Yandex Cuts Off IMAP and SMTP for Free Custom Domains
Custom domain administrators must either pay for a commercial Yandex 360 subscription or abandon third-party email clients and automation scripts in favor of proprietary web and mobile apps.
Administrators hosting custom domains on Yandex must now pay a recurring subscription or lose access to standard email protocols. According to user reports published on habr, the service has disabled IMAP, POP3, and SMTP support for custom domain organizations that remain on free accounts.
The move directly prevents the use of independent desktop and mobile software, including Microsoft Outlook and Mozilla Thunderbird. It also severs connectivity for automated notification systems and custom scripts that rely on standard SMTP credentials to transmit system alerts.
Account holders seeking to maintain external client access are prompted to upgrade to a paid Yandex 360 business tier. While notifications sent to domain owners outlined a cutoff date of June 29, users observed external clients losing server connectivity during the first week of July 2026 on domains left on the free tier.
Organizations unwilling to purchase a subscription retain access exclusively through proprietary channels, namely the official web interface and the company's dedicated mobile application.
Source: habr
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