No more IMAP/POP/SMTP on free plans even on referrals with NO NOTICE

No more IMAP/POP/SMTP on free plans even on referrals with NO NOTICE

Outraged. Just referred a colleague to use her domain (not posting it publicly here) to Zoho, just as I have other colleagues, clients, friends. Expected the exact same free plan features as I have and as everyone else I ever referred got. 

I was helping her set it up, and after creating and starting the migration following all the DNS MX SPF DKIM changes, went to enable IMAP in the Control Panel. I know from having used Zoho for 5 years that though IMAP access is always included, for some reason it is never defaulted to on, only POP. 

To my surprise, I see that POP and IMAP are both disabled. No problem, I think. I go to enable each one and to my disgust and dismay, discover that "Available exclusively with paid plans" pops up instead. No POP, No IMAP, no SMTP, it turns out that Zoho Free is now only a crummy substandard webmail-only plan. Maybe webmail and your own app, but utterly locked out of any "real email programs". Not what I had, not what most of us had, not what anybody expected they were referring as a good thing. 

NO PRIOR NOTICE. (Yes, that is yelling. I'm quite upset at your sneaking in this degradation of what you offered.) 

Anyone of us Zoho Free users likely expects that when we refer someone new to Zoho to use the same service with which we have been very satisfied, she or he is going to get the same service. 

There was no message there that IMAP and POP are no longer included (and obviously not SMTP either anymore.) Even on the signup plan choice, there's a positive note of "webmail access" but by any sensible expectation, the classic "reasonable person" (as the lawyers love to say in court) expects that means, "Oh that's lovely, they also have webmail, how convenient", not, "Oh no, it is ONLY webmail." 

Please reverse this really bad policy. It is not going to help you get new paying customers, it is just going to block off the inflow of new customers overall. Your free service has sufficient limits, especially on overall storage space, that there are plenty of incentives for upgrading if people discover they really like Zoho and start using you a lot more, including docs and file space. Also, for significantly growing small but many-employees businesses. 

Shutting off "normal email access" (POP, IMAP, SMTP are what is "normal" in the email world) just is going to anger and dismay existing customers enough that you won't get nearly as many referrals anymore. Plus we won't trust that you won't suddenly change the terms of the deal for existing users. I know that I will be warning all my existing referred users, who are at present quite happy with Zoho, to consider getting out from you before you take away what they have.

At minimum, you should have done very obvious notifications, not fine print in misleading ways, for many months, including a proactive message upon referral BY a free-with-IMAP user TO a new user that their referred colleague was going to get a lousy bad plan in comparison to what the referrer had. 

And anybody who got referred without that should immediately get an upgrade, not to the full features of the paid plan, but to the features of the old free plan. 

I feel both cheated by you, and that my professional credibility was damaged by you, due to this inadequately announced degradation of what I referred, thinking it was the "real Zoho" plan. I fully expect you to fix my latest referral's account to have those capabilities on her free plan. (Everybody else's too, I would hope, as there is a whole class of people who probably were damaged by your inadequately disclosed action.) And then to start making a better announcement in advance, a real announcement, really in advance, so that we existing users don't get fooled into referring someone to something that is no longer as good as what we thought it was. 

Please do the right thing. Make it right for recent referrals, defer this change until you have given many months of really OBVIOUS notice. Then it's all fine, then people can make smart decisions about whether to refer you and to what kind of plan to use in the referral. 

