# Set up email support

Give customers an address to write to, or forward the support address you already have. Replies go back by email.

Each organization can turn on one support address, `<slug>.support@median.sh`.
Mail to it opens a conversation in the [inbox](/articles/work-the-inbox) and the agent
answers it.

## Turn on email support

1. **Open the page**

   Go to **Channels → Email**. Only admins and owners see the button. See
   [Roles and permissions](/articles/roles-and-permissions).

2. **Turn it on**

   Select **Turn on email support**. The text beside it names the address
   it will issue.

3. **Copy the address**

   **Support email address** shows the address with a copy button.

| Fact | Detail |
| --- | --- |
| Address | `<slug>.support@median.sh`. An organization with the slug `acme` gets `acme.support@median.sh` |
| When it is fixed | The first time email support is turned on. Changing the slug later does not change the address |
| Switch | **Email support**, in the **Inbox** header. Turning it off keeps the address |
| While it is off | Mail to the address is discarded. No conversation opens, and turning it back on does not recover it. Missed widget replies are not emailed either. Replies in email conversations that already exist still send |
| Plan | Sending replies uses credits and needs a paid plan. See [Plans](/articles/manage-your-plan-and-credits#plans) |

## Forward your own address

Keep the address your customers already know and forward it to the Median
address. The mail lands in the same inbox.

1. **Turn on email support**

   Follow [Turn on email support](#turn-on-email-support) and copy the
   address.

2. **Add the forward**

   At your mail provider, forward everything sent to your support address to
   the Median address. Use the provider's forwarding or routing setting. The
   tables below link each provider's instructions.

3. **Confirm the forward**

   Most providers send a confirmation link or code to the Median address
   first. It opens a conversation in the inbox. Open it and follow the link,
   or copy the code back into the provider.

4. **Send a test**

   Write to your support address from an outside account. A conversation
   should open under that outside address, not under your own.

### Mailboxes

| Where your mail lives | Instructions | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Gmail | [Automatically forward Gmail messages](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/10957) | Sends a confirmation link to the destination |
| Google Workspace | [Redirect or forward Gmail messages to another user](https://knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/gmail/advanced/redirect-or-forward-gmail-messages-to-another-user) | Address maps in the Admin console, for an address the whole domain shares |
| Outlook.com | [Turn on or off automatic forwarding](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/turn-on-or-off-automatic-forwarding-in-outlook-com-6246987c-6c8f-4144-b255-14fc07007dad) | Asks you to turn on two step verification if the account does not have it |
| Microsoft 365 | [Configure email forwarding](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/admin/email/configure-email-forwarding) | Admin center. Outbound spam policies can block forwarding outside the organization |
| Zoho Mail | [Email forwarding](https://www.zoho.com/mail/help/email-forwarding.html) | Confirms with a code sent to the destination |
| Fastmail | [Set up mail forwarding](https://www.fastmail.help/hc/en-us/articles/360058753434-Set-up-mail-forwarding) | A rule on all messages, or a target address on an alias |
| Proton Mail | [How to use email forwarding](https://proton.me/support/email-forwarding) | Paid plans only. The destination confirms |
| iCloud Mail | [Automatically forward email](https://support.apple.com/guide/icloud/automatically-forward-email-mm6b1a3960/icloud) | Custom domain addresses are forwarded too |
| Yahoo Mail | [Enable automatic email forwarding](https://help.yahoo.com/kb/SLN29133.html) | Needs Yahoo Mail Plus |

### Domains and hosts

Use these when your support address is an alias with no mailbox behind it.

| Where your domain lives | Instructions | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cloudflare Email Routing | [Email routing rules and addresses](https://developers.cloudflare.com/email-service/configuration/email-routing-addresses/) | Add the Median address as a destination and verify it, then point a rule at it |
| cPanel host | [Forwarders](https://docs.cpanel.net/cpanel/email/forwarders/) | An account forwarder for one address, a domain forwarder for all of them |
| Namecheap Private Email | [Set up forwarding](https://www.namecheap.com/support/knowledgebase/article.aspx/10784/2306/new-how-to-set-up-forwarding-in-namecheap-private-email/) | Mail already filed as spam is not forwarded |

## What arrives

Median matches mail on the envelope recipient and on every `To` and `Cc`
address. A forwarded email whose `To` line still names
`support@yourcompany.com` arrives. So does mail that copies the Median address.

| Part of the email | Becomes |
| --- | --- |
| `From` address | The customer. Later mail from that address lands on the same customer, see [Sender verification](#sender-verification) |
| `From` display name | The customer's name when they have none yet, or only one Median looked up. Any other name already on the customer is kept |
| Subject | The conversation subject. `Re:`, `Fw:` and `Fwd:` are stripped. Up to 200 characters |
| Body | The message. Median reads the plain text part, or the HTML with its tags stripped. Up to 4,000 characters |
| Quoted history | Cut from the first `On ... wrote:`, `Original Message`, `Forwarded message` or `>` line |
| An empty body | The subject becomes the message |
| Attachments | Not imported |

A new email from the same address joins that customer's open email
conversation, whatever its subject. Once that conversation is resolved or
closed, the next email starts a new one. An email to an archived conversation
brings it back to the inbox and ends a snooze. Email and widget conversations
stay separate, even for the same customer.

