A SAPO address usually fails to add for one reason, and it is not a setting on your phone: SAPO turned mail-app access into a paid feature. Check which plan your mailbox is on before you change anything, because if it is the free plan the server settings further down cannot help.
Start here: IMAP and POP3 are Premium-only
In April 2026 SAPO split its mail service into two plans, and began enforcing the split in May. On the free Base plan, SAPO's own help pages state that access to protocols such as IMAP and POP is completely blocked — a Base mailbox is webmail-only, at mail.sapo.pt. No combination of server names, ports or passwords will add it to BlueMail, or to any other mail app.
Mail-app access requires SAPO Mail Premium, which is a paid subscription and is not included with MEO fibre or mobile service. SAPO's own pages: SAPO Mail Premium and SAPO Mail Premium FAQs.
Do not go looking for an app password
When the block hits, the failure looks like a rejected password, and some mail apps make it worse by suggesting you "may need an application password". SAPO has no application-password feature — there is no such screen in a SAPO account, and Premium accounts sign in with the ordinary account password. Several Portuguese how-to articles get this wrong and send readers hunting for a panel that does not exist. If your password is correct and sign-in is still refused, the plan is the thing to check.
SAPO server settings
These apply to a Premium mailbox. Use your complete email address as the username on all three.
| Server | Port | Security | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incoming (IMAP) | imap.sapo.pt | 993 | SSL/TLS |
| Incoming (POP3) | pop.sapo.pt | 995 | SSL/TLS |
| Outgoing (SMTP) | smtp.sapo.pt | 465 | SSL/TLS |
| Outgoing (SMTP), alternative | smtp.sapo.pt | 587 | STARTTLS |
The outgoing server requires authentication. SAPO's own instructions: Configurar programa de email.
The same settings cover SAPO's other address endings, including @meo.pt.
If your address ends in @mail.telepac.pt, the webmail is the same but the servers are different: imap.telepac.pt (993), pop.telepac.pt (995) and smtp.telepac.pt (465).
Where these go in BlueMail
Try the normal sign-in first. On the password screen, Allow BlueMail to auto-detect the server details of your account is ticked by default — leave it ticked and tap Next. If that works, you're done.
If BlueMail can't find the details, enter them by hand:
- First account? Tap Continue, type your email address, tap Sign in, then tap Having trouble? Manual Setup under the Sign in button. Already have an account in BlueMail? Go to Settings | Accounts | Add Account.
- On the Choose provider screen, tap Manual Setup at the bottom.
- Choose IMAP (or POP3).
- Fill in the form — it holds the server, Security and Port fields. Pick SSL, TLS or STARTTLS in the Security dropdown to match the table above, and use your full email address as the username.
Full walkthrough: Configuring your account manually.
If you don't want to subscribe
A Base mailbox can still be read in a browser at mail.sapo.pt, and it keeps receiving mail. If you would rather move to an address that works in a mail app, set up the new account first and leave the SAPO one in webmail until you have told your contacts.
Still stuck?
If the mailbox is Premium and it still won't add, Why Won't My Account Add? Quick Fixes and Can't Add My Account work through the other usual causes. For an account that added and then stopped syncing, see Connection issues, sync failures or missing emails.
