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Topics Map > Communication and collaboration > Office 365
Topics Map > Communication and collaboration > Email

Office 365University Exchange Account InstallationRemovaland Best Practices

This document covers all methods of supported installation for known OS for Outlook and 3rd party support.

Table of Contents

  1. Overview
  2. POP3 Support
  3. Installation Instructions
  4. Windows Configuration
  5. macOS Configuration
  6. iOS/iPadOS Configuration
  7. Android Configuration
  8. AppleMail Configuration
  9. Third-Party and IMAP
  10. Adding a second account to Outlook
  11. Remote Wipe of a Lost or Retired Device

Overview

University of Illinois email accounts can be used on many devices through the Microsoft Exchange service. This is best handled by the official Microsoft Outlook applicationbut can also be done through iOS or Android's built-in mail app or any 3rd-party application that supports the OAuth2 protocol. 

Before Microsoft started to require OAuth2 (sometimes called Modern Authentication)many email apps used Basic Authentication. The Basic Authentication protocol is considered outdated and insecureand was disabled for Illinois accounts in August of 2022. 

POP3 Support

I want to POP3 my Exchange email to an email client or via another email servicelike Gmail.

Unfortunatelythe POP3 (Post Office Protocol) protocol is not allowed for connections to Exchange accounts. We do not allow POP3 on the Exchange system for several reasons:

  • The protocol is extremely resource intensive for the mail servers.
  • Mail cannot be restored.
  • POP3 client applications can only be used to download messages from the e-mail server to a single folder (usually the Inbox) on the client computer.
  • The POP3 protocol can't synchronize multiple folders on the e-mail server with multiple folders on the client computer.
  • POP3 also doesn't support public folder access.

Installation and Activation Instructions for Office 365:

Instructions for installing Microsoft Office can be found here: Office 365 Software Installation Instructions. To install a new version of Microsoft Officeit's considered best practice to uninstall any other versions of Microsoft Office that may already be installed on your computer. Instructions for uninstalling Office can be found here for Windows and here for macOS.

Additionallyyou may need to deactivate your previous installation of Microsoft Office before installing a new version. To deactivate your previous installation:

  1. Log into the Office 365 Portal.
  2. Click Install and more in the upper-right corner.
  3. Click Microsoft 365 apps.
  4. Click Apps & devices from the left-hand list.
  5. Select Devices under Office.
  6. Click Sign out next to the device you would like to disconnect from your Microsoft Office account.

Configure Outlook Client for Windows

Adding an account to Classic Outlook: Add an email account to Classic Outlook for Windows.
Removing an account from Classic Outlook: Remove or delete an email account from classic Outlook for Windows

Adding an account to New Outlook: Add an email account to New Outlook for Windows.
Removing an account from New Outlook: Remove an account in new Outlook

Configure Outlook Client for macOS

Adding an account to Outlook for macOS: Add an email account to Outlook for Mac.
Removing an account from Outlook for macOS: Sign out of an email account in Outlook for Mac

iOS/iPadOS Apple Mail

The most reliable method to check your Illinois email on an iOS device is with the Microsoft Outlook app.

The built-in Mail app also supports Modern Authentication. These instructions should be accurate or similar for any iOS version 12 or newer. Illinois accounts can be set up in the stock Mail and Calendar apps that are built in to iOSby way of the Microsoft Exchange protocol:

