HDS - Checking Email From Home

These instructions are designed to help you set up email client software on your own computer so that you can connect to the HDS email server to check your email. If you want to know how to read email on the HDS Computer Lab machines or the HDS Internet Kiosk machines, use the HDS Webmail client.

Please note that these instructions on how to check your email from home assume that you already know your HDS email login ID and password. You should have received these in your Registration packet. If you do not know your HDS email login ID and password, please contact us.

To view your HDS email from your own computer, you will need some way to get on the Internet from wherever your computer is located. If you live in Rockefeller Hall, you can get Internet access through Harvard's high speed data network (Ethernet). This operates separately from the phone connection in your dorm room. For more information on this form of Internet access, please call 496-9111. If you live elsewhere, you will need an Internet Service Provider (ISP) account in order to get on the Internet. HDS IT Services does not provide dial-in access or any access at all to those students not living in Rockefeller Hall.

Please note that we provide the instructions below in the hope that they will help you to set up your own computer to check your HDS email. Because several of the factors involved in making a successful connection to our email server from your home or other remote location lie beyond our control (for example, the quality of your phone line, the functionality of your modem, the satisfactory provision of service by your ISP, restrictions put in place by your ISP, etc.), HDS IT and Media Services cannot be responsible for ensuring that you successfully access our email system from your own computer. IT and Media Services will not troubleshoot off-campus Internet connections or hardware problems on your home machine.

Getting an Internet Service Provider Account

Before you can check your email from home, you will need an Internet Service Provider. Users looking for Internet Service Providers can visit this page for information on services available in the area.

Using Webmail

One option for accessing your HDS email account is to use our Webmail service. You will not need special email client software to check your HDS using Webmail. All you need to do is point your web browser at:

Email Client Software

Webmail does not offer all of the features you can get from fully-functional email client software. If you have a home machine, you should strongly consider setting up an email client on your home computer to check your HDS email. While HDS IT and Media Services staff cannot be responsible for getting your email software configured correctly on your home machine, we hope that the instructions provided below will enable you to fairly easily configure the email client to check your HDS email. Tutorials on how to configure most popular email clients are available below.

Setting Up Email Clients to Check Your HDS Email

These instructions assume that you have already established an account with an ISP and that you are actually connected to the Internet as you begin the process outlined here.

IT & Media Services currently recommends Microsoft Outlook Express or Mozilla Thunderbird for Windows users. Outlook Express is included with the Windows operating system. More information on obtaining the client can be found here. Information on how to configure the client to check your HDS email can be found here:

Mozilla's Thunderbird email client is another popular client and is freely downloadable. Instructions on how to set up Thunderbird to check HDS email can be found here:

If you are using a Macintosh computer, it is recommended that you use the built-in client, Mail (Mac OS X) or Outlook Express for Macintosh (Mac OS 9). Information on how to configure the client to check your HDS email can be found here:

In general, you may find the following settings helpful if you are trying to configure email client software other than those listed above:

Harvard Divinity School

Information Technology and Media Services

Checking Your Email from Home

Overview

Getting an Internet Service Provider Account

Using Webmail

Email Client Software

Setting Up Email Clients to Check Your HDS Email