Search Cornell

Checking Your Cornell E-mail

There are three ways to check your e-mail on the Cornell server:

1. Using Cornell's WebMail service or uPortal.Cornell E-mail channel
2. Using an e-mail program installed on your computer
3. Forwarding your Cornell e-mail to another account

All three choices show you the same messages in the same Cornell mailbox.

Using WebMail or uPortal.Cornell's E-mail Channel

You can use Cornell's WebMail service or uPortal.Cornell's E-mail channel to check your Cornell e-mail without having an e-mail program installed on the computer you are using, which is especially convenient when you are away from the computer where you usually read and store your e-mail.

Use WebMail at http://webmail.cornell.edu

or read the WebMail documentation

Use uPortal.Cornell's E-mail channel at http://uportal.cornell.edu

or read the E-mail channel documentation

Using an e-mail program installed on your computer

Warning: The e-mail program that came with your computer, or is provided by your Internet service provider (ISP), may not protect your computer against hackers and viruses. In particular, e-mail programs supplied with web browsers, such as Microsoft's Outlook Express, often contain security holes that viruses exploit. Your computer and its files will be safer if you stick with one of the three Cornell e-mail services -- Eudora, WebEmail, or uPortal.Cornell's E-mail channel -- and make sure you have Norton AntiVirus or a similar program running on the computer you use.

Eudora: Cornell has a site license that allows Cornell students, faculty, staff, and affiliates to install and use the Eudora e-mail program from Qualcomm, Inc. You can install Eudora (with or without the rest of Bear Access) from a Bear Access CD, which you can obtain free of charge from the CIT HelpDesk in room 119 Computing and Communications Center, 255-8990.

• If you don't have a Bear Access CD, you can download a free copy of Eudora from Qualcomm at http://www.eudora.com/download/. However, this version will not be pre-configured with Cornell settings, and also will display advertising.

Settings in your e-mail program: To retrieve your Cornell e-mail, you'll need to tell your e-mail program where to find Cornell's e-mail server. You'll need your full Cornell e-mail address, including the postoffice number:

NetID@postofficen.mail.cornell.edu

where n is a number, 6 through 10. Find your postoffice number by checking the e-mail form in Who I Am (authentication via CUWebLogin or SideCar required).

Different e-mail programs may use different labels for the fields you need to fill in; for example, you might see "host" instead of "server." Your e-mail program will ask for some, but not all, of the following:

POP account: yourNetID@postofficen.mail.cornell.edu

(for example, ewe2@postoffice9.mail.cornell.edu)

Incoming Mail (POP or POP3) Server: postofficen.mail.cornell.edu

User Name or Login Name: yourNetID

(for example, ewe2)

Return address: yourNetID@cornell.edu

(for example, ewe2@cornell.edu)

Outgoing Mail (SMTP) Server:

• If you are on a Cornell network (using ethernet, ResNet, EZ-Remote, or Express Lane),
  • if you're using Eudora, type authusersmtp.mail.cornell.edu
  • if you're using another e-mail program, use your postoffice (postofficen.mail.cornell.edu)
    
• If you are connecting from an external network, use your ISP's SMTP server
• If your ISP doesn't have an SMTP server, use authusersmtp.mail.cornell.edu, but the box below describes a common problem with this approach.

  People using Cornell's mail servers with an outside ISP often see error message "550 Relay Denied" when trying to send mail to non-Cornell addresses. To avoid this problem, use your ISP's SMTP server if possible. If you must use the Cornell SMTP server, always check your mail before sending. Checking your mail registers your IP address with Cornell's POP server for the next 8 hours, which should enable you to send mail without any further problems. Tip: If you're using Eudora, you'll need to turn off the "Send on check" option (choose Options from the Tools menu on Windows, or Settings from the Special menu on Macintosh; select Checking Mail in the left column; make sure the box next to "Send on check" is not checked).

For more information on setting your e-mail program's "SMTP Server," visit http://www.cit.cornell.edu/computer/email/smtp/

Forwarding your e-mail to another account

If you will be using another e-mail account provided by your ISP, you can change your Cornell "preferred e-mail address" so that any mail sent to yournetid@cornell.edu will be forwarded to an alternate e-mail account automatically.

To do this, go to the Who I Am web site, click the Electronic Mail box, and make the appropriate changes.

• If you do not have SideCar running, a utility called CUWebLogin will appear in your web browser window and ask for your NetID and password. It is safe to enter your password in this window.

You can test the new forwarding address by sending a test message to yournetid@cornell.edu. Allow some time for the message to be forwarded from Cornell to your other mail server.

Note: Cornell alumni only can sign up for free e-mail forwarding through the CU On the Net program.

Warning: If a current Cornell faculty/staff member or student attempts to use the CU on the Net service, their mail account can be damaged, resulting in an irretrievable loss of mail currently on the server, mail delivery difficulties, and other possible problems.

Top Page

Services

Access

Mail

Grades

Software

Computing at Cornell CIT Services
Services without Bear Access This Page

Need help? Ask the CIT Contact Center (HelpDesk)
Send comments to the webmaster with our Feedback Form
Last updated: May 21, 2007