Set Up Apple Mail

These instructions describe how to set up Apple Mail for Mac OS to connect to your UCSF e-mail account.

For other methods of connecting to UCSF e-mail, see Set Up E-mail. If you encounter a problem during setup, see Resolve E-mail Problems.

Understanding the risks

Before you set up email as described below, we want you to know that by doing so you agree to potential financial liabilities and possible disciplinary action if you fail to keep confidential legally protected patient care data.

Federal and state laws and University policy state or imply that information security is your responsibility.
You cannot predict when someone you work with will send unencrypted confidential information to your email account.
You cannot predict when you might lose your device or it is stolen.
Not all smartphones and handheld computers store and delete data securely (e.g., stored encrypted, deleted by writing the medium with multiple passes of data).
Even devices thought to be secure might later be found to be insecure. Examples: Apple Patches iPhone SMS Security Hole With Software Update and Hacker Says iPhone 3GS Encryption Is 'Useless' for Businesses.
When you report a lost or stolen device in a timely manner, ActiveSync-connected devices can be remotely erased upon request, and both your timely reporting and the device's timely erasure significantly increase the chances that the penalties will be less severe or none at all. If later found or returned, your device can be restored from a backup you might have.
If applicable, you will be held personally liable -- up to $250,000 per violation.
Even if you are found personally liable, that does not necessarily exonerate the University from financial liability, and the University also has an interest in protecting its reputation.
If applicable, CalOHII might notify the licensing board of a violation, which could affect your ability to practice.

Setup Instructions

Follow the instructions at Apple Mail v3.2 POP/IMAP Settings. The dialogs you encounter might look slightly differently than what our instructions describe, but the settings will be mostly the same and should work. If you encounter a problem at this step, see Resolve E-mail Problems.

Before selling or disposing of your computer

If your computer contained any unencrypted and legally protected information, California and federal laws and University policy require you to securely erase the computer's hard drive so that thieves cannot retrieve any confidential data that you might have deleted but which remain on the device undetectable by you. Details: See column 2 at Computer Recycling.

Report a lost or stolen computer

California and federal laws and University policy require you to report a lost or stolen computer, USB drive, cdrom, dvdrom, etc., if it stored any unencrypted and legally protected information. Email is a common way for such information to be delivered. For details about reporting requirements, see About Privacy.

Shortcut to This Page

To reach this page quickly or share it with others, use pharmacy.ucsf.edu/go/applemail, which redirects to a longer URL.

Go To: Set Up E-mail