What is Microsoft 365?

Microsoft 365 (M365) is a suite of cloud-hosted apps that enable you to communicate, collaborate, and innovate.  At the University of Texas, this includes:

• Email (Outlook)
• Chat and video calling (Teams)
• Office suite (Microsoft Office)
• Cloud storage (OneDrive for Business)
• Web content and document management (SharePoint)
• Business intelligence and app development (Power Platform)
• ...and many others

Current students, faculty, and staff have access to these services at no additional cost.

How do I get an account?

If you are eligible for Microsoft 365, you should already have an account.  To log in, please see How do I log in?.

How do I log in?

How do I log into a Microsoft prompt or other app?

Related articles

What Email Accounts Are Available to Me?

It is University policy that all University business is conducted with a University email address. 

Available Email Environments

There are two email environments available to current students, faculty and staff.

• Office 365 (powered by Microsoft Exchange)
• UTmail (powered by Google - You may have up to two UTmail accounts, Business and/or Personal.)

Each environment has its own set of applications you'll get access to once you claim a mailbox.

You have the option to choose the email environment(s) and application suite(s) you use during your time here.

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Office 365 and UTmail Features

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Official Work Email Requirements

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Email Forwarding Rules for UT Employees

Email Forwarding:

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Network Requirements - Connect to uTexas

Connecting to email on campus:

• Office 365 - You must be connected to the uTexas wifi network in order to access Office 365 applications and services while on campus. If you are connected to the UTGuest wifi network, you will not be allowed to login.
• UTmail - You are not required to connect to the uTexas wifi network in order to access UTmail services on campus.

Connecting to email off campus:

• You can connect to Office 365 or UTmail on any network off campus. An internet connection is required. 

Connecting to uTexas:

• Bring up the list of Wi-Fi networks on your device, select utexas, and log in using your UT EID when prompted.

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Multi-Factor Authentication

Multi-Factor authentication is required for both Office365 and UTmail business accounts.

Office365

Multi-Factor Authentication is required to access Office 365 services online. To better protect the security of your online information, the university has implemented MFA using the Duo product. This system will prompt you to authenticate when you log into any university web application protected by MFA. Before you can complete the authentication process, you will need to enroll a device. The recommended device is a smartphone or tablet, such as an iPhone or Android device.

You will need your chosen device handy to complete this process. Assistance with this process can be found using the link below:

• Multi-Factor Authentication Knowledge Base 

UTmail Business Accounts

Unlike other UT services which use Duo for two-factor authentication, UTmail uses Google's own two-factor authentication system.

This works by obtaining codes through the Google Authenticator app, or responding to push notifications from the general Google app.

For assistance setting up Google two-factor authentication, please visit: Google Two-Factor Authentication

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Claim and Log In to Your Office 365 Account

1. Log in to the Office 365 Management Web Application with your EID. If you do not yet have a mailbox, you will be presented with the Create My Mailbox page. If a mailbox has already been created for you, you will see details about the mailbox

2. Enter your desired display name in the Display name box

3. Enter your desired email address in the Email address field

• If you have entered an email address which is already in use or is invalid, you will be presented with an opportunity to select another address. 

4. Click Submit

5. After a mailbox has been created, additional steps need to occur for full provisioning. That process may take up to one hour. You will receive an email at the official email address associated with your EID when provisioning has been completed.

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Claim and Log In to Your UTmail Account

For assistance claiming your UTmail account, please visit: Claim My UTmail Account

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Faculty and Staff

Office 365:

Office 365 is a Microsoft hosted messaging solution that delivers the capabilities of Microsoft Outlook as a cloud-based service. It gives users a rich and familiar access to email, calendar and contacts allowing access by PC’s, Mac, the web and mobile devices. Users may access their email through a web browser using Outlook Web App or from a variety of mobile devices. This service includes; secure access, security audits, service continuity, intrusion monitoring and high availability.

Available to:

• Current Faculty
• Current Staff
• Future Faculty
• Future Staff

UTmail Business Accounts:

UTmail Business Accounts provide UT Austin faculty and staff with a university affiliated email address in the @utexas.edu domain.

Available to:

• Current Staff
• Current Faculty

UT EMPLOYEES USE CAUTION: All university emails and files must be stored in approved, university-managed accounts and storage locations. Do not use a personal account to store university records or conduct university business. All accounts used for university business are subject to open records requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This includes personal accounts that have been converted to business accounts for university business purposes. Review the alternative services you may use an employee, or reach out to Records and Information Management Services (RIMS) for further guidance.

