How do I set up my email on an Android smartphone?

[#1]

I've just acquired a smartphone (and what a lot there is to learn!) on Android 4.  Having several times tried to set up my PN email account I've had no luck at all.  I'm obviously going about in the wrong way, probably by not entering the correct information.  There's something on PN about configuring iPhones and Blackberrys but not Androids.
Someone else has mentioned having trouble sending, though not receiving, emails on Android - but I can't even get started.
Any help, preferably with precise instructions would be much appreciated. 

[#2]

I think a common problem is entering an email address for 'username' where just the account name (and password) is required.
It's quite an old thread but does this help? Note that port 587 for the outgoing server should also work now - it wasn't available when that thread was created.

[#3]

I had wondered if it was something to do with username/email names. Having both, each with their own passwords is very confusing, and I've never understood why PN can't make things simpler.
I'll have another go and follow the suggestions in the link.  Does anyone know if the the setup procedure for Icy Cream Sandwich is different from earlier Android versions?  Does the make of phone make a difference?  I have a Sony Xperia Arc S.
Anyway, thanks for the help and advice.  Fingers crossed!

[#4]

Still no luck.  All I've been able to do is set up my main portal account (username@plus.com), which PN uses to let me know about monthly debit payments.  The last 16 of these duly appeared on the phone's inbox.  But I've not been able to set up my personal email account (name@username.plus.com).  Whenever I try - and it says that is the account being accessed - I just get the same 16 messages from username@plus.com.
I can't understand why this process should be so difficult and complicated.  There must be hundreds of PN users with Android phones.  Surely they don't all have this problem, although obviously a lot do.  It's time PN put some clear how-to guidance on the support pages, as there is for Outlook Express etc, iPhone and Blackberry.  I'll either have to raise a ticket - or send the damned phone back as unfit for purpose!

[#5]

Quote

But I've not been able to set up my personal email account (name@username.plus.com).

To access the personal account the username in the incoming server settings should be in the username+mailboxname format , username+name for your example, and the password the malbox password. These are the same as you would use for webmail login.

[#6]

Success at last - thank you MisterW!  Surprisingly it happened automatically.  All I did was enter Username+name@plus.com and my password, tapped Next (rather Manual, which I'd done previously) and after a few moments the proper inbox appeared with my emails.  It didn't ask me for any server details or port numbers.  Very strange, after all the problems I experienced before. 
I've now sent a reply to someone to check if outgoing emails work.
However, I haven't been able to find a way to send a new email.  Every time I tap Email all I get is emails in the inbox.  There doesn't seem to be a way to select "new mail"  or "contacts"  so I'm unable to send an email to someone who hasn't already sent me one!  Where are all the things you get in Outlook Express and Windows Live Mail - like folders and and view choices?  They must exist in Android Email. 

[#7]

Quote

Username+name@plus.com

You don't need the @plus.com part in the username, it's actually incorrect too as your email address is mailbox@username.plus.com. Take a look here for some guidance on usernames for your email addresses: http://www.plus.net/support/email/common_questions.shtml#loginDetails

[#8]

Thanks for that tip, Chris.  Actually I found the automatic setup had chosen IMAP configuration, so although I downloaded my old emails I didn't receive a reply to the message I sent a friend.  I've now reset the account using the Outlook Express settings, which seem to work. At least I was able to send a message from my PC on Gmail, which the phone received and I got the reply on the PC. Let's hope it is sorted now.

[#9]

Unfortunately it's not completely sorted!  Although I can send emails from home I can't when on a public network, as I discovered yesterday.  It's a similar problem I had with the laptop (using Windows Live Mail 2011) at a hotel last year, although I later sorted that out through PN support (the section about SMTP.)
However, the phone email is quite different from Windows Mail, and I haven't found any reference to SMTP in the settings.  If I can only send or reply to emails when connected to PN, it's not going to be much use.  Any suggestions?

[#10]

The "SMTP" settings might be called "Outgoing Server Settings" on your phone - where you must have entered relay.plus.net for this to work at home.
When sending mail away from home it is possible that your mobile provider blocks access to external mail relays via port 25. If you have that set try port 587 instead. (You can also use port 587 at home.) In either case you will have to use authentication  - the same "username" string and password you have set for incoming mail should work for this.

[#11]

Thanks for the advice, spraxyt. I'll do as you suggest and test it when I can get out to connect to a public network.  It may not be for a day or so, but I'll definitely report back!

[#12]

After another week the problem has now been sorted.  I decided to raise a ticket and, as always, PN Help and Support came up trumps.  It seems the fault wasn't the phone's or mine but the type of public network (at the ICC in Birmingham) I was trying to access.  Quote:
Often, with public WiFi networks such as BT Openzone, you will need to sign in by opening your browser and entering the relevant details on the landing page. If you do not do this, your phone will still indicate it is connected, but if you try any data transfer (such as sending or receiving emails), without opening your browser and logging in first, you will experience this problem.
So the phone settings were correct all along, and I have been able to connect to a network elsewhere without any trouble after they gave me the password.  Many thanks to everyone for the help and suggestions.