      Zoho Campaigns Resources


        • Desk Community Learning Series


        • Digest


        • Functions


        • Meetups


        • Kbase


        • Resources


        • Glossary


        • Desk Marketplace


        • MVP Corner


        • Word of the Day


        • Ask the Experts


          • Sticky Posts

          • Pocket from Mozilla is closing shop. Don’t lose your favorites . Move them to Zoho Mail Bookmarks now! 📥🔖

            The end of Pocket shouldn't mean the end of your important links and content. Easily import them into Zoho Mail's Bookmarks and continue right where you left off. You can bring over your entire Saves, Collections, and tags just the way they are. Bookmarks
          • Zoho Mail POP & IMAP Server Details

            Hello all! We have been receiving a number of requests regarding the errors while configuring or using Zoho Mail account in POP/ IMAP clients. The server details vary based on your account type and the Datacenter in which your account is setup. Ensure
          • Workplace - Zoholics Europe Customer Awards

            Dear Zoho Mail Community! 📣 We're excited to announce that at this year's Zoholics events across Europe, we're holding customer awards for the first time ever! Workplace - Zoholics Europe Customer Awards This is your chance to shout about the amazing
          • Important update on Group Management | Zoho Mail

            Dear Zoho Mail Community, This post is to inform you all of the following updates on the Group Management in Zoho Mail. Group Member Addition: If a group member is added to an organization group in a Zoho Application, the member will be automatically
          • Mastering email etiquette and best practices to follow in Zoho Mail

            Hello Zoho Mail Community, We’re thrilled to invite you all to our upcoming webinar: Mastering email etiquette and best practices to follow in Zoho Mail. Join our live webinar for expert etiquette tips to enhance your professionalism and elevate your

          Zoho CRM Plus Resources

            Zoho Books Resources


              Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                Zoho Projects Resources


                  Zoho Sprints Resources


                    Zoho Orchestly Resources


                      Zoho Creator Resources


                        Zoho WorkDrive Resources



                          Zoho CRM Resources

                          • CRM Community Learning Series

                            CRM Community Learning Series


                          • Tips

                            Tips

                          • Functions

                            Functions

                          • Meetups

                            Meetups

                          • Kbase

                            Kbase

                          • Resources

                            Resources

                          • Digest

                            Digest

                          • CRM Marketplace

                            CRM Marketplace

                          • MVP Corner

                            MVP Corner




                            Zoho Writer Writer

                            Get Started. Write Away!

                            Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                              Zoho CRM コンテンツ



                                ご検討中の方

                                  • Recent Topics

                                  • Creating a tax - amount table in Analytics

                                    Hi everyone, I would like to create a report in Zoho Anayltics that creates the tax and amounts in a table. I have been able to create a report that shows me all the tax accounts, but I can't get it combined with the amounts of the accounts. Is there
                                  • Is it possible to do custom domains on test accounts that use saml setups?

                                    In Zoho Billing, Is it possible to do custom domains on test accounts that use saml setups for the customer portal?
                                  • I’m facing an issue while trying to upload a PDF file to a custom file upload field within the Leads module via the Zoho CRM API.

                                    Hi Zoho Team, I’m facing an issue while trying to upload a PDF file to a custom file upload field within the Leads module via the Zoho CRM API. I am able to manually upload a PDF into this field through the UI. I am also able to upload files as attachments
                                  • No chat option

                                    Chat option is not available in Android app.
                                  • How to add custom templates in zoho sheets mobile

                                    How can I add custom templates in Zoho spreadsheet mobile?
                                  • Order Items

                                    Hi .. We have to implement orders with line but each line should have a separate record and not as a subform, does anyone have experience with that kind of solution what is the best practice for that kind of thing Thanks
                                  • Trello: Invalid Client - Client ID passed does not exist

                                    Hello, I am trying to authorize the Zoho CRM power-up in Trello but always land on the following page: I tried adding a trello client to the Zoho API console but this generated a different client ID to the one in the link of the page in the above picture.
                                  • Zoho Sprints - Q2 updates for 2025

                                    Hello everyone! We’re excited to share the latest updates from Zoho Sprints for Q2 2025! This quarter, we rolled out a few highly-requested features designed to enhance collaboration and time management across your projects. Here's a look back at the
                                  • CRM Email Insights Not Working - Status not Changing

                                    I used to be able to see if a customer opened/read an email in CRM, but I no longer get those status changes inside their record. I have everything enabled and I am sending the email from CRM. The experience center has the status' enabled as well. Any
                                  • The use of Ticket statuses