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Students

Office 365 for Students

The University of Texas at Austin is expanding Office 365 service eligibility to current UT Austin students. You will have access to the features listed below, some of which require creating an Exchange mailbox in order to be licensed. You are able to access all available Office 365 services by logging into the Office 365 Portal with your UT EID. For more information on Office 365 services for students, please visit our knowledge base article here.

Available to:

• Current Students

UTmail Personal Accounts

UTmail provides UT Austin students and alumni with a university affiliated email address in the @utexas.edu domain.

Available to:

• Current Students
• Future Students
• Former Students

UT EMPLOYEES USE CAUTION: All university emails and files must be stored in approved, university-managed accounts and storage locations. Do not use a personal account to store university records or conduct university business. All accounts used for university business are subject to open records requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This includes personal accounts that have been converted to business accounts for university business purposes. Review the alternative services you may use an employee, or reach out to Records and Information Management Services (RIMS) for further guidance.

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What Happens to My Email After I Leave the University? - Faculty, Staff, and Students

Faculty and Staff

Office 365

• In accordance with section 4.1 of the Information Resources Use and Security Policy, when your affiliation of Current or Future Faculty/Staff changes to Former Faculty/Staff, you will no longer have access your mailbox as your eligibility will have changed.
• Individuals who are no longer eligible for Office 365 have 120 days in which to request the contents of their account. After that 120 day period, your mailbox and its contents will be permanently deleted.
• You can request that the contents of your mailbox be exported and sent in a .pst file before you leave the university by emailing help@its.utexas.edu.
• When you are no longer eligible for a mailbox, you will receive an email in Exchange account and your official email address listed in TED. 
• UT System currently requires unaffiliated accounts be purged every quarter per UTS165 Standards.
  
  

UTmail

• UTmail Business accounts are suspended when an employee no longer works at the university unless they are retiring (see below) or explicit steps are taken to prevent this. Business accounts are deleted after 120 days of being in a suspended state if their owner is no longer eligible for service.
• Retiree UTmail Business accounts will automatically be converted into a Personal account when their EID reflects a "Retiree" affiliation as long as they have not already claimed a Personal account. UTmail Personal accounts for retirees will be automatically suspended if the owner does not log in at least once every 365 days. Notification emails will be sent to the account and recovery email prior to suspension and will contain instructions to prevent/revert suspension. Current employees leaving the university are not eligible for a personal account. Retiree Personal accounts have a lower amount of storage than Business accounts.  Please review the What's Changing with UTmail article for details regarding differences in account types.

OneDrive

• OneDrive and all other Office 365 components will become unavailable once the license is removed. There is not a 30 day grace period to access OneDrive and other Office 365 components.

Students

Office 365

• Former students automatically lose access to Office 365 services as soon as they are considered a former student by the EID system. Former student affiliation is evaluated on the 12th class day of the next long semester after graduating.
• Individuals who are no longer eligible for Office 365 have 365 days in which to request the contents of their account. After that 365 day period, their mailbox and its contents will be permanently deleted.

UTmail

• Personal UTmail accounts are offered to students and alumni, as well as faculty and staff that retire from the University. Personal UTmail accounts belonging to alumni will be automatically suspended if the user does not log in at least once every 365 days. Notification emails will be sent to the account and recovery email prior to suspension and will contain instructions to prevent/revert suspension. Personal accounts have different storage quotas than those of current students & employees. Please review What's Changing with UTmail for details regarding differences in account types.

OneDrive

• Access to OneDrive and all other Office 365 components will automatically be inaccessible once your Office365 license is removed. There is not a 30 day grace period to access OneDrive and other Office 365 components.

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UTmail FAQ

For a full list of frequently asked UTmail questions, please visit: UTmail Frequently Asked Questions

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Additional Resources

Below are some additional resources to help you navigate email questions.

• For questions about email policy, contact the Information Security Office at security@utexas.edu.
• For questions about updating your email address in Workday, review this how-to article or contact askus@austin.utexas.edu
• For questions about moving from a personal email to a university email, contact your college, school, or unit desktop support or IT personnel.
• For more information on Office 365 Email Services, visit the links below:
  
  • UT Office 365
  • Office 365: Applications, Eligibility, and Access
  • Office 365 for Students
  • Email Management Tools
• For more information on UTmail email services, visit the link below:
  
  • UTmail Business Service

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