### Mail that is dropped

| Mail | Reason |
| --- | --- |
| Sent while email support is off | The inbox is off |
| From any `@median.sh` address | Stops forwarding loops |
| `Auto-Submitted` set to anything but `no` | Out of office replies and other automatic mail |
| `Precedence` set to `bulk`, `junk` or `list` | Newsletters, mailing lists and group addresses |
| No body and no subject | Nothing to answer |

Median keeps no copy of dropped mail and writes no log entry for it.

## Sender verification

Median reads the authentication results on every email. A sender counts as
verified when DMARC passes, or when DKIM or SPF passes for the domain in the
`From` address or a parent of it.

Unverified mail is still delivered and answered. The difference applies when
the customer behind that address carries a signed in
[identity](https://docs.median.sh/components/identity). Then unverified mail is kept apart from that
signed in identity, so a forged `From` line cannot act as that customer. Your team still sees the message under the same email address.

## What goes back

Agent replies and team replies go out by email, wherever they were written. Notes
and system lines do not.

| Part | Value |
| --- | --- |
| From | `Ada at Acme <acme.support@median.sh>`. The author's name, then your organization's name. Agent replies use the agent's name. With no author, or an author named like the organization, only the organization's name shows |
| Subject | `Re:` and the conversation subject, or `Re: your message` when it has none |
| Threading | `In-Reply-To` names the customer's newest email, and `References` carries the customer's own Message-IDs, the newest 30 at most. Mail clients file the reply in the same thread, and a reply to it comes back to Median |
| Body | Markdown rendered as HTML, with a plain text copy |
| Button | **Continue the conversation**, which opens the thread on your help center |
| Header and signature | Your organization's logo, and the author with your organization's name |
| Footer | "Powered by Median", unless **Show Median branding** is off in **Settings → Billing**. That switch needs Pro |

Replies always leave from the Median address. They cannot be sent from your own
domain.

A reply that fails to send leaves `The reply could not be emailed: <reason>` in
the conversation and marks it unread. It also shows in
[Logs](/articles/search-your-logs) as **Email delivery**.

### Widget replies a customer missed

With email support on, Median also emails replies to widget and help center customers who have
left the page.

| Rule | Detail |
| --- | --- |
| Who | Widget and help center customers with an email address on file |
| Presence | Only chats that report presence. Contact form conversations are always emailed, since the form never reports it. Conversations started over the REST API never get these emails |
| Timing | Checked 2 minutes after a reply lands. Sent when the widget has not been seen for 90 seconds |
| Content | Every reply since the customer last read the conversation or wrote in, in one email. Each reply is emailed once |
| From | The author's name at your organization when one author wrote them all. Otherwise the organization's name |
| Subject | `Re:` and the conversation subject |

## Troubleshooting

| What you see | Cause | Fix |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Nothing arrives | Email support is off, or the forward was never confirmed | Check the **Email support** switch, then the forwarding screen at your provider |
| The provider's confirmation never shows up | Median drops [automatic mail](#mail-that-is-dropped), and some confirmations may be marked as automatic | Use a setting that sends no confirmation, such as Google Workspace address maps or a cPanel forwarder. Otherwise contact Median support |
| Conversations open under your own address | The forward rewrites the sender. A manual forward and a "forward as attachment" rule both do | Use the provider's forwarding or routing setting instead of a rule in your mail client |
| Mail sent to a group address never arrives | Groups and mailing lists usually add `Precedence: list` | Forward from a mailbox, an alias or a routing rule instead |
| Some mail arrives, some does not | Most providers do not forward what they filed as spam | Check the spam folder of the forwarding mailbox |
| `The reply could not be emailed: <reason>` | The send failed for the reason given, such as running out of credits | Fix the cause, then send the reply again |
| That address already belongs to another organization. Change your slug and try again. | Another organization kept that address after changing its slug | Change the slug in **Settings → General**, then turn email support on |
| Email support is unavailable. Contact Median support. | Email is not set up on this deployment | Contact Median support |
| No switch and no **Turn on email support** button | Members cannot change integrations | Ask an admin or owner |

The other ways in are on [Integrations](/articles/choose-where-customers-reach-you).