Add Exchange Mailbox to Thunderbird

Issue/Question

  • How do I access my Exchange email in Thunderbird

Environment

  • Oregon State University
  • Exchange Email

Resolution

Note: Thunderbird is an IMAP application. IMAP is less secure and is generally not recommended. Using the Exchange Web App is recommended instead.

To keep in mind, IMAP and Oauth used to access your Exchange mailbox can work, but generally will not perform the same or have the best results compared to using Outlook. 

Outlook is generally the best and smoothest way to access your Exchange mailbox. 
  1. Open Thunderbird
  2. Select File -> New -> Existing Mail Account
  3. Enter your full name
  4. For email address, enter your username@oregonstate.edu
  5. Click "configure manually"
    1. Incoming Server
      1. Protocol:   IMAP
      2. Hostname: outlook.office365.com
      3. Port:  993
      4. Connection Security: SSL/TLS
      5. Authentication: Oauth2
    2. Outgoing Server
      1. Hostname: smtp.office365.com
      2. Port:  587
      3. SSL:  STARTTLS
      4. Authentication: Oauth2
    3. Leave the username in each field as your username@oregonstate.edu email/username
    4. If the above settings do not show the correct Authentication method, fill out everything but the authentication method and then click Re-test.  This will reset the SSL/Connection Security, but Oauth2 should now be available.
  6. Click Done
  7. Enter your ONID username and password when prompted 

*If the authentication window appears with a message along the lines of "Cookies are disabled in your web browser"*

  1. Click Tools > Settings
  2. Select "Privacy & Security"
  3. Scroll down to "Web Content"
  4. Check the box next to "Accept cookies from sites"
  5. Click "Exceptions"
    1. Add the url: outlook.office365.com
    2. Click Save Changes
  6. The authentication window should open after a moment
    1. Restart Thunderbird if the prompt doesn't appear. 

Assistance

For assistance, contact the Service Desk. Note: Support for Thunderbird is on a "best effort" basis only.

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