ARCHIVED: For Linux using Mozilla Thunderbird, how do I read my IU mail using IMAP?

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Configuring a new account

Thunderbird for Linux uses an Account Wizard to help you configure your email accounts. The Account Wizard should start the first time you launch the application. If it doesn't, from the Edit menu, select Account Settings..., and then click Add Account.... After the Account Wizard starts, to set up Thunderbird to read your 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 Your IU 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 Exchange account, as described below:

    To access your Exchange account, enter imap.exchange.iu.edu.

    If prompted for your outgoing mail server, enter mail-relay.iu.edu.
  5. Click Next.
  6. In the "User Names" window, verify that your incoming username is correct, and then click Next.
  7. 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. Click Next.
  8. Verify that the information you entered is correct. If it is not, click Back to make corrections. Otherwise, click Finish.
  9. From the Edit menu, select Account Settings....
  10. In the "Account Settings" window, on the left, click Server Settings.
  11. On the right, under "Server Settings", select Use secure connection (SSL). Make sure that Use secure authentication is not selected.
  12. Back on the left, click Outgoing Server (SMTP). Under "Outgoing Server (SMTP) Settings", in the "Server Name:" field, verify that it says mail-relay.iu.edu.
  13. Select Use name and password, making sure your username is displayed properly in the "User Name" field. Then, under "Use secure connection:", select SSL.
  14. Click OK to exit the "Account Settings" window.

Reading and sending mail

To read your mail, in the "Folders" pane on the left, click Inbox. 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 difficulties sending mail from Thunderbird, try reducing the maximum number of server connections to cache to 1:

  1. From the Tools menu, select Account Settings.
  2. In the section for your IMAP account, click Server Settings and then Advanced... .
  3. Under "Maximum number of server connections to cache", enter 1.

To resolve other IMAP mail client errors, see ARCHIVED: If you have problems sending mail from your IMAP mail client.

At Indiana University, for personal or departmental Linux or Unix systems support, see Get help for Linux or Unix at IU.

This is document atdu in the Knowledge Base.
Last modified on 2021-09-07 17:18:40.