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Updating mail settings to use imaplb.ics.uci.edu »

This page will show you how to update Mozilla Thunderbird to retrieve your emails from the dovecot IMAP server. There are two main steps.

  1. Update settings in Thunderbird
  2. Make a mail link under your home directory

If you have any additional questions, please check out the FAQS.

Update settings in Thunderbird

» Start up Thunderbird

» Go to Tools and select Account Settings…

» Select Server Settings, change the Server Name to:

  • imaplb.ics.uci.edu
Under the Use secure connection, make sure that SSL radio button is selected. Then click on Advanced…

» For the IMAP server directory, leave the field blank. Clear the Personal namespace, Public (shared), and Other Users fields. The option Allow server to override these namespaces should not be checked. Click on OK.

» Click on OK.

Make a mail link under your home directory

» Login to igor.ics.uci.edu (or any hosts where you can access your home directory) using your preferred SSH client (ie. SecureCRT, PuTTY).

» If you already have a mail folder, check to see if it contains current email folders. If not, move it to mail.old then proceed. If your mail folder contains your current mail folders, then you're done and do not have to create a link.

» Check your home directory to see if an imap folder exist.

  • If it's there, make sure that your email folders are in there.
  • If you cannot find your email folders in the imap folder, see if they're in the root of your home directory or in a Mail folder.
  • Move your email folders into the imap folder before proceeding.

» Make a symbolic link called mail to your imap folder at the root of your home directory with the ln command:

ln -s /home/<username>/imap /home/<username>/mail

OR

 ln -s ~/imap ~/mail

» Check the link with the ls command:

 ls -ld ~/mail

» You will see something like this:

 lrwxrwxrwx 1 <username> ugrad 4 Dec 1 09:49 mail -> imap/

FAQs on updating the IMAP server

» Are there directions for updating the Outlook to use the new IMAP server?

Since Thunderbird is the only email client that we support, there are no explicit instructions for Outlook. Please use the above instructions as a guideline on what to look for in your account settings on Outlook.

»Why are none of my mail folders are showing up?

Did you remember to link your mail folder to imap?

Try unchecking the option to only show subscribed folders.

Double check that you have cleared the IMAP Server Directory box. Make sure you didn't accidentally leave a space.

» Why are the Sent, Draft, and Spam folders not showing up?

This most commonly occurs when your mail folders are in the root of your home directory instead of an imap folder. In this case, simply move all of your mail folders into the mail directory.

» I get an error when I try to login to igor.ics.uci.edu, what should I do?

Undergraduates and Graduate Students should use openlab.ics.uci.edu or gojira.ics.uci.edu.

Staff and Facutly that do not have access to igor should contact the Computing Support helpdesk.