Setting Up Apple Mail OS X Mountain Lion (10.8) for USC Email

This document details the configuration specific to using IMAP on email.usc.edu with Apple Mail for OS X Mountain Lion (10.8).

Apple Mail, Mac OS X's default email client, uses two connection protocols--POP3 and IMAP--to check your USC email. For more information regarding the differences between POP3 and IMAP, the IMAP and POP Comparison page.

Configuring Apple Mail

1. Launch Apple Mail. If this is the first time you are using Apple Mail, the Welcome to Mail window will appear.



2. If this is not the first time you are using Apple Mail, go to the Mail menu and choose Preferences. The Accounts window will appear.
3. Under Accounts, click the + button to bring up the Add Account window.



4. In the Welcome to Mail or Add an Account window:
   1. Enter your name as you wish it to appear on your outgoing email messages in the Full Name field.
   2. In the Email Address field, enter your USC email address.
   3. In the Password field, enter your USC password.
   4. Click Continue.

   

5. The Incoming Mail Server screen will appear.
1. From the Account Type dropdown menu, select IMAP.
2. In the Description field, enter a name for the account, i.e. USC Email.
3. In the Incoming Mail Server field, enter email.usc.edu.
4. In the User Name field, enter your USC username. For example, if your email address were ttrojan@usc.edu, your username would be ttrojan.
5. In the Password field, enter your USC password.
6. Click Continue.



6. The Outgoing Mail Server screen will appear.
1. In the Description field, enter a name for the account, i.e. USC Email.
2. In the Outgoing (SMTP) Mail Server field, enter email.usc.edu.
3. Check Use only this server.
4. Check the box marked Use Authentication. Your USC username and password should automatically be entered in the User Name and Password fields.



5. Click Continue and the Account Summary screen will appear.

Note: If USC is not your internet service provider (ISP), you will need to use the SMTP server provided by your ISP, or configure Apple Mail to use Authenticated SMTP, described below.

7. On the Account Summary window, verify the settings and click Create to finish the account creation process.

Configuring Apple Mail for TLS/Authenticated SMTP

The following steps describe how to configure Apple Mail to use a Transport Layer Security (TLS) connection when sending email. Aside from establishing a secure connection to the email system, a TLS connection is required to send email over USC's wireless network.

NOTE: Apple Mail does not have a specific TLS setting. However, using port 587 while the Use Secure Socket Layer box is checked tells the program to use a TLS connection.

1. Go to the Mail menu and choose Preferences. The Accounts window will appear.
2. Under Accounts, email accounts that have already been configured within Apple Mail are listed. To edit the settings of an existing account, highlight the account name in the list to pull up the current account settings on the right panel.
3. From the Outgoing Mail Server dropdown menu, select Edit Server List.
4. Click the Advanced tab.



5. On the Advanced tab:
1. Select Use default ports (25, 465, 587).
2. Select the Use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) checkbox.
3. From the Authentication dropdown menu, select Password.
4. In the User Name and Password fields, enter your username and password as above.
5. Click OK to save the settings.



6. Close the Accounts window.

Getting Help

Apple Mail includes online help guides to assist you with address book creation and other aspects of reading email, which can be found within the Help menu. If you are experiencing application errors or crashes, please contact Apple for further support.

If you have questions regarding these settings, please contact the ITS Customer Support Center at 213-740-5555 or email consult@usc.edu.