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Configuring Windows Mail for UW Email

IT Connect > Email > UW Email > Windows Mail

Getting Configured Quickly and Easily

Two simple options are available for setting up Windows Mail. These are the recommended methods for setting up Windows Mail and should work well for most people.

The quickest way to set up Windows Mail is to use the online configuration program provided by UW Technology.

To use the online program that configures Windows Mail:

  1. StepsActions
  2. Exit Windows Mail if it is running.
  3. Click this link to start the program: Windows Mail Configurator.
  4. Depending on your operating system and browser, you will get a pop-up window that asks you whether you want to open, save, or cancel the file. Either open the file, or save and then open it.
  5. When the next window appears, enter your name and email address (your_uwnetid@u.washington.edu where your_uwnetid is your own UW NetID).
  6. Start Windows Mail.
  7. Use the newly modified or created "UW Email - your_uwnetid" account.
  8. If previously you have configured other accounts to receive mail from UW Email, delete those accounts by right-clicking the account name(s) and selecting Delete account.

Manually Creating a New Account in Windows Mail

Most people do not need to read this section. You can ignore it unless you are unable to make your configuration work using the method above or you want to know the details of creating a new account by hand.

To manually create a new account:

  1. StepsActions
  2. Start Windows Mail.
  3. Click Tools and select Accounts.
  4. Click Add and select E-mail Account.
  5. In the window that appears, enter Your Name (e.g., Jane Doe) and click Next.
  6. In the window that appears, enter your_uwnetid@u.washington.edu (e.g., jdoe@u.washington.edu) and click Next.
  7. In the window that appears,
    • Select IMAP in the line beginning with My incoming mail server.... Note: Do not select POP. The POP default setting on Windows Mail removes email messages from your UW Email Inbox (your inbox on Alpine, Web Alpine, or any desktop application configured to work with UW Email). To configure Windows Mail to work with UW Email, select IMAP for the incoming mail server.
    • Enter your_uwnetid.deskmail.washington.edu in the box under Incoming mail....
    • Enter smtp.washington.edu in the box under Outgoing mail....

      Note: If you use an Internet Service Provider (ISP) other than the UW, you need to use the SMTP server name it provides. Contact your ISP for this information. For details, read Using an Outside ISP and About SMTP.

    • Check the box labeled Outgoing server requires authentication.
    • Click Next.
  8. Enter your UW NetID in the box next to Account name:.
  9. Enter your UW NetID password in the box next to Password:.
  10. Uncheck Remember password.
  11. Click Next.
  12. Check the box labeled Do not download my e-mail folders at this time.
  13. Click Finish on the Congratulations page. (But you are not finished yet!)
  14. Continue with the directions in the following section.

Checking or Reconfiguring Your Existing Settings in Windows Mail

To check or reconfigure your existing settings in Windows Mail:

  1. StepsActions
  2. Start Windows Mail, if necessary.
  3. Click Tools and select Accounts.
    • Select the account you created previously (perhaps just now) and click Properties.
    • Note the six tabs at the top of the page.
  4. Click the General tab to reveal a window similar to that pictured below, and make the following entries (or check that yours are correct):

    General Properties

    • In the box following Mail Account and some text, Windows Mail has filled a name for your UW Email server as it will appear in Windows Mail. You can change the name to something else if you'd like. (e.g., "UW Email").
    • If your name is not entered correctly, correct it.
    • If your Email address is not correct (your_uwnetid@u.washington.edu), correct it.
    • UNCHECK Include this account when receiving mail or synchronizing.
  5. Click the Servers tab, to reveal a window similar to that pictured below and make the following entries:

    Servers Properties

    • Be sure that "My incoming mail server is a IMAP server." Note that you CANNOT change this setting here. The choice of IMAP vs POP can ONLY be made when creating an account. If you created an account using the incorrect setting, you must delete that account and create a new one.
    • The box next to Incoming mail (IMAP): should say your_uwnetid.deskmail.washington.edu
    • The box next to Outgoing mail (SMTP): should say smtp.washington.edu

      Note: If you use an Internet Service Provider (ISP) other than the UW, you need to use the SMTP server name it provides. Contact your ISP for this information. For details, read Using an Outside ISP and About SMTP.

