Add Rice Gmail to Thunderbird on Windows

Article Contents

Duo Authentication

Install Thunderbird on Windows

Add Rice Gmail to Thunderbird

The following instructions are for faculty and staff who have had their email accounts migrated to Gmail. Rice IT recommends using the Google Chrome browser and Gmail apps on your mobile devices to access your email. However, you can access emails from your Rice Gmail account through Thunderbird by using the instructions in this article.

Duo Authentication

Rice's two-factor authentication system, Duo, is required to access your Rice Gmail account on your computer. Before continuing with the rest of the instructions, make sure that you have enrolled in Duo. Learn more about Duo enrollment.

Install Thunderbird on Windows or Mac

Visit this website to learn how to install Thunderbird on your Windows computer

Add the Rice Gmail Account to Thunderbird on Windows

Optional Steps: Follow the pre-steps to navigate to the Account Settings options in Thunderbird.

Pre-Step 1: Open Thunderbird. Select the Settings gear icon at the lower left of the screen.

Pre-Step 2: Select the Account Settings tab from the General settings page.

Pre-Step 3: Select Add Mail Account... Selecting this option will take you to the Account Set Up options shown in the following steps.

General Steps from the Account Setup Dialog Box

1. Complete these tasks if you are ready to sync your Rice Gmail account to Thunderbird. After installing and opening Thunderbird for the first time, you will receive a dialog box requesting additional information. Put in your name and email as netid@mail.apps.rice.edu. No password is required at this point. Select Continue. 

2. Review the sub-menu that pops up. Select IMAP and then Done. 

3. Review the next window that appears asking to log into Google. Enter your NetID. 

4. Review the Rice Identity Provider login prompt that appears next. Enter your NetID and password. Select Login. You will also see a prompt for Duo authentication. Complete the prompt.

5. Select Allow on the next page that appears after completing Duo authentication. The page will ask to grant permissions to Mozilla Thunderbird Email. 

6. Select Connect next to your address book and calendars if you would like to connect them to Thunderbird. 

While connecting a Calendar, you will see several options. Rice IT suggests selecting a separate color for each connected calendar, setting a refresh time of 30 minutes, and leaving "read-only" unchecked. You can check Show reminders if you want Thunderbird to notify you before events.

If you get a pop-up like the one shown below, right after setting up your account, asking you to submit or discard changes to an event, then select Discard to ensure the setup works correctly.