How to Configure TAMU Gmail for Thunderbird

Introduction

Thunderbird is a desktop mail client similar to Outlook. You can use this client to access your TAMU Gmail outside of your browser and receive notifications to your desktop. This is a good idea if you are often working at your work computer or personal computer and need to be notified of any of your new email promptly. You will need:

• Your NetID
• A Google Apps Client Password (instructions included below)
• Fully installed Thunderbird client

Instructions

Google Apps Client Password

A client password for Google Apps is a secure password used solely for the purpose of signing into your TAMU gmail account. This bypasses the CAS system, so you can sign in using purely Google-servers. This is makes it possible to authenticate in mail clients.

Full instructions for setting up your client password are located here

Installing Thunderbird

1. Navigate to https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/
2. On the homepage, select Free Download directly in the middle of the page
3. Open the setup. It will automatically begin extracting.
4. Once the setup is open, select Next
5. You can now select to install Standard or Custom. We recommend selecting the Standard option for typical use of the software. Select Next
6. Choose where you would like to install the software then select Install

Setting up Thunderbird

Once Thunderbird is successfully installed, you can begin to set it up to use with your TAMU gmail account.

1. On the Thunderbird home page, there is a section entitled Create a new account. In this section, select Email [fig. 01].
   
   
   [fig. 01 - Create a new account]
       
2. Thunderbird will prompt you to create a new email address with one of their sponsors. Skip this step by clicking Skip this and use my existing email [fig. 03].
   
   
   [fig. 03 - Skip New Email Address]
      
3. Enter the following information and click Continue [fig. 04]:
    
   • Your Name: The name you want to appear on outgoing emails
   • Email Address: netid@email.tamu.edu
   • Password: Your Client Password for Texas A&M Gmail - It is extremely important to use your Client Password NOT your NetID password here
   
   
   [fig. 04 - Account Information]
        
4. Thunderbird will try to automatically find the account settings. When it fails, enter the following information and click Re-Test [fig. 05]:
   
   Note: If any errors are encountered while connecting to the server, you may need to allow less secured apps on your Gmail account. Instructions on how to do so are located here: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/6010255?hl=en
    
   • Incoming Server Information
     • Type: IMAP
     • Server hostname: imap.gmail.com
     • Port: 993
     • SSL: SSL/TLS
     • Authentication: Normal Password
   • Outgoing Server Information
     • Type: SMTP
     • Server hostname: smtp.gmail.com
     • Port: 587
     • SSL: STARTTLS
     • Authentication: Normal Password (NOTE: If the client fails to authenticate, you may need to change this field to OAuth2 instead.)
     • Username: netid@tamu.edu
   
   
   [fig. 05 - Account Information Expanded]
       
5. Click Done. Your mail should begin to download immediately.