  1. Open the Settings appscroll down until you find Appsthen tap Mail.
    • In older versions of iOSMail will be it's own heading in the Settings appwithout needing to go to Apps first.
  2. Tap Mail Accounts to see a list of accounts you've already set up in iOS.
  3. Tap Add Account at the bottom of this listthen select Microsoft Exchange from the options.
  4. Enter your full Illinois email address (usually your NetID followed by @illinois.edu) in the Email field. The Description field may automatically fillthough you can change it to any title you'd like it to appear as under in the Accounts list.
  5. Tap Next in the upper-right corner. A popup will appear asking about signing in using Microsoft to discover your Exchange account informationand if you'd like to Configure Manually or Sign In. Select Sign Inthen Continue if asked for confirmation.
  6. An Illinois-branded sign in screen will loadwith your address already filled in and a prompt for your password. Use the same password as for other Illinois servicesand tap the blue Sign in button.
  7. You may be asked to perform 2-factor authentication if you have it configured for your account.
  8. You may be shown a warning about iOS Accounts using Microsoft features; select Accept.
  9. Use the switches to select which iOS apps you'd like to use with your Illinois accountthen tap Save in the upper-right corner. You'll be taken back to the list of accountswhich will now include an entry with the title given for Description in step 4.
  10. Navigate to the Mail app (or any other iOS app you selected) to verify that data from your Illinois account appears. It may take several minutes to download all contents of your mailbox.

These settings have been verified to be accurate using a 5th-generation iPad Pro running iOS 18.1.1but should be similar for any iPhone or iPad with any relatively recent version of iOS.

These steps can be used to add multiple Illinois accounts to the same deviceif required.

If you're having trouble sending or receiving mailespecially after changing your passwordyou may need to remove your Illinois accountand then re-add it.

  1. Open the Settings appscroll down until you find Appsthen tap Mail.
    • In older versions of iOSMail will be it's own heading in the Settings appwithout needing to go to Apps first.
  2. Tap Mail Accounts to see a list of accounts you've already set up in iOS.
  3. Select "Exchange" (or whichever entry represents your Illinois account) and choose Delete Account on its page. iOS will warn you about removing thingsbut data stored on the Illinois mail server will not be lost; this is only removing it from your device.
  4. Thenre-add your account following the steps as listed above.

To remove your email account from Outlook on iOS use these instructions: How do I remove my email account?

Android

The most reliable method to check your Illinois email on an Android device is with the Microsoft Outlook app.

If you choose not to use the Outlook appplease note that not all versions of Android have the same built-in mail clientsso support is provided on a best-effort basis.

  • Your Illinois account may appear in Android's Settings appunder an Accounts heading.
  • Your Illinois account may appear in the settings screen of the Email app. Sign out of the accountthen sign back in to it.

You can safely disregard any prompt that warns about management policies that may be applied when setting up your account; we do not make use of any of these featuresother than allowing you to remotely wipe email from your device. 

In generaluse the following settings where you are prompted:

  • Protocol: Microsoft Outlook or OAuth2
  • Email Address or Username: [email protected]
  • Domain: illinois.edu
  • Server: outlook.office365.com

To remove your email account from Outlook on Android use these instructions: How do I remove my email account?

macOS Apple Mail

The Apple Mail application in macOS can reliably be used to access your Illinois email account. These instructions are accurate for recent versions of macOS10.14 (Mojave) and newerthough buttons and menu entries may have different names and locations in macOS 13 (Ventura). The built-in Mail app in recent versions of macOS (10.14 Mojave or newer) supports Modern Authentication and can be used with Illinois email accounts.

To add your Illinois account to the macOS Mail app:

  1. Click the Apple icon in the upper-left corner of the screen and choose System Settings...
  2. Click Internet Accounts. This will list any accounts that have been configured in macOS.
  3. Click Add Account... to the lower-right of the accounts list.
  4. Choose Microsoft Exchange as the mail service provider when prompted.
  5. macOS will ask for a name and an email address. The name you enter is how the account will show up in the account list. In the email address fieldenter your Illinois email address ([email protected]) and click Sign In.
  6. If asked whether you want to sign in using Microsoftchoose Sign In (do not choose Configure Manually).
  7. A window with an Illinois-branded sign-in screen will appear with your email address already filled in and a prompt for your password. Input the same password that you use for other Illinois websites and servicesand click Sign In.
  8. Check the boxes for the Exchange account features you'd like to use in macOSthen click Done.

