Mac Mail: Set up trust for the SSL certificate

When connecting to an HIS mail server with SSL enabled, MacMail will issue a warning because the certificate's domain name (*.his.com) won't match your mail server's domain name. (The infamous Certificate Domain Mismatch Error.)
To fix this problem, you can tell Mail to ignore the discrepancy. Here are 3 methods to do so:

Method 1

  • Quit your Mail app
  • Open Keychain Access
  • Locate the certificate in the keychain (search for "his")
  • Find the *.mail.his.com certificate.
  • Double-click the certificate
  • Expand the "Trust" settings
  • Change the "When using this certificate" option to "Always Trust"
  • Quit Keychain Access
  • Launch Mail

Method 2

  • Quit your Mail app
  • Open Keychain Access
  • Locate the certificate in the keychain (search for "his")
  • Find the *.mail.his.com' certificate.
  • Right-click that certificate and delete it.
  • Launch Mail
  • Try sending an email. You should get a message from Mail saying "Mail can't verify the identity of...".
  • Click "Show Certificate"
  • Check the box marked "Always trust *.mail.his.com"
  • Click "Connect"

Method 3

  • Open the Mail app
  • Go to Mail -> Preferences...
    • From the "Outgoing Mail Server(SMTP)" drop-down, select the "Edit Server List..." option.
  • Select the proper outgoing mail server, then click on the subtract(-) button in the bottom-left corner to delete those outgoing mail settings
  • Click on the add (+) button to re-add the outgoing mail setting.
  • Enter "Description" and "Server Name:", then click on the Advanced tab.
  • Select: Use the default ports(25, 465, 587)
  • Use Secure Socket Layer (SSL) should be checked.
  • At this point you will get a message from Mail saying "Mail can't verify the identity of...".
  • Click "Show Certificate"
  • Check the box marked "Always trust *.mail.his.com"
  • Click "Connect"
  • Back to the settings, "Authentication" should be set to "Password". The username is your full email address.
  • Save your changes, then try to send a test email.

Properties ID: 000405   Views: 7070   Updated: 6 years ago