These are the essential settings for most mail programs (the terminology may vary within different programs). We have some specific help for configuring Thunderbird, in the box to the right, but we will not attempt to cover all possible configurations.

If you don't want to set up a mail program, here's the link to our webmail system: http://mail.physics.umn.edu/

Summary of settings:

• Mail server type: IMAP
• Server name: mail.physics.umn.edu
  • Use secure connection (SSL) on port 993
    • or you can choose StartTLS on port 143
  • Authentication method: Normal password
    • note, thunderbird usually auto-detects this incorrectly as “Encrypted password”

For outgoing mail, we recommend you use the central university servers (for which you should consult the university directions).

If you want to use the Physics server for outgoing messages, here are brief directions

• Server name: mail.physics.umn.edu
  • Select “StartTLS”
  • Authentication method: Normal password
  • Port 587
  • Use Physics username and password

For more detailed directions for configuring individual mail programs, consult the OIT E-mail Setup Guides.