Add Rice Gmail to Thunderbird on Mac

Use the instructions in this article to learn how to add your Rice Gmail account to Thunderbird on a Mac using the Firefox browser.

Article Contents

Duo Authentication

Install Thunderbird on a Mac

Add Rice Gmail to Thunderbird on Mac

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 Mac computer

Add the Rice Gmail Account to Thunderbird on Mac

  1. Navigate to thunderbird.net/en-US/download/.

  2. Choose the selections shown in the screenshot below. Select Download.

    screenshot of Thunderbird download instructions
  3. Open the Downloads folder. Double-click the .dmg file.
    screenshot of the .dmg file related to the Thunderbird application download

  4. Click and drag the Thunderbird icon to the blue applications folder.

  5. Open the Finder application.
    screenshot of the Finder application icon on Mac

  6. Select Applications. Find Thunderbird in the right-side viewing pane.
    Launch the app: Double-click the app to launch.
    Create a shortcut: Right-click the app and choose Make alias to create a shortcut and drag it to the desktop.
    Keep in dock: Double-click to open the app. Right-click the app from the dock (horizontal row of apps at the bottom of the screen) and select Keep in dock.

    screenshot of applications list pane in Mac OS

  7. Input the following selections on the Set Up Your Existing Email Address screen to configure Rice University Gmail on the Thunderbird client.

    Email: netid@mail.apps.rice.edu (use your netID)

    IMAP Server: imap.google.com  Port: 993

    SMTP Server: smtp.google.com  Port: 465

    screenshot of the selections to configure Gmail on the Thunderbird mail client

  8. Select Ok to allow contacts to sync. Select the Continue button on the next prompt and then select Done.

  9. Input your NetID in the next prompt. Select Next.
    screenshot of the rest of setting up the Thunderbird client

  10. Input your NetID credentials again. Select Login and approve the login attempt from Duo Mobile.
    screenshot of the Rice identity Provider login screen


  11. Select Allow.
    screenshot of the Google permissions prompt


    The emails should begin to appear in your Thunderbird inbox.
    screenshot of a Thunderbird inbox after it is connected to Gmail

Need Technical Support?

Contact the TS&S Service Desk 

Hours

Monday - Friday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

(excluding university holidays)

Contact Methods

All support requests will be documented within a support ticket. To initiate a support request, contact us through one of the following channels:

We provide in-person and remote support services.

*After-hours support available for urgent issues.

 


Keywords:
Gmail, Rice Gmail, Thunderbird, email, email migration, Firefox, Mac
Doc ID:
147927
Owned by:
Nicole D. in Rice U
Created:
2025-01-29
Updated:
2026-04-16
Sites:
Rice University