Status Report: Mines Exchange email has moved to Microsoft Outlook in the cloud

Users of the Microsoft Exchange email and calendaring system at Mines (primarily faculty and staff, plus a few students) were migrated in early 2019 to a new cloud infrastructure.

Microsoft now hosts Mines Exchange email in the same way Google currently hosts student MyMail accounts. This move gives Exchange users a vastly improved webmail client (it looks great on a phone!) and greatly expanded email storage — 50 GB, with 50 GB more for archival storage, compared to the current 3.5 GB limit.

Are your messages to student MyMail accounts bouncing after migration?

Some recently migrated Outlook desktop client users have discovered that when they email some current students at their Mines MyMail address, the message will bounce, even though those are valid email addresses for current students. This is caused by the way Outlook handles cached email addresses — it is not a fault of MyMail or Exchange in general.

Fortunately, the fix is easy: Simply clear the email addresses cached locally in your copy of Outlook. To do so, start Outlook