Use the Gmail interface
For the most seamless interaction with all of the Google Apps for Education here at Willamette University, using the Gmail/Google Apps web-based interfaces is recommended.
Although you may prefer the look/feel/interface of an email program there are many administrative features that are only accessible by using the web-interface at wumail.willamette.edu (Which is a slightly modified version of the standard Gmail login page.)
Examples of features only accessible through wumail.willamette.edu
- Setting vacation auto response
- Enabling IMAP or POP connections
- Setting mail forwarding
- Simple use of 2-factor authentication (2FA)
Tips and best practices for other email programs
Automatic Configuration may not work
Many email programs nowadays will attempt to detect your email server settings based on your email address/domain name. This is known to work in version of Mozilla Thunderbird and MacOS Mail. It does not currently work in Outlook. If the automatic detection fails, you will need to do a 'manual' setup, which is an option in all of the mail clients.
Use IMAP instead of POP:
Mozilla Thunderbird, MacOS Mail, and Outlook all support IMAP. If IMAP doesn't work well for your particular client, then you can try POP. IMAP is recommended if it is supported.
Server Settings
For the most part, here are the server settings we've found that should work for most email program setups (Note 2FA is mandatory after September 13th)
- Incoming Mail Server: imap.googlemail.com
- Port: 993
- Security: SSL or TLS
- OAuth2 Enabled (for 2FA)
- username: your entire WU email address (e.g. asmith@willamette.edu)
- Outgoing Mail Server: smtp.googlemail.com
- Port: 465
- Security: SSL or TLS
- OAuth2 Enabled (For 2FA)
- username: your entire WU email address (e.g. asmith@willamette.edu)
2-Factor Authentication
2-factor Authentication (2FA) will be mandatory beginning September 13th, 2022
In all of the below mail clients, you need to change the application's security settings under your account to use OAuth2 security for both incoming and outgoing mail. Below is a table of clients and which will support OAuth2 Security.| Client | Win | MacOS | iOS/ iPad OS |
| Outlook (2016, 2019, 365) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| win Mail | Yes | N/A | N/A |
| Mac Mail / iOS | N/A | OS 10.14 or newer | iOS 11 + iPadOS 13+ |
| Thunderbird (Latest Version) |
Yes | Yes | N/A |
| Gmail App | N/A | N/A | Yes |
Thunderbird
- Use Thunderbird with your Google Apps for Education account (the latest version is recommended).