Office,Automatic Reply, andDo Not Reply. - Click Save. ServiceOps will silently discard emails whose subject or body contains these keywords.
Multiple keyword entries work as OR conditions, so any match causes the email to be discarded.