Comcast email settings: IMAP, SMTP and POP for Xfinity Mail (2026)

Adding a comcast.net address to Outlook, Thunderbird, Apple Mail, a phone or an AI assistant needs exactly three things: the right server names, the right ports, and one setting almost nobody knows about — a “third-party access” switch in Xfinity webmail that is off by default and silently rejects every outside app until you flip it. Here is all of it in one place.

Comcast IMAP settings (recommended)

• Incoming mail (IMAP): imap.comcast.net, port 993, SSL/TLS
• Outgoing mail (SMTP): smtp.comcast.net, port 587, STARTTLS (port 465 with SSL also works)
• Username: your full address, e.g. you@comcast.net
• Password: your normal Xfinity password — no app password exists or is needed
• Authentication: required for both incoming and outgoing; use the same credentials for SMTP

Comcast POP3 settings (only if you must)

POP downloads mail to one device and (by default) removes it from the server; IMAP keeps every device and the webmail in sync. Use IMAP unless you have a specific reason not to. If you do need POP:

• Incoming mail (POP3): pop3.comcast.net, port 995, SSL/TLS
• Outgoing mail (SMTP): same as above — smtp.comcast.net, port 587

The setting that breaks everything: third-party access

Xfinity blocks IMAP and POP access from outside apps until you allow it, and the error you get is the same “wrong password” message as a real typo — which is why a correct password can fail forever. Turn it on once:

1. Sign in to Xfinity webmail at connect.xfinity.com.
2. Open Settings (gear icon) → Email Settings → Security.
3. Check “Allow access to my Xfinity Connect email through third-party programs”.

The change is instant — go back to your mail app and retry the same credentials.

When it still does not work

• “Incorrect password” with the right password — the third-party access switch above, in almost every case. Flip it and retry.
• Sending fails but receiving works — the app is using port 25 (blocked on Comcast's network) or has SMTP authentication off. Set port 587 with STARTTLS and “use same credentials as incoming”.
• Old app set up years ago stopped syncing — legacy configs on port 143 without SSL are no longer accepted. Re-add the account with the port-993/SSL settings above.
• You no longer have Xfinity service — Comcast lets you keep using the address as long as you signed in to it in the nine months before disconnecting; if the mailbox lapsed, no client settings will bring it back.

Why we wrote this

We run anymailmcp.com, a bridge that connects mailboxes to AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT over MCP, and Comcast is one of the providers we auto-configure every day: no assistant ships an Xfinity connector, so IMAP is the only door in. If that is what brought you here — flip the third-party switch above, then connect your comcast.net mailbox: the IMAP and SMTP settings are filled in automatically, we verify the login live against Comcast's servers, and your assistant can search, read and (if you allow it) send from your address. Details on our Comcast Xfinity page.