    • Under Incoming Mail Server:
      • The box next to Account name: should say your UW NetID.
      • The box next to Password: should say nothing.
      • Uncheck Log on using Secure Password Authentication (SPA).
    • Under "Outgoing Mail Server"
      • Check My server requires authentication.
      • Click Settings and verify that the outgoing server uses the same logon information as the incoming mail server. Click OK
      Note: If you are using Norton Antivirus software, be sure the Scan Outgoing Email feature is turned off before connecting to the UW SMTP server.
  6. Click the Advanced tab, to reveal a window similar to that pictured below and make the following entries:

    Advanced Properties

    • Under the line Outgoing mail (SMTP): check This server requires a secure connection (SSL).
    • In the box beside Outgoing mail (SMTP): enter 587.
    • Under the line Incoming mail (IMAP): check This server requires a secure connection (SSL).
    • In the box beside Incoming mail (IMAP):, confirm that 993 appears.
  7. Click the IMAP tab, to reveal a window similar to the one pictured below and make the following entries:

    IMAP Properties

    • Root folder path: mail (Windows Mail and Alpine(s) will use the same folders).
    • Uncheck Check for new messages in all folders.
    • Check Store special folders on IMAP server.
    • Sent-items path: sent-mail (Windows Mail and Alpine(s) will use the same sent-mail folder)
    • Drafts path: Drafts (Windows Mail and Alpine(s) CANNOT effectively share a "drafts"/postponed messages folder).
    • Deleted Items path: Deleted Items.
    • Junk path: junk-mail (Windows Mail and Alpine(s) will use the same junk-mail folder).
  8. Click OK.
  9. Now back in the Accounts window, click Close.
  10. Windows Mail will ask if you want to download folders from the server you just added, click Yes.
  11. When Windows Mail has downloaded the list of folders (the SAME folders that you previously created with any version of Alpine should appear), you may be given a window to add or remove folders from the Windows Mail "view". Adjust if desired, then click OK.

Additional Options

Configuring Windows Mail to Use the UW Directory Service (LDAP)

To configure Windows Mail to use the UW Directory Service (LDAP):

  1. StepsActions
  2. Click Tools and select Accounts.
    1. Click Add, Directory Service.
    2. Internet directory (LDAP) server: enter directory.washington.edu
    3. Do not check "My LDAP server requires me to log on".
    4. Decide if you want to check addresses using this directory service.
    5. Click Finish.
    6. Back at the Internet Accounts window, click the directory.washington.edu account you just created (you may need to click the down arrow next to Directory Services to make it visible).
    7. Click Properties. You should see the server you set up, and the check box for using this server.
  3. Click the Advanced tab and enter the following for the search base: o=University of Washington, c=US

UnPOPing an accidently POPped Inbox

A common occurence for people doing their own configuration is to identify the incoming mail server as a POP server rather than IMAP. The first time they connect to their UW Email their Inbox disappears.

This mysterious event occurs because the Windows Mail default settings for POP mail include the option to remove the messages from the server and put them in a folder on your local computer.

To get messages back to UW Email:

  1. StepsActions
  2. Start Windows Mail.
  3. Remove the POP account. (Under Tools, Accounts, select the POP account, and click Remove).
  4. Create a New Account in Windows Mail (using IMAP, as above).
  5. Go to the Inbox that contains the messages (should be the top one, under Local Folders), and drag the messages you need to the IMAP account inbox (under your UW email account).
  6. When all the messages have been moved, connect to your email host (Homer/Dante) and use Alpine to verify that the email has been copied to your account.
  7. You can now safely delete the messages from the Windows Mail local inbox.

Changing Your Password

If you have saved your email account password as part of the configuration of your Windows Mail email program, then you will need to change that stored password to match your mail account password whenever you change the password associated with your UW NetID. If you don't change this stored password, you will get a "password error" when you attempt to connect to the mail server (because it is using the old stored password). Since regularly changing your UW NetID password is a recommended procedure, we do not advise you to store your password within your email program.

To change the password stored in Windows Mail:

  1. StepsActions
  2. Start Windows Mail. Select Tools -> Accounts.
  3. Select your email account and click Properties.
  4. Select the Servers tab.
  5. Replace the entry in the Password field (which will always be shown as big "dots" with your new/current password.
  6. Click OK, then close the window to apply this change. Verify that the UW e-mail is accessible now.

Additional Information

Getting Help

To get help or make comments about the information on this page, Send a Question to UW Technology.

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