To remove your account from Apple Mail please use this link and be sure to select the correct version for your computer: Remove email accounts in Mail on Mac

Third-PartyIMAPand Limitations

We recommend that people use the official Outlook mail application to access their mailboxbut people have the option to use alternative mail clients. The configuration information given below should be helpful for using the IMAP protocol to connect to your Exchange Online mailbox. Any mail clients using the IMAP protocol must be configured to use Modern Authentication. At this timeany mail clients using the IMAP protocol that only support basic authentication will not function.

Note: that IMAP only provides an email connection. You won't receive calendar information through IMAP.

There are many other third-party email applications that may be able to use Modern Authentication. Due to the many softwaresoperating systemsand devices that a user can choose fromTechnology Services will be unable to test or provide in-depth support for them.

If a third-party application supports OAuth2 but does not offer an Exchange sign-in optionyou can try connecting with the IMAP protocol.
Please note that IMAP will not provide calendar event details or mailbox subfolders.

Use the following settings to configure third-party email clients:

  • Email Address/Username: [email protected]
  • Password: same password as with other University websites and services
  • Incoming mail server: outlook.office365.com
  • Incoming protocol: port 143 and TLS (Thunderbird uses STARTTLSother unsupported clients use SSL and 993)OAuth2
  • Outgoing mail server: smtp.office365.com
  • Outgoing protocol: requires authenticationport 587 and TLS (Thunderbird uses STARTTLSother unsupported clients use SSL)OAuth2

Add a second account to Outlook

If you have access to a shared mailbox (resource account)it is possible to add it as a second account to Outlook. This allows you to use your personal email account and a resource account at the same time.

NOTE: If you have the box for "Let me set up my account manually checked" in Advanced options under where you input your account's email addresschoose Office365. This box is unnecessary to check due to auto-discover for University exchange accounts.

Method 1:

If you also have send-as permission on the resource accountthis process will place messages sent from the resource account into the Sent Items folder of the resource account. Outlook will also create a separate cache file (.OST) for each accountwhich can really help with performance and file size limits.

Outlook on the Web

  1. On the View tabselect View settings.
  2. Select Accounts > Shared with Me
  3. Under Shared with Meselect +Addand enter an email address for which you have existing permissions for. Click Continue.
  4. If promptedenter your password for the account and select Done

Windows (New Outlook)

  1. On the View tabselect View settings.
  2. Select Accounts > Email accounts
  3. Under Email accountsselect Add Accountand select a suggested account from the dropdown menu or enter a different email address. Click Continue.
  4. If promptedenter your password for the account and select Done

Windows (Classic Outlook)

  1. Click File in the upper-left corner.
  2. Under the Account Information headingyou should see your @illinois.edu account already listed as a Microsoft Exchange entry. Click the + Add Account button below this.
  3. In the window that appearsenter the email address of the resource account you'd like to sign in tothen click Connect.
  4. Another window will appear with an Illinois-branded sign-in pagewith the resource account's address already filled in.
  5. Click the link that says Sign in with another accountwhich will open a new sign-in window.
  6. Enter your own account's e-mail addressclick Nextand enter your own account's passwordrather than the password to the resource account.
  7. Click Sign in button. You may be prompted to perform 2-factor authentication if it is enabled for your account.
  8. The Illinois-branded sign-in window will closeand Outlook should report that the account was successfully added.
  9. Click Donethen completely close Outlook. When it is next openedthe resource account will populate.

macOS

Adding a shared account (New Outlook for Mac):

  1. With Outlook for macOS openclick on the word Outlook in the upper left-hand corner just to the right of the Apple icon.
  2. Select Settings... from the drop-down menu that appears.
  3. In the new window that pops upclick on Accounts under the Personal Settings section.
  4. A window with the word Accounts in the upper left should appear with your own personal account listed.
  5. Under the text in the second larger boxthere should be three buttons. Click on the button labeled Delegation and Sharing.
  6. A new window will show up with two sections in the upper middle. Click on Shared with me and in this section click on the + icon in the lower left.
  7. A window should show up titled Open Mailbox... - type the address or the display name of the account you would like to add.
  8. Click on the accountwhich should highlightand then click Add in the lower right.
  9. Click Done in the lower right-hand corner and close the accounts window. You should now see the second account added.

