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.
Recent Topics
CRM project association via deluge
I have created a workflow in my Zoho CRM for closing a deal. Part of this workflow leverages a deluge script to create a project for our delivery team. Creating the project works great however, after or during the project creation, I would like to associate
Zoho Browser??
hai guys, this sounds awkward but can v get a ZOHO BROWSER same as zoho writer, etc. where i can browse websites @ home and continue browsing the same websites @ my office, as v have the option in Firefox, once i save and close the browser and again when i open it i will be getting the same sites. If u people r not clear with my explanation, plz let me know. Thanks, Sandeep
Sync desktop folders instantly with WorkDrive TrueSync (Beta)
Keeping your important files backed up and accessible has never been easier! With WorkDrive desktop app (TrueSync), you can now automatically sync specific desktop folders to WorkDrive Web, ensuring seamless, real-time updates across devices. Important:
MCP no longer works with Claude
Anyone else notice Zoho MCP no longer works with Claude? I'm unable to turn this on in the claude chat. When I try to toggle it on, it just does nothing at all. I've tried in incognito, new browsers, etc. - nothing seems to work.
Enable History Tracking for Picklist Values Not Available
When I create a custom picklist field in Deals, the "Enable History Tracking for Picklist Values" option is not available in the Edit Properties area of the picklist. When I create a picklist in any other Module, that option is available. Is there a specific reason why this isn't available for fields in the Deals Module?
The reason I switched away from Zoho Notebook
My main reason for switching to Zoho was driven by three core principles: moving away from US-based products, keeping my data within India as much as possible, and supporting Indian companies. With that intent, I’ve been actively de-Googling my digital
Add RTL and Hebrew Support for Candidate Portal (and Other Zoho Recruit Portals)
Dear Zoho Recruit Team, I hope you're doing well. We would like to request the ability to set the Candidate Portal to be Right-to-Left (RTL) and in Hebrew, similar to the existing functionality for the Career Site. Currently, when we set the Career Site
Ability to Edit YouTube Video Title, Description & Thumbnail After Publishing
Hi Zoho Social Team, How are you? We would like to request an enhancement to Zoho Social that enables users to edit YouTube video details after the video has already been published. Your team confirmed that while Zoho Social currently allows editing the
Free Webinar : Unlock AI driven business insights with Zoho Inventory + Zoho Analytics
Are you tired of switching between apps and exporting data to build customized reports? Say hello to smarter & streamlined insights! Join us for this exclusive webinar where we explore the power of the Zoho Inventory–Zoho Analytics integration. Learn
Critical Issue: Tickets Opened for Zoho Support via the Zoho Help Portal Were Not Processed
Hi everyone, We want to bring to your attention a serious issue we’ve experienced with the Zoho support Help Portal. For more than a week, tickets submitted directly via the Help Portal were not being handled at all. At the same time no alert was posted
Hide/Show Subform Fields On User Input
Hello, Are there any future updates in Hide/Show Subform Fields "On User Input"?
Cloning Item With Images Or The Option With Images
Hello, when I clone an item, I expect the images to carry over to the cloned item, however this is not the case in Inventory. Please make it possible for the images to get cloned or at least can we get a pop up asking if we want to clone the images as
Archiving Contacts
How do I archive a list of contacts, or individual contacts?
WorkDrive and CRM not in sync
1/ There is a CRM file upload field with WorkDrive file set as the source: 2/ Then the file is renamed in WorkDrive (outside CRM): 3/ The File in CRM is not synced after the change in WorkDrive; the file name (reference) in CRM record is not updated (here
Custom validation in CRM schema
Validation rules in CRM layouts work nicely, good docs by @Kiran Karthik P https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/crm/customize-crm-account/validation-rules/articles/create-validation-rules I'd prefer validating data input 'closer to the schema'
Adding Default Module Image into mail merge field
As with most people finding their way to these forums i have a specific requirement that doesn't seem to be supported by Zoho I have created 2 custom modules to suit my purpose 1 is an inventory type module that lists aluminium extrusions, and all relevant
Sync Data from MA to CRM
Currently, it's a one-way sync of data from the CRM to MA. I believe we should have the ability to select fields to sync from MA to the CRM. The lead score is a perfect example of this. In an ideal world we would be able to impact the lead score of a
Is it possible to roll up all Contact emails to the Account view?
Is there a way to track all emails associated with an Account in one single view? Currently, email history is visible when opening an individual Contact record. However, since multiple Contacts are often associated with a single Account, it would be beneficial
Update CRM record action
Currently, MA only offers a "Push Data" action to push data to a CRM module. This action is built to cover the need to both create a new record and update an existing record. Because it has been implemented this way all required fields on the CRM module
Notes badge as a quick action in the list view
Hello all, We are introducing the Notes badge in the list view of all modules as a quick action you can perform for each record, in addition to the existing Activity badge. With this enhancement, users will have quick visibility into the notes associated
Free Training - Explore What’s New in Zoho One 2025
Greetings! We hope you have all had a chance by now to get hands-on with the new features and updates released as part of ZO25. Yes, we understand that you may have questions and feedback. To ensure you gain a comprehensive understanding of these updates,
Good news! Calendar in Zoho CRM gets a face lift
Dear Customers, We are delighted to unveil the revamped calendar UI in Zoho CRM. With a complete visual overhaul aligned with CRM for Everyone, the calendar now offers a more intuitive and flexible scheduling experience. What’s new? Distinguish activities
Edit default "We are here to help you" text in chat SalesIQ widget
Does anyone know how this text can be edited? I can't find it anywhere in settings. Thanks!
