Configuring Mozilla Thunderbird to Access
UW Colleges Email
The UW Colleges Helpdesk is available to assist you with any technical assistance you may require. You can visit the helpdesk website at https://helpdesk.uwc.edu to see solutions to the most commonly asked questions or to submit a question of your own. You can also contact the helpdesk by emailing to helpdesk@uwc.edu, or by calling 877-449-1877.

Configuring Mozilla Thunderbird to access UW-Colleges email Accounts
Assumptions:
  • Mozilla Thunderbird is installed (you can download the latest version here).
  • Internet Access is available.
  • You have a general familiarity with basic email operations.
1) Open Thunderbird. The first time it is opened you might get the import wizard and/or account wizard. Cancel out of any wizards until you get the regular Mozilla Thunderbird screen: (Click on the image for a larger view)

 
2) Choose the Tools menu and Account Settings... (Click on the image for a larger view).

 
3) Click on the Add button to add an SMTP server..

 
4) Fill in the information as shown. You want to use a clear description, a server name of mail.uwc.edu, a port of 2525, and your network user ID for the username followed by @uwc.edu. Leave the Use secure connection: as TLS, if available.

 
5) Click OK to save your SMTP server settings. Next, we will add an e-mail account by clicking on the Add account... button.

 
6) Keep Email account as selected and click Next.

 
7) Enter your name and your email address, then click Next.

 
8) For the server type, select IMAP. Enter mail.uwc.edu as the incoming server. When finished, click Next.

 
9) Enter your user ID. Your user ID is your e-mail address without the @uwc.edu part. Click Next when finished.

 
10) Enter a brief description of the account. Click Next when finished.

 
11) Verify that all of the information is correct. Go back and fix anything that isn't correct. Click on Finish when you are done.

 
12) Once you are back at the main Mozilla Thunderbird screen, go to the Tools and Account Settings... menu again. On the left hand pane, choose Server Settings. Under Security Settings click the radio button next to SSL. After that is selected, click on the check box next to Use secure authentication. Your settings should look exactly like this when you are finished. Click OK to save the settings when you have verified everything is correct.

 
13) Once you are back at the main Mozilla Thunderbird screen, we can click on the Get Mail button. You will be prompted for your password and whether or not to save it. If you save your password you may get a screen educating you on security concerns. Read it carefully and click OK to continue when done. Depending on how many messages you have and the speed of your internet connection it may take some time to download all of your mail.

 
14 (optional) If you have folders on the server that you wish to download and check, you can do this by right-clicking on your UWC e-mail account and choosing Subscribe... as shown.

 
15 (optional) Using the screen that pops up, place a checkmark next to any folders you want to subscribe to. Please note that selecting a top level folder does not select any subfolders. So if you have two folders under Inbox and you select only Inbox, only Inbox will be subscribed, not the two folders beneath it. Note also that you can resize this screen by dragging the corners of it. Click OK when finished.