Adding a shared account (Classic Outlook for Mac):

  1. Open a shared MailCalendaror People folder in Outlook for Mac - Microsoft Support

Adding a second account

  1. With Outlook for macOS openclick on the word Outlook in the upper left-hand corner just to the right of the Apple icon.
  2. Select Settings... from the drop-down menu that appears.
  3. In the new window that pops upclick on Accounts under the Personal Settings section.
  4. A window with the word Accounts in the upper right should appear with your own personal account listed.
  5. In the lower left-hand corner click on the + icon and select New Account....
  6. An add account window will pop up. Enter the full address of the account you want to add.
  7. A new window will show up asking for the account's password - enter that here.
  8. The new account should now be added

Method 2 (Classic Outlook Only):

If you have Send As permissions on a resource accountthis process will place messages sent from the resource account into your Sent Items folder. All mailboxes will be cached to the same file (.OST) which can have a negative impact on performance and reliability.

  1. In OutlookClick File in the upper-left corner.
  2. Click Account Settingsthen Account Settings again. You should see your account already listed.
  3. In the Account Settings window that opensselect your accountthen click Change.
  4. Click on More Settings.
  5. In the Microsoft Exchange window that opensclick the Advanced tab.
  6. Next to Open these additional mailboxesclick Add. Thentype in the name or email address of the resource account and click OK.
  7. Your resource account should now be in the list of additional mailboxes. Click OKthen restart Outlook to open the extra mailbox.

Remote Wipe of a Lost or Retired Device

In the event you have lost a device or are replacing your device you are able to wipe the data on your device remotely. This process is useful if you no longer have access to the device.  Please proceed with Caution as the university will be unable to restore anything from your device if it has gone through this process. Microsoft may provide updates to this process that may not be immediately reflected in this KB. Please reference this Microsoft document for the latest information on this procedure: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/clients/exchange-activesync/remote-wipe#use-outlook-on-the-web-to-wipe-a-users-phone

Via New Outlook: 

  1. In Outlook on the webselect the Settings icon.
  2. Click on View All Outlook settings.
  3. Click Generaland then select Mobile devices.
  4. Select the mobile phone.
  5. Click or tap the Wipe Device icon (or the Account Only Remote Wipe Device icon if desired).

Via Outlook on the Web: 

  1. In Outlook on the webselect the Settings icon.
  2. Under Your app settingsselect Mail.
  3. Under Optionsclick to expand General if necessaryand then select Mobile devices.
  4. Select the mobile phone.
  5. Click or tap the Wipe Device icon (or the Account Only Remote Wipe Device icon if desired).

Please note that when using 3rd party apps with the above processthe ending result of the command is different than if you were using Outlook:

If a native iOS or Android mail app is connected to Exchange and receives a Wipe Data command from Exchange ActiveSyncall data on the device will be wipedincluding photospersonal filesand so on.

If a native iOS or Android mail app is connected to Exchange and receives an Account Only Remote Wipe Device command from Exchange ActiveSynconly the native mail app's Exchange ActiveSync mailcalendarand account data are wiped.

If using Outlook for iOS and Outlook for Androidthese apps support only the Wipe Data commandwhich wipes only data within Outlook. The Outlook app will reset and all Outlook emailcalendarcontactsand file data will be removedbut no other data is wiped from the device. The Account Only Remote Wipe Device command is therefore redundant and is not supported by Outlook for iOS or Android.

These commands are designed to destroy data. Exercise extreme caution when using them.



Keywords:
OutlookOffice365Office365InstallInstallationsetupiOSandroidIMAPMacOSMacWindowsiPadApplemailuninstallRemovemodernauthenticationPOPPOP3 
Doc ID:
150086
Owned by:
Office 365 G. in University of Illinois Technology Services
Created:
2025-04-24
Updated:
2025-10-21
Sites:
University of Illinois Technology Services