At IU, in Mozilla Thunderbird for Windows, how do I read my mail using IMAP?

Note: A known issue with Thunderbird version 1.5 for Windows can cause outgoing email to hang and eventually crash the program. To access your Cyrus or Exchange mail using IMAP, the UITS Support Center recommends using version 2.x (available from IUware Online).

On this page:

• Configuring a new account
• Reading and sending mail

Configuring a new account

Thunderbird for Windows uses an Account Wizard to help you configure your email account(s). The Account Wizard should start the first time you launch the application. If it doesn't, from the Tools menu, select Account Settings... , and then click Add Account... . After the Account Wizard starts, to set up Thunderbird to read your Cyrus or Exchange mail, follow the steps below:

1. In the New Account Setup window, select Email account and click Next.
   
   
2. In the Identity window, next to "Your Name:", enter your name as you want it to appear in the "From:" field of your outgoing messages.
   
   
3. Next to "Email Address:", type your Indiana University email address. Click Next.

   If you are unsure of your exact IU email address, see At IU, what is my email address?

4. In the Server Information window, select the radio button IMAP. For the name of your incoming mail server, type the name of the IMAP server associated with your Cyrus or Exchange account, as described below:
   
   
   • To access your Cyrus mail account, enter imap.iu.edu .
   • To access your Exchange account, enter imap.exchange.iu.edu .
   
   

   If prompted for your outgoing mail server, enter mail-relay.iu.edu .

   Note: If you're not prompted for an outgoing mail server, the Account Wizard has detected an existing outgoing server, and will display this information in the Server Information window. If the existing outgoing server is not mail-relay.iu.edu , you will have to change it later by choosing Account Settings from the Tools menu.

5. Click Next.
   
   
6. In the User Names window, verify that your incoming username is correct.

   If prompted for your outgoing (SMTP) username, enter the same username (or verify that it is the same as your incoming username).

   Note: If you're not prompted for an outgoing username, the Account Wizard has detected an existing outgoing username, and will display this information in the User Names window. If the existing outgoing username is not correct, you will have to change it later by choosing Account Settings from the Tools menu.

7. Click Next.
   
   
8. In the Account Name window, give your account a name. You might want to enter something you associate with the server and account, such as Work Email or My Cyrus Account . Click Next.
   
   
9. Verify that the information you entered is correct. If it is not, click Back to make corrections. Otherwise, click Finish.
   
   
10. You may be prompted to make Thunderbird your default mail client; select your answer.

    Note: You may see a message that states, "You cannot log into imap.iu.edu because the server has disabled login. You may need to connect via SSL or TLS. Please check the account settings for your mail server." This is because you have not yet set up the SSL connection. Simply continue with the following steps.

11. If you're not already in the Account Settings window, open it by selecting Account Settings from the Tools menu.
    
    
12. On the left of the Account Settings window, find the name of the account you just added, and under its name, click Server Settings.
    
    
13. On the right, under "Security Settings", for "Use secure connection:", select SSL. Make sure that Use secure authentication is not selected.
    
    
14. On the left, click Outgoing Server (SMTP). Click to highlight your outgoing username and server, and then click Edit... . In the resulting SMTP Server window, under "Settings", verify the "Server name:" field is set to mail-relay.iu.edu.
    
    
15. Under "Security and Authentication", select Use name and password, making sure your username is displayed properly in the "User Name" field. Then, under "Use secure connection:", select SSL. Click OK.
    
    
16. Click OK to exit the Account Settings window.

Reading and sending mail

To read your mail, launch Thunderbird and find the account you just added in the Folders pane on the left. Under the account name, click Inbox; you may have to click the corresponding plus sign (+) to see the account's folders. If prompted, enter your Network ID passphrase and click OK to download your messages.

When you send mail, you should see the Mail Server Password Required window. Enter your passphrase and click OK. If you want Thunderbird to remember your passphrase, select Use Password Manager to remember this password before clicking OK.

Note: If you have folders in IU Webmail that don't appear in Thunderbird, follow these steps:

1. After following the steps above and making sure Thunderbird can download messages from your Inbox, right-click the account name in the folder list and choose Subscribe... .
   
   
2. Check the box next to each folder you want to access, and then click Subscribe.

   Note: You may have to click the plus sign (+) next to "INBOX" to see all your folders; if you have subfolders, you will have to click the plus sign next to the parent folder to view them.

3. When you're finished, click OK at the bottom.

The folders will be listed under "Inbox"; you may have to click the plus sign to see them.

Also see:

• What is Mozilla?
• What is the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)?
• At IU, if I use an outside ISP, what should I know about my outgoing mail server?
• At IU, why am I having trouble connecting to my Exchange account via IMAP?