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Configure Your Computer to Read E-Mail

ACS-Webmail is the easiest way to read your e-mail. However, if you wish to read your e-mail using programs like Outlook, Outlook Express, Mac Mail, or Thunderbird. here are the steps to get started:

  1. Information Your E-Mail Program Will Need
    • Username
      This is the same username as your UCSD Account.
      Look it up using Account Lookup Tool
    • E-Mail Address
      This is usually username@ucsd.edu
      Look it up using Account Lookup Tool.
    • Password
      This is the same password as your UCSD Account.
      Reset your password using the Password Change Tool
    • Incoming Server
      This is the server available to your account. (e.g. sdcc21.ucsd.edu)
      Look it up using Account Lookup Tool
      These servers support either IMAP or POP3. IMAP should be used if you would like to mirror your email to multiple computers with email clients.
    • Outgoing mail server
      The SMTP server is: smtp.ucsd.edu *
      This server requires authenticaion using your email username and password. It also requires additional client configurations for SSL on port 465.
  2. Configure Your E-Mail Program
    • Armed with this information, you are now ready to configure your e-mail program. We have step-by-step instructions for several popular e-mail programs like Outlook, Entourage, Netscape, and MacOS X Mail.
    • NOTE - You will need to follow the instructions for IMAP setup. Exchange setup will not work for student email accounts. Additionally, you will need to use your Incoming Server whenever mail.ucsd.edu is referenced in the instructions. Contact the ACMS Help Desk at 858-534-2267 if you have any questions.
  3. Troubleshooting
    • If you have trouble connecting, please verify that your username, password, and server information (from step 1) is correct by logging into ACS-Webmail. Refer to the step-by-step instructions provided for your mail client and double check the settings are correct. This solves most problems due to incorrect configurations for off-campus email access. To check for planned outages or known problems refer to the UCSD Network and Application Status site. Finally if none of these resources correct the problem: Students can call or email the ACMS help desk. Staff and Faculty should contact the ACT help desk.