Related:
List of Etecsa Sale Points

Obtain and Configure Email in Mobiles

Nota of 2018

Since December 6 2018, the mobile data internet (mobile in cell phones) is available in Cuba and it works in a similar manner than the mobile data email. For further details about this offer, we have prepared a complete article about the internet in mobile phones in Cuba.

Email in Mobile Phones

In March 2014 the email service in mobile phones in Cuba was established but... how it works? In order to use the service you must register by paying a tariff in any sale point of ETECSA. Nevertheless in the week from March 17 to March 21, long queue formed in the Cubacel offices (which is an Etecsa filial), only to verify the proper configuration of mobile phones supporting email.

The aim of this page is to provide you the necessary information to configure your mobile in Cuba, so you will not need to go to an Etecsa office in order to configure it. Even without queues, going to ETECSA is an annoying task. Once more, we are probably not the only source of information, but we want to contribute.

Nauta Email in Mobile Phones in Cuba Configuration Guide

nauta.cu is the server in Cuba which allows to get email in the mobile phones. It is also an internet provider for high speed internet (according to the Cuban standards). This server supports the IMAP[1]the IMAP protocol (Internet Mail Access Protocol) allow to check the email messages directly from the server without the need to download them. The advantage of this is that you can consult your messages from any device and decide whether download them or not., POP[2]the POP protocol (Postal Office Protocol) allow to check email by download them from the server, so you can read them offline, for example in Outlook. The advantage of this is that you can have messages directly in your device without the need to connect the internet to get them. and SMTP[3]the SMTP protocol (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is the standard protocol to email exchange and the server using this protocol has the function to deliver them to their destination. protocols.

Etecsa.cu announces that the service will be available in any mobile device supporting data transfer services and having any Inbox application, except some exceptions. For example, the Black Berry device is not very supported because it doesn't exist any agreement between the company and Cuba. You cannot use some Chinese phones neither (for example the old Pegasus). Nevertheless most devices are supported, you just have to enable the service in the mobile network in any of authorized sale centers. In order to consult the list of these sale offices see the list of ETECSA sale points. Don't confuse the MMS service with the email one, because they are completely different services and even if you already have the MMS enabled, you must enable the email service in order to use it.

Tariffs

The starting tariff for this service was the one established by the Resolution 8 of 2014, which consists in $1.00 CUC per MB (Megabyte). This tariff doesn't apply neither to the speed nor to the time spent in transferring data, but to the transmission volume of the data sent and received. Fortunately the service supports the IMAP protocol, this means that only the data sent or downloaded from the server will be spent. For example, you can get an email with an attached file of 4 MB, but if you leave the file in the server and you will not download it, this will have no cost, because no data transfer occurred. You will only be charged for the data actually displayed in the screen, but all the attached data will remain in the server. In other words, you'll only spend for the data you send and receive. The data transfer will be discounted from your phone line.

Note that today, mobile data internet packages generally include email as well and there is no need to pay for it separately. It is very unusual for someone to contract only the mail service without enabling the mobile data internet and it can only happen in case of people who still have cell phones that do not support 3G or who live in areas where this coverage is not reached. Except for these exceptions, the technology currently in use in Cuba is 4G.

Nauta plans and packages vary in time and you have to compose *133# to know the current available offers.

Each Nauta account has a 300 days life cycle. If you don't use it within this limit, your account will be disabled. If this happens you will have to activate it again from any authorized ETECSA sale point.

General Features of the Email Service in Cell Phones in Cuba

The service may be used through a mobile phone from any place where cellular coverage exists. The main advantage is that the user may check email from any place without having to be connected to the internet or going in a navigation place. The drawback is that you may only use the nauta server, you will not have access, for example, to Gmail, Hotmail and so on. If the emails you send and receive are relatively small in size (less than 100 kb) the service will be less expensive.

The Nauta service will be available either for prepaid or postpaid clients. The only thing needed is enabling a Nauta permanent account, which may expire after 330 days of inactivity, and having enough balance in the phone line. The inbox may also be checked or configured from any navigation room.

Configuration Data for a Nauta Account

In order to use the Nauta email service in a mobile phone in Cuba, the device must support it and must be configured properly. Here, we'll provide the general configuration data.

The first needed data will be the APN (Access Point Name). In this case:

Then, you must configure the client software with the following access data:

Here's the necessary server data which you'll need to specify in your phone:

Notice that if you user the IMAP server, you will not need to configure the POP one and vice versa. Or you could configure them both if you plan to use both. In this case it will only change the used software to get the messages. You will probably use a browser to consult the messages throughout IMAP or a client software to get the messages by POP. Notice that some devices doesn't support any email clients, in this case you can only use IMAP. Normally, unless you want to download all messages into your email application, the IMAP server is more than sufficient and, combined with the SMTP server, allows a greater number of options regarding the POP-SMTP pair.

The whole purpose of this page is to inform you. We don't provide any configuration help or support. In case of individual problems, ask to an expert or to an ETECSA representative or consult someone who has already performed a working configuration on a similar device.

About the author

Danil Ren

is a webmaster, writer and expert in tourism. He works as a freelance partner at the Ionenet S.A. Canadian company since 2003 and, since September of this same year, he lives in Cuba. He also worked for La Coronación S.A. incoming travel agency as a partner from 2003 to 2010 and, currently, he is the local face of this vacation rental agency about casas particulares.

"When a translation was made by the original author", he says, "it is really not a translation, just another version of the same writing. These are the only translations that don't betray!". For any inquiry, you can contact him by filling this contact form or in any of the social media mentioned in this site. You can also visit our about us page to learn more.

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