Default email app

You can make Shortwave your default email app by following the instructions below for your device or browser. Once enabled, Shortwave will automatically open any time you follow an email link.

Android app

1. Install the Shortwave Android app
2. Open your system Settings
3. Search and select your current mail client via Settings (i.e. "Gmail")
4. Under App info tap Open by default
5. Tap Clear default preferences
6. Open a mailto link
7. Tap Shortwave then Always from the pop-up menu

iOS app

1. Install the Shortwave iOS app
2. Open the Shortwave app
3. Swipe from left to right to open your account menu
4. Tap Settings
5. Select Default mail app
6. Tap Default Mail App again from your iOS settings
7. Select Shortwave from your list of apps

Desktop app

If you haven't already, the first step to using Shortwave as a desktop app is to download the Shortwave PWA via Chrome.

Mac

1. Open Mail from the Applications folder or Finder
2. From the Mail menu, choose Preferences (or Settings)
3. Click the General button
4. Choose Shortwave from the “Default email reader” dropdown menu

Windows

1. Open Settings > Apps > Default Apps
2. In the right panel under the Email section, click the existing default mail app
3. Select Shortwave from the dropdown list

Web app

Along with setting your web app preferences, you can also set your computer to open your default browser to email links. You can do this by following the relevant Desktop app instructions above and choosing your preferred browser as your default mail handler (instead of the Shortwave desktop app).

Doing this ensures that other non-browser apps also send you to Shortwave in your preferred browser.

Chrome

1. Go to your Shortwave account settings in your browser
2. Scroll to the very bottom, click default mail app
3. Click Allow in the popup that appears by the URL bar

Not working?

If you've previously canceled or blocked the prompt, reset it from your browser settings:

1. Navigate to Chrome's Protocol handlers settings at chrome://settings/handlers
2. Ensure the default behavior is set to "Sites can ask to handle protocols"
   
3. Remove app.shortwave.com if it appears in the Not allowed to handle protocols section by clicking the X
4. Refresh the Shortwave page and follow the steps in the section above

Firefox

1. Go to your Shortwave account settings in your browser
2. Scroll to the very bottom, click default mail app
3. Click Add application in the popup that appears below the URL bar. If the popup doesn't appear, skip this step and go straight to step #4.
4. Navigate to Firefox settings at about:preferences#general
5. Search for the term "mailto"
6. In the mailto row, choose Use app.shortwave.com from the dropdown list

Edge

1. Go to your Shortwave account settings in your browser
2. Scroll to the very bottom, click default mail app
3. Click Allow in the popup that appears by your URL bar

Not working?

If you've previously canceled or blocked the prompt, reset it from your browser settings:

1. Navigate to Edge's Protocol handlers settings at edge://settings/content/handlers
2. Remove app.shortwave.com if it appears in the Blocked section by clicking the trash can icon
3. Refresh the Shortwave page and follow the steps in the section above