                                    When your support team mark a ticket "Closed" before I had a time to check what your team has done on the ticket - I have to consider this as you consider the ticket closed even if I dont consider it closed. Which automatically produce a negative sentiment.
                                  • "Replace" an existing version of CRM

                                    Hi all, I have a question, I saw an article about this once, but I now cannot find it. I am working with a client who has had their CRM in Zoho One built and extensively modified. But it is non-functional now, and rather than try and unpick the system,
                                  • Data Import From a private PostgreSQL RDS Instance

                                    Hello All, I feel like the problem I am experiencing has been seen before; however, I am having a difficult time finding any solutions. Hoping the community has some insights. I am trying to import data from a PostgreSQL RDS instance that is behind an
                                  • Assistance Required: Authentication Error When Sending Credit Application Form

                                    Hi, I'm encountering an error message that states: "Authentication unsuccessful – the user credentials were incorrect." This occurs when I attempt to send the credit application form to our customers. I've attached the form I’m trying to send for your
                                  • Missing Fields in Lead Conversion Mapping

                                    I’ve been using Zoho CRM since 2013 to manage leads and convert them into contacts and jobs. When I convert a lead to a customer, I create a new contact and a job. Previously, this process automatically transferred key information from the lead to the
                                  • Allow selection of select inactive users in User data fields

                                    Hello, We sometimes need to select a previous employee that has an inactive account in the User data field. For example, when doing database cleanup and indicating actions are done by a certain employee that weren't filled out when they were part of the
                                  • Connection to Zoho One

                                    My org has a Zoho One account, which includes Zoho Social. We are wanting to try linkthread. However, I want to make sure it is set up properly from an account perspective, as I have accidentally created Zoho accounts separate from Zoho One when I didn't
                                  • Ticket Automatically Created from Closed Chat

                                    Is there a way to prevent a ticket being create for every chat.... or at the very least have it automatically closed.
                                  • IMPORT INVOICES CSV

                                    Hi, Impossible to import invoices in Zoho books with a csv file. I have also tried with the template. My topic keeps getting closed but I did not get any answer Is there an issue with this fonctionnality ?
                                  • Related Lists in Email Templates

                                    Hi Zoho team, I would love to see a feature where related list information can easily be added to an email template (instead of mail merge). I have a client who books flights for their customers. They do this through a Flights module so all booked flights
                                  • Outlook plugin funktioniert nicht.

                                    DAs Outlook Plugin funktioniert nicht mehr. Ich werde aufgefordert, mich mit der App "OneAuth" anzumelden Intelligente Anmeldung per OneAuth funktioniert nicht zufreidenstellend. Nach erfolgreicher Anmeldungung mittels QR Code lande ich wieder beim QR
                                  • iOS App Version 3.0 - Customer list gone?

                                    Not sure when this changed, but I seem to have been updated to 3.0 for the phone app (on iOS). I'm pretty sure that I used to have a Customers button that allowed me, for example, to see what appointments a customer has. Has this disappeared or am I just
                                  • Zoho Signature, "For Demo Purpose Only Powered by Zoho Sign"

                                    How to disable this text on the documents for signature. "For Demo Purpose Only Powered by Zoho Sign"
                                  • Add Resource variable to notification email customisation for Event Type

                                    The notification email customisation feature for Event Type does not include a variable for the Resource field. Without this field, Zoho Bookings cannot be used by any business for resource-based services or event types e.g. room bookings, equipment bookings.
                                  • Can't find add role button, is iet st because I have the free subscription

                                    Trying to add my accountant in Zoho Books if I press the add accountant button, I get stuck as it says no such role exists, and won't let me continue, I can't find the add roles button, so I am stuck. Is it because I have the free subscription? Also can't
                                  • Calendar view all appointments in workspace

