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Get your Cmail account

Cmail accounts are provided automatically to all students (including undergraduates, graduate students, and professional students). To use your Cmail account, you simply need to set it up. You will continue to use your NetID@cornell.edu address (for example, ewe1@cornell.edu) with Cmail.

Current students: Get started with Cmail

If you are currently a Cornell student and were enrolled prior to March 31, 2009, you will set up your Cmail account through Who I Am (see link below). 

Four things you need to know before you set up your account:

  1. You'll be asked whether you want your Cornell email sent to your Cmail account, or to another email address you specify. (Even if you don't use Cmail for your email, you can use its other features.)
  2. You'll be asked whether you want messages that were stored in your Cornell email (postoffice) account copied to your Cmail account. Note: Decide now, before you go to Who I Am, whether you want to do this. If you don't choose this option when you set up your account, you won't be able to do it later.  (Find out more.)
  3. You'll be prompted to reset your NetID password so you can use it to access all Cmail services.
  4. Your Cornell email (postoffice) account, and any messages stored there, will be deleted 35 days after you activate your Cmail account.

To set up your Cmail account, go to Who I Am (you'll need your NetID and password), and click the "Set up my Cmail account" button.

After you set up your Cmail account, you will be able to sign in to see your email, or go to the Cmail start page using your NetID and password. If you'll be checking your Cmail messages via a mobile phone or an email program such as Thunderbird, you'll need to change some settings.

Messages sent to you at your NetID@cornell.edu address will be delivered to the email account(s) you have specified in Who I Am. To check or change these settings, go to Who I Am (you'll need your NetID and password).

After setting up your Cmail account, you will still be able to access your old messages through WebMail in read-only mode for 35 days. You will not be able to use uPortal.Cornell's email channel after switching to Cmail.

Note to graduating students: After you graduate, you only have until September 30, 2009, to set up your Cmail account. If you don't do it by then, your only option will be Cornell's email forwarding service.

New students: Get started with Cmail

If you are a new student, enrolling at Cornell for summer 2009, fall 2009, or later, you will receive your Cmail account when you activate your Cornell NetID. (See the New Students web site for more information about this process.) 

After you activate your NetID, you will be able to sign in to see your email, or go to the Cmail start page using your NetID and password. If you'll be checking your Cmail messages via a mobile phone or an email program such as Thunderbird, you'll need to change some settings.

Messages sent to you at your NetID@cornell.edu address will be delivered to the email account(s) you specified when you activated your NetID. To check or change these settings, go to Who I Am (you'll need your NetID and password).

New students do not have access to either WebMail or uPortal.Cornell's email channel. These services are being phased out.