Configuring Systems for Email at Rutgers

This web page tells you how to configure a program on a desktop or laptop computer to read mail from a Rutgers mail server. Instructions for mobile devices are also available.

Before you set up email, you will need to have the basic network working.  See the Getting connected web page. (Camden users may prefer to look at the access page of the Camden help system.)

(If you are running a mail server, please see Dealing with Spam being forwarded by your system for advice on setting up mail servers at Rutgers.)

Web Mail

The easiest way to read and send mail is to use a web interface. See the mail Rutgers webmail page for pointers to web interfaces for all of the major Rutgers mail services. A separate web-based mail program is also available on the my.rutgers.edu portal.

Web mail is the best approach for users who don't get a lot of mail, or who don't want to bother installing and setting up a separate mail program. Even those who use a mail program will find web mail convenient when they are in a public lab or other location where their preferred program isn't available.

Choosing a Mail Program

You should consider using a mail program if you get lots of mail, or if you need to see new messages immediately when they arrive.

There are three major mail programs we currently support. There are specific set-up instructions for accounts on each of the three main campuses:

Some older versions of these programs may also be supported.  For example, Microsoft Outlook Express is no longer being developed by Microsoft, although we still support it.

The central mail systems run by the Office of Information Technology can be accessed using any supported mail program.  If you are connecting to an account on a departmental Microsoft Exchange server, you may want to use Microsoft Outlook. (Ask your local computer support for recommendations.)

Calendaring: Many mail programs provide support for a central calendar. There is no free central calendar system offered by OIT.  People who require this should look into the licensed RUMail service.

Other mail programs: While we cannot provide detailed support for them all, there are other mail programs which some people may prefer or which local support may recommend. If other people you are working with are already using one of these programs, you'll probably be better off to use the same one they are. Then you'll be able to get help from your friends, and you'll be sure that more advanced features such as attachments work in exactly the same way. In general, these programs require the same set-up information as the supported programs, although the specific locations in which to enter the information will differ. In addition to using the General Set-Up Information section, you can also try using a set-up document for a supported program as a model to help set-up another program. If all else fails, search the Internet for set-up instructions for your program, but substitute the Rutgers information as appropriate.

General Set-Up Information

For specific instructions for setting up the supported mail programs, click the links for the program names in Choosing a Mail Program above. This section is to provide guidance for the unsupported programs.

In order to use one of the Rutgers mail servers, you need to have a OIT computer account. If you don't yet have one, see Creating an Account.

Once you have a computer account, you can use one of our mail servers. Please look at the following list, and find your email server and email address. The email address is just an example. You should use your own NetID rather than "smith".

Campus/user type	Email Server	Email Address
Camden students	email.clam.rutgers.edu	smith@camden.rutgers.edu
Camden faculty/staff	email.crab.rutgers.edu	smith@camden.rutgers.edu
Newark students	pegasus.rutgers.edu	smith@pegasus.rutgers.edu
Newark faculty/staff	andromeda.rutgers.edu	smith@andromeda.rutgers.edu
New Brunswick students	eden.rutgers.edu	smith@eden.rutgers.edu
New Brunswick faculty/staff	rci.rutgers.edu	smith@rci.rutgers.edu
RUMail	rumail.rutgers.edu	smith@domain.rutgers.edu

(RUMail is a central mail and calendar system, available on a licensing basis only. All RUMail accounts are at specific domains hosted on RUMail. If your department is licensing RUMail, ask your local computer support for your domain.)

Setting up your Mail Program

There are three things you need to tell your mail program:

Computer to get mail from (Incoming mail server / IMAP Server)

Mail programs use either the "IMAP" or "POP" service to get mail from the Rutgers mail servers. Programs will often ask you to choose which you want to use. Although both will work, we strongly recommend using IMAP where possible. POP is an older service restricted to an account's Inbox only.

When using IMAP you will be able to define folders on the server that may be accessed by all IMAP mail readers any place, any time. With POP you may only create folders on the desktop system (i.e., PC, MAC) where you are reading your email.

The computer you get mail from will always be your Rutgers mail server as shown in the table above, e.g., rci.rutgers.edu. Most programs will ask you to "authenticate" with your username and password; that will be your NetID and the corresponding password.

NOTE: In addition to giving the program your NetID and password, you will need to tell it to "use SSL". SSL is an option that causes communications between your program and the mail server to be encrypted. We use this so that other people can't steal your password. Often there will be a checkbox labelled "use SSL" next to the computer name or username. However, sometimes you will need to look for an "Advanced Options" or similar section.

Computer to send mail to (Outgoing mail server / SMTP Server)

If you are using an account on a system on the New Brunswick campus, the computer you send mail to will be a common Rutgers outgoing mail server: smtp.rutgers.edu. Accounts on systems on the Newark and Camden campus use the same server name as the incoming mail server, e.g., email.camden.rutgers.edu. You will need to authenticate to this server with your NetID and password, and check "Use SSL", just as you did for the incoming mail server.

If you are outside Rutgers (e.g., at home) and are not connecting to the Rutgers network via VPN, you have two options. The easiest is to use the Rutgers outgoing mail server, e.g., smtp.rutgers.edu. However, some commercial Internet Service Providers require their customers to send all mail through their own server for outgoing mail. If the Rutgers outgoing mail servers do not work for you, you will need to contact your provider and ask them for the hostname of their mail server. (If they want to know which kind of server you need, tell them you are looking for the system that is doing "SMTP forwarding".) Note that you will still be reading mail at Rutgers, and your email address will still be at Rutgers. This simply affects the way your mail is sent.

Your email address

The address of your email account will be of the form "netid@system.rutgers.edu". The specific system address is listed in the table above.

Rutgers users may prefer to set up a mail alias the form "netid@rutgers.edu", i.e., omit the name of the specific system by using @rutgers.edu rather than @system.rutgers.edu. Addresses ending in @rutgers.edu go to a central mail aliasing system, where the messages are forwarded to actual account addresses. You are prompted to create a mail alias and supply the address it forwards to when you activate a NetID or create an email account on a central system.

The aliasing system also permits you to choose an alias with a "personal name" in the form of "firstname.lastname@rutgers.edu". As with netid@rutgers.edu, this alias will forward to the same address set for you in the aliasing system.

NetIDs are allowed to create up to three separate aliases, although they must all forward to the same account or set of accounts.  To add or change an alias or a forwarding address, go to https://netid.rutgers.edu, click the "NetID Management Tool" link, and log in with your NetID and password.  Once in, click the "Manage Email Addresses" tab to change an alias or forwarding ("delivery") address.

On that same site, the "Manage Display Address" tab lets you determine whether an alias or an actual account address is displayed in your entry in the Rutgers Online Directory.