                                    In the Calendar page, add the ability to view all appointments in the Workspace. The Manage Calendars filter requires me to select at least one user or resource, and it only lets me select up to five of them. There's no filter option to view the entire
                                  • Tip #13: Identify where your bookings come from with Source Tracking

                                    Source tracking is the practice of identifying where your bookings originated. This is important, because online bookings come from a wide variety of sources like social media platforms, your website, email and ad campaigns, partner websites, organic
                                  • Unable to Add Notes

                                    I've had a user report that they are unable to add notes to account records. I attempted and found the same issue. There is no option to save the note.
                                  • Workflow Rule Alert Not Working

                                    I have a workflow rule set (that I've been using for years) that suddenly stopped working. Module - Leads Execute on - Create Alerts - Email Active - Yes When I create my lead I no longer receive my email notification. 
                                  • Can zoho sign collect data feeding Zoho Sign?

                                    I m sending contracts to client who are not in my zoho CRM database yet. Can the data they enter in Zoho sign contract I send them, (that includes...) official company name address first name second name etc, ...Create or update a contact / account
                                  • IMAP ACCOUNT ACCESS PROBLEM

                                    Hi! I moved from Gmail some time ago to ZOHO. It works fine and it worked till yesterday. I found out that on my MAC OSX mail client I can not receive emails from ZOHO using IMAP. Gmail is set to IMAP and works OK. My company email account uses POP and works good as well. Is there anybody else who has such problem or this might be something with my email client...? I didi check for the settings but everything is as it was from the beginning. Honestly, I didn't change anything recently. It just stopped.
                                  • Modified approved time log

                                    I can’t seem to find a way to make change to approve time log entry. The case is the following. We pay the employees every 2 weeks, so employe A enter is time for the 2 weeks and then submit his timesheet. Now is superior approve the time he worked via
                                  • CTWA

                                    Hello, does zoho iq whatspp support CTWA ( Click to whatsapp ads )
                                  • feedback in Happiness Ratings instead of star-ratings

                                    We have a customer who is using both Zoho Support and Zoho SalesIQ to support their customers. They are asking if you can please add the same Happiness Ratings from Zoho Support into Zoho SalesIQ? They don't like the star-ratings either, and they prefer to use the Happiness Ratings in both support channels. best regards,
                                  • I want to Show the product list based on the drop Down

                                    in quotation app , amc form form i have Department drop down field and in subform i have loop up field item description taken from the anothe app PRO I want to show the product list look up based on the deparment selected example if they selected deparment
                                  • Inventory Barcode Creation - Add Picture of Item

                                    Hi I am trying to set up bar code labels and include a picture of the item on the label - any idea on how to add that field to the barcode generator?
                                  • Shared Snippets Everyone

                                    Hi, Now that the Shared Snippets have been released and I think will be the most used feature implemented in 2023 :) Creating and Using Snippets in Ticket Responses - Online Help | Zoho Desk Maintain consistency in ticket responses with shared snippets
                                  • Topics assigned to Contacts in Campaigns

                                    I have yet to find an efficient way to assign topics to contacts in campaigns with the new system in place.  We have daily contacts added to our system through various forms and we have to manually go in and add topics to contacts before each email campaign
                                  • Zoho CRM email formatting issues

                                    I have been having a hard time with formatting email templates. It feels like Zoho email is "fighting my edits." It refuses to change size, font, etc. Sometimes, the template looks great, then when the email gets sent, it looks completely different- some
                                  • Weekly Tips : Seamlessly collaborate with Share Drafts in Zoho Mail

                                    Ever found yourself stuck wondering how to get input on an important email draft without actually sending it? Maybe you want a teammate’s feedback or approval from your manager—without exposing sensitive info. Or perhaps you are working across different
                                  • How to Share a workdrive folder outside organization ?

                                    Hi, Earlier we were using Google Suite and were able to share the google drive folders with external organization ( Auditors , marketing collaterals ) as most of them had a personal gmail account they were able to access it without any issue. How can
                                  • Next Page