LionMail Mobile and Email Client Setup
LionMail is Columbia's state-of-the-art email, contacts and calendaring system, powered by Google. It provides a secure and convenient way to send and receive mail from any location using just a web browser such as Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Safari. The supported browsers are the current and the previous release of your preferred browser.
Accessing Gmail through a web browser is the only supported method for reading your LionMail. While you may choose to use third-party apps or clients to access your email, the CUIT Email Team does not provide support for issues arising from third-party applications.
All Columbia University Morningside students, faculty and staff have LionMail, though some administrative departments have opted to use Outlook Exchange. CUMC students, faculty and staff use the CUMC email system. CUMC affiliates do not use LionMail.
Important Update: Changes to Gmail Support in Outlook Classic
Google and Microsoft have officially ended support for setting up Gmail accounts within the Outlook Classic desktop application.
LionMail setup for your mobile/tablet
LionMail from your iPhone browser (quick access):
You can follow the steps below to add LionMail to your iPhone, but remember that you can always access LionMail on the web from any browser, including your mobile device, without any configuration:
- Open the browser on your iPhone enter the following URL: lionmail.columbia.edu
- Log in to your LionMail account with your UNI and password
Adding LionMail as an email account on your iPhone (iOS 18.x)
Open the Settings application on your phone's home screen.
Select Apps.
Select Mail.
Select Mail Accounts.
Select Add Account.
Select Google.
Type in your email address in the form [email protected] and select Next.
You will taken to the Duo multifactor authentication screen. Select your preferred authentication method and validate.
The blue Columbia login screen will appear. Close the orange cookies disclaimer at the bottom. Enter your UNI (without @columbia.edu) and your password, and select Login.
Enter your UNI and password
Select Continue by signing in and you agree to share your name, email, address, language, and profile picture with iSO.
iOS will grant you the option of what you want to share with your account. Select all and Continue
Select all that you want to sync from your iPhone to Google in the options provided.
LionMail from your iPad browser (quick access):
You can follow the steps below to add LionMail to your iPhone Mail app, but remember that you can always access LionMail on the web from any browser, including your mobile device, without any configuration, by simply:
- Open the browser on your iPhone or iPad and enter the following URL: lionmail.columbia.edu
- Log in to your LionMail account with your UNI and password.
Adding LionMail as an email account on your iPad (iOS 10.x):
1. Open the Settings application on your tablet's home screen.
2. Click on Mail in the left window and then click Add Account in the right window.
3. Click on the Google mail option.
4. Type in your email address in the form [email protected] and click Next.
5. Type in your UNI and UNI password and click Next.
6. Choose the options for the applications you wish to sync and click Save.
Please Set up an Alias using the link below
** It will take about 1 Hour for your new email alias to become active **
Personalized Email Aliases | Columbia University Information Technology
Please DO NOT continue to the next steps until your new email Alias is active and you have confirmed you can email your new email alias without a Delivery Failure
Add your new email alias to Lion Mail
- On your computer, open Lionmail.
- In the top right, click Settings (The Gear Icon), then See all settings.
- Click the Accounts tab.
- In the Send mail as section, click Add another email address.
- Enter your name and the address you want to send from.
- Place a checkmark in Treat as an alias
- Click Next Step
- Click Send verification.
- Enter the Verification code that is received in your email and click Verify or verify using the link received in the email
Always send from a different address
If you want to always send from your other address, you'll need to change both your default From and reply-to address. If you only change the From address, replies will go to your original email address by default.
To always send email from a different address or alias:
- On your computer, open Lionmail.
- In the top right, click Settings (The Gear Icon), then See all settings
- Click the Accounts tab.
- In the Send mail as section to the right of the address you want to use, click Make default.
On your iOS or Android device, open the App Store and search for ‘Gmail - Email by Google’
Follow the on-screen instructions to download and install the app. You might need to enter your Apple ID and password.
- When the installation is complete, open Gmail .
- Click Google
- Enter your [email protected] as the email address.
- Sign in using your UNI and password when prompted.
- If you want to receive notifications from Gmail, tap Allow.
1. From the home screen, select the Google icon.
2. Click on Gmail.
3. Click GOT IT.
4. Click on Add an email address.
5. Click on Google option.
6. Type in your [email protected] and click NEXT.
7. Click ACCEPT on the following screen.
8. Enter your UNI and UNI password and click LOGIN.
9. Choose whether you would like to automatically backup your device data and click NEXT.
10. The following screen will pop up, indicating the setup is complete:
LionMail setup for Microsoft Outlook and Apple Mail
Open Outlook and enter your LionMail address
Select Sing in
Click on Not IMAP? on the upper right corner.
Select Google
Click on Sign in
Enter your UNI and Password
Select one of the choices to authenticate with DUO
Select your [email protected] account
Click on Continue
Click on Continue
Select Always Allow
Click on Done
Your LionMail account has been added to the Outlook application. Please close the window or choose to add another account. Allow the mail to fully sync before you start using the application.
Open Outlook and type in your [email protected] address, then click on Continue
Wait for the "Choose the Provider" to appear
Click on Choose the Provider
Select GMail
This will take you to another web page to authenticate
Enter in your UNI and password
Select Push, or Call Me, or Enter a passcode
Click on your LionMail account
Click on Continue
Click on Continue
Click on the next web page that pops up and click on Open Link
You will be back in your Outlook application. Do not close the application, and let it sync with Gmail. This will take a few minutes. Once the initial sync is complete, it will go to your inbox while your emails are still syncing. We suggest waiting until everything has completely synced before you start using the mail application.
Open the Mail program, select Google and click Continue.
Type your Columbia email address and click Next.
Login with your UNI and Password and Authenticate with DUO.
Grant permission for your macOS to access you Google Account by selecting 'Allow'.
Select 'Done' and Apple mail will sync your Lionmail. Do NOT start to compose emails while it's still doing its sync. Wait for it to be fully completed and synced.
Columbia Directory (LDAP) setup for your email client
Configure your email client to offer UNIs and names from the Columbia directory by adding LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol).
Columbia LDAP is not supported in Apple Mail. If you prefer using an email client on macOS, only Microsoft Outlook for Mac (Legacy version) is compatible with Columbia LDAP. Please refer to the instructions below for configuring LDAP in Legacy Outlook for Mac.
1. Open Outlook and select File from the banner menu. Click on the Account Settings drop-down box and select Account Settings.
2. Click on the Address Books tab, then select New.
3. Click on the radio button for Internet Directory Service (LDAP), then select Change and Close (in older versions of Outlook, click Next, as shown below).
4. Enter ldap.columbia.edu as the Server Name, then check the box in front of This server requires me to log on and enter the following UNI login credentials:
- User Name: uni=your UNI,ou=People,o=Columbia University,c=US
- For example, if your UNI is ab1234, enter: uni=ab1234,ou=People,o=Columbia University,c=US
- Password: your UNI password
- Enter the password you use to log in to your Columbia email, SSOL, My.Columbia, PAC, etc.
5. Choose More Settings ... (You might receive a popup message stating that you must restart Outlook for these changes to take effect). Click OK to close the pop-up.
Under the Connection tab, enter Columbia Directory for the Display Name. Change the Port: to 636, and check the Use Secure Sockets Layer box.
Select Apply.
6. Select the Search tab.
Under Server Settings, enter:
- Search timeout in seconds: 60
- Specify the maximum number of entries you want to return after a successful search: 100
Under Search Base, enter the following in the Custom: box:
ou=People,o=Columbia University,c=US
Click Apply and then OK.
7. Click Next.
8. Click Finish and restart Outlook.
