IMAP Mail Setup with self-signed SSL certs

Question

IMAP Mail Setup with self-signed SSL certs

I am unable to set up IMAP access to an email account of mine on the new iPhone mail app. The setup stalls at "verifying" and I can't seem to save the info entered and then disable SSL in the advanced setup.

Also, it doesn't seem possible to install SSL certs out of safari. On the computer I was able to navigate to the server via https and permanently accept the SSL cert. The option doenst exisit in Safari Mobile. If you have the servers cert (.der) file in the web root of the server, possible to download and install the certificate. This solved a similar problem for my ExchangeMail push with our Kerio server. Unfortunately, the certificate file of that other IMAP account is unavailable..

Many Many Xserves,,,, Mac OS 8.6 or Earlier

Posted on Jul 13, 2008 7:52 AM

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Answer 1

Cadre

Level 2

174 points

Jul 13, 2008 8:07 AM in response to Florian Feuser

If possible, instead of configuring it on the iPhone, try configuring it on your computer and using iTunes to sync the configuration itself to the iPhone. I am connecting fine to an IMAP server with a self-signed certificate. The first time I opened Mail (on the iPhone) it prompted me with a dialog saying the certificate was invalid but I was able to accept it. Since then, it has never prompted me again about validity of the certificate (even after rebooting the phone) so I believe the Mail program can permanently accept a self-signed certificate.

And yes, there doesn't seem to be a way for Safari Mobile to permanently accept self-signed certificates. I have read that the iPhone is supposed to pull certificates from the Keychain but this does not appear to be the case.

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Answer 2

troy_d

Level 1

9 points

Jul 14, 2008 9:52 AM in response to Florian Feuser

Ran into the same thing, and documented how to make a self-signed cert work: http://io.yort.com/self-signed-imap-ssl-certs-on-iphone/

Troy

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