Configuring email accounts in Mail (Mac OS X 10.5 or later)

Before you configure Mail

• Make sure you are connected to the Internet (test with a web browser, for example).
• Use Software Update to install the latest available updates.
   

Configuring Mail via "Automatically set up account"

Mail in Mac OS X 10.5 includes the "Automatically set up account" option. This option configures email settings for many popular email service providers, including MobileMe.

If this option is not present, that means the email service provider you have entered is not recognized. Make sure the domain (the part after the "@" symbol) is spelled correctly. If the domain is spelled correctly, skip this section and proceed to the "Manually configuring Mail for a email service" section.

1. Open Mail (click it on the Dock or open it from the Applications folder).
2. If the "Welcome to Mail" assistant does not appear, choose Add Account from the File menu.
3. Fill in the Full Name, Email address, and Password fields. If needed, contact your email service provider for details.
   

   Note: Your email account password will be stored in Keychain and used automatically to login to your email account when you open Mail.

4. Select "Automatically set up account".
   
   Note: See this article for information about setting up Yahoo! email accounts if you are unable to continue.
    
5. Click "Create" to complete the process.
    

Manually configuring Mail

Note: You should make note of your email settings--see this article. Contact your email service vendor and note all of the details needed to fill in your settings. During the setup process, you will need these details to complete the setup process. You can either print the sheet and write on it, or paste it into a text document and fill it in on your Mac. Keep the sheet for later reference in case you need it.

1. Open Mail (click it on the Dock or open it from the Applications folder).
2. If the "Welcome to Mail" assistant does not appear, choose Add Account from the File menu.
3. Fill in the Full Name, Email address, and Password fields.
   

   Note: Your email account password will be stored in Keychain and used automatically to login to your email account when you open Mail.

4. Deselect "Automatically set up account" if it is enabled. Click Continue to proceed.
5. Choose the proper Account Type.
6. Give your account a useful description, such as "Anne's Gmail account" or "Juan's Yahoo! email account". It can be called whatever you want.
7. Enter your Incoming Mail Server, User Name and Password. Click on Continue to proceed.
   
   Note: See this article for information about setting up Yahoo! email accounts if you are unable to continue.
    
8. If prompted, enter your Incoming Mail Security settings. Click Continue to proceed.
9. For Outgoing Mail Server, a useful description such as "Gmail Outgoing Mail Server" or "Yahoo! Outgoing Mail Server".
10. Enter the Outgoing Mail Server details.
11. If necessary, select "Use Authentication" and enter your User Name and Password. Click Continue to proceed.
12. If prompted, enter your Outgoing Mail Security settings. Click Continue to proceed.
13. Verify your settings in the Account Summary. Check "Take account online". Click "Create" to complete the process.

After completing these steps you should be able to send and receive email via this account. If you can't send or receive email, contact your ISP for assistance (even if you don't use your ISP's email service), or visit any online help or support websites they offer. Have your email settings on hand to inform the ISP support of the needs of your email service provider.
 

Removing an email account

You may want to remove an email account from Mail, for example if you no longer use the account.

Important: Removing an account will permanently delete its mailboxes, messages, notes, and to do items. If you want to keep those, be sure to copy them to an On My Mac mailbox before deleting the account.

Exchange, IMAP, and MobileMe accounts store their mailboxes and messages on the server; deleting these account types in Mail will not permanently delete messages from the server. However, if you are not completely certain that your account is one of those types, be sure to copy the mailboxes and messages you want to keep into an On My Mac mailbox, or save individual messages manually by selecting them and choosing Save As from the File menu.

To remove an email account in Mail:

1. Open Mail (click it on the Dock or open it from the Applications folder).
2. From the Mail menu, choose Preferences..., or press Command-, (the Command and comma keys).
3. Click the "Accounts" icon.
4. Select the account you wish to remove.
5. Click the "-" (minus) icon. You will be alerted that "The account's setup information, mailboxes, messages, notes, and to do's will be deleted permanently from your computer."
6. If you are sure you want to remove the account and email messages from your computer, click "Remove" to complete this process.