University Computer Help Desk

Before You Begin

These instructions explain how to configure Mail on Mac OS X 10.5 or Mac OS X 10.6 with your ULID email account. Follow these instructions if you plan to use Mail regularly from off campus (or as someone who roams between on campus and off campus). These instructions use IMAP mail settings.

If you plan on using Mail primarily from on campus, refer to 1422: Configuring Mail in Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6 with campus mail settings.

Important: If you have an account on the campus Exchange server, Mail will detect this and automatically configure itself for Exchange. To force Mail to allow you to select IMAP, you must hold down the option key on your keyboard while clicking Continue on the "Welcome to Mail" screen. Follow the instructions below.

Update to the Latest Version of Mac OS X 10.5 or Mac OS X 10.6

These instructions are for the latest version of Mac OS X 10.5 and Mac OS X 10.6. If you have an older version of Mac OS X, some of these instructions may not work for you.

We recommend updating to the latest version of Mac OS X 10.5 or Mac OS X 10.6 before you attempt to configure Mail with the MailVPN settings. Using an Internet connection run Software Update. For more information, refer to 1262: How to update Mac OS X and Apple applications.

Configure Mail

To configure Mail in Mac OS X 10.5 or Mac OS X 10.6 to use MailVPN settings, do the following:

1. Launch Mail.
   • If this is the first time Mail was opened, the Add Account wizard will open. Skip to step 3.
2. Click File > Add Account....
3. Type your name in the Full Name: field.
4. Type your email address in the Email Address: field.
   • Your email address is yourULID@ilstu.edu.
5. Type your password in the Password: field.
6. Click Continue.
   • Important: To prevent Mail from automatically setting itself up for Exchange, click Continue while holding down the option key on your keyboard. This is only necessary if you have an Exchange account at Illinois State University.
7. Click the Account Type: drop-down menu and select IMAP.
   • Do not select Exchange IMAP.
8. Type ISU MailVPN Email in the Description field.
9. Type mailvpn.ilstu.edu in the Incoming Mail Server: field.
   • Mail may have incorrectly added exchangevip.illinoisstate.edu to this box. If so, remove that address and enter mailvpn.ilstu.edu instead.
10. Click Continue.
    • Mail will now test your connection to the server. This may take several minutes.
11. Type ISU MailVPN Email in the Description field.
12. Type mailvpn.ilstu.edu in the Outgoing Mail Server: field.
    • Important: Mail may automatically add a colon (:) and your ULID at the end of the outgoing mail server address, like this: mailvpn.ilstu.edu:rrredbi. If so, remove the colon and your ULID from the address so only mailvpn.ilstu.edu appears in the box.
13. Put a check mark in the box labeled Use Authentication.
    • Your ULID and password should already be present.
14. Click Continue.
    • Mail will now test your connection to the server. This may take several minutes.
15. Click Create.

You can now use Mail to check and send email from both on campus and off campus without needing an independent VPN connection.

Verify MailVPN Settings

If you are having problems checking or sending mail with MailVPN settings, verify that Mail is using the correct port numbers. Mail on Mac OS X 10.5 and Mac OS X 10.6 is usually able to properly detect the correct port numbers and SSL settings. However, if you are having problems, the instructions below will guide you through the settings so you can verify that everything is setup correctly.

To verify your MailVPN settings, do the following:

1. Launch Mail.
2. Click Mail > Preferences....
3. Click the Accounts tab and select your account from the list on the left.
4. Click Account Information.
5. Click the Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP): drop-down menu and select Edit Server List…
6. If more than one SMTP server is listed, select the one where the Server Name: is mailvpn.ilstu.edu.
7. Click Advanced.
8. Verify the following settings.
   • Select Use custom port: and enter 465 in the box.
   • Make sure Use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) has a check mark next to it.
   • Make sure Authentication: is set to Password.
   • Make sure User Name: is set to your ULID.
   • Make sure Password: is set to your password. (If you are in doubt as to what the Password: box contains, retype your password in this box.)
9. Click OK.
10. Click Advanced.
11. Verify the following settings.
    • Make sure Port: is 993.
    • Make sure Use SSL has a check mark next to it.
    • Make sure Authentication: is set to Password.
12. Close the Accounts window. If you are prompted to save your changes, click Save.

After verifying your settings, trying checking and sending email messages to verify that your account is working correctly.