Quick way to add a field in Chat Window
I want to add Company Field in chat window to lessen the irrelevant users in sending chat and set them in mind that we are dealing with companies. I request that it will be as easy as possible like just ticking it then typing the label then connecting
How to create a two way Sync with CRM Contacts Module?
Newbie creator here (but not to Zoho CRM). I want to create an app that operates on a sub-set of CRM Contacts - only those with a specific tag. I want the app records to mirror the tagged contacts in CRM. I would like it to update when the Creator app
Zoho Sheet for Desktop
Does Zoho plans to develop a Desktop version of Sheet that installs on the computer like was done with Writer?
Where is the settings option in zoho writer?
hi, my zoho writer on windows has menu fonts too large. where do i find the settings to change this option? my screen resolution is correct and other apps/softwares in windows have no issues. regards
How to set page defaults in zoho writer?
hi, everytime i open the zoho writer i have to change the default page settings to - A4 from letter, margins to narrow and header and footer to 0. I cannot set this as default as that option is grayed out! so I am unable to click it. I saved the document
Develop and publish a Zoho Recruit extension on the marketplace
Hi, I'd like to develop a new extension for Zoho Recruit. I've started to use Zoho Developers creating a Zoho CRM extension. But when I try to create a new extension here https://sigma.zoho.com/workspace/testtesttestest/apps/new I d'ont see the option of Zoho Recruit (only CRM, Desk, Projects...). I do see extensions for Zoho Recruit in the marketplace. How would I go about to create one if the option is not available in sigma ? Cheers, Rémi.
How to import data from PDF into Zoho Sheet
I am looking to import Consolidated Account Statement (https://www.camsonline.com/Investors/Statements/Consolidated-Account-Statement) into zoho sheet. Any help is appreciated. The pdf is received as attachment in the email, this document is password
Zoho Projects Android app: Integration with Microsoft Intune
Hello everyone! We’re excited to announce that Zoho Projects now integrates with Microsoft Intune, enabling enhanced security and enterprise app management. We have now added support for Microsoft Intune Mobile Application Management (MAM) policies through
Cant't update custom field when custom field is external lookup in Zoho Books
Hello I use that : po = zoho.books.updateRecord("purchaseorders",XXXX,purchaseorder_id,updateCustomFieldseMap,"el_books_connection"); c_f_Map2 = Map(); c_f_Map2.put("label","EL ORDER ID"); c_f_Map2.put("value",el_order_id); c_f_List.add(c_f_Map2); updateCustomFieldseMap
About Zoneminder (CCTV) and Zoho People
Hi team I would like to implement a CCTV service for our branches, with the aim of passively detecting both the entry and exit of personnel enrolled in Zoho Peeple, but my question is: It is possible to integrate Zoho People with Zoneminder, I understand
Introducing the Zoho Projects Learning Space
Every product has its learning curve, and sometimes having a guided path makes the learning experience smoother. With that goal, we introduce a dedicated learning space for Zoho Projects, a platform where you can explore lessons, learn at your own pace,
Create CRM Deal from Books Quote and Auto Update Deal Stage
I want to set up an automation where, whenever a Quote is created in Zoho Books, a Deal is automatically created in Zoho CRM with the Quote amount, customer details, and some custom fields from Zoho Books. Additionally, when the Sales Order is converted
How to show branch instead of org name on invoice template?
Not sure why invoices are showing the org name not the branch name? I can insert the branch name using the ${ORGANIZATION.BRANCHNAME} placeholder, but then it isn't bold text anymore. Any other ideas?
Admin asked me for Backend Details when I wanted to verify my ZeptoMail Account
Please provide the backend details where you will be adding the SMTP/API information of ZeptoMail Who knows what this means?
Kaizen #223 - File Manager in CRM Widget Using ZRC Methods
Hello, CRM Wizards! Here is what we are improving this week with Kaizen. we will explore the new ZRC (Zoho Request Client) introduced in Widget SDK v1.5, and learn how to use it to build a Related List Widget that integrates with Zoho WorkDrive. It helps
Set connection link name from variable in invokeurl
Hi, guys. How to set in parameter "connection" a variable, instead of a string. connectionLinkName = manager.get('connectionLinkName').toString(); response = invokeurl [ url :"https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/freeBusy" type :POST parameters:requestParams.toString()
Possible to connect Zoho CRM's Sandbox with Zoho Creator's Sandbox?
We are making some big changes on our CRM so we are testing it out in CRM's Sandbox. We also have a Zoho Creator app that we need to test. Is it possible to connect Zoho CRM's Sandbox to Zoho Creator's Sandbox so that I can perform those tests?
Next Page