Note: These instructions follow the version of the software noted above. For other versions, there may be some variation, but the information below should serve as a guide to get you started. To identify the version of your software, look for the About link in the software's main or Help menu.

1. Open Mozilla Thunderbird. The first time you launch Thunderbird, the Import Wizard will ask you if you want to import Options, Account Settings, Address Book and other data. Click Don't import anything, then Next. The Account Wizard will open.
   Note: If this is not the first time you open Thunderbird, to access the Account Wizard:
   • Go to Tools > Accounts Settings. The Account Settings window will open.
   • In the Account Settings window, click Add Account.... The Account Wizard will open.
   
   
2. In the Account Wizard, on the New Account Setup screen, select Email account and click Next. The Identity screen will open.
3. On the Identity screen:
   • In the Your Name field, enter your name.
     Note: This will appear in the From field of your outgoing messages.
   • In the Email Address field, enter your UMail address (e.g., xxyy@student.umass.edu).
   • Click Next. The Server Information screen will open.
4. On the Server Information screen:
   • Under Select the type of incoming server you are using, select IMAP.
   • In the Incoming Server field, enter mail-?.oit.umass.edu where ? is the first letter of your OIT Account NetID. For example, if your NetID starts with the letter J, enter mail-j.oit.umass.edu.
   • In the Outgoing Server field, enter mail-auth.oit.umass.edu.
   • Click Next.The User Names screen will open.
5. On the User Names screen:
   • In the Incoming User Name: field, enter your NetID.
   • In the Outgoing User Name: field, enter your NetID again.
   • Click Next. The Account Name screen will open.
6. On the Account Name screen, in the Account Name: field, enter a name for your account (e.g., My UMail ) and click Next. A Congratulations! screen will open.
7. On the Congratulations!screen, verify your information and click Finish. Click OK.
   Before Thunderbird can download your email messages, you have a few remaining steps to complete.
8. In the Mozilla Thunderbird main window, go to Tools > Account Settings...
9. In the Account Settings window, under the heading for your newly created account (at left), click Server Settings. The Server Settings screen will open.
10. On the Server Settings screen, under Use secure connection:, select SSL. The Port number above will change to 993.
11. Still in the Account Settings window, click Outgoing Server (SMTP) (at left). The Outgoing Server (SMTP) Settings screen will open.
12. On the Outgoing Server (SMTP) Settings screen, select mail-auth.oit.umass.edu and click Edit.... The SMTP Server window will open.
13. In SMTP Server window:
    • Under Use secure connection:, select SSL.
    • Under Settings, in the Port: field, change the number from 25 to 465.
    • Click OK. You will return to the Account Settings window.
14. In the Account Settings window, click OK. The Account Settings window will close and you will return to the main Thunderbird window.
15. In Thunderbird, to view your email messages, click Get Mail (top left). You will be prompted for your OIT Account password.
    Note: We recommend that you do not select Use Password Manager to remember this password. If you do, anyone who has access to your computer can read or delete your email and send messages in your name.
16. To check that your outgoing mail settings are correct, use Thunderbird to send a message to your UMail address. You will need to enter your OIT Account password to send the message. The message should appear momentarily in your Thunderbird Inbox.

Congratulations! Thunderbird is now configured to send and receive messages with your UMail account.

Now that you've finished setting up Thunderbird to access UMail, we suggest that you configure your software to look up UMass Amherst email addresses. To learn how, follow the link under Related Pages, below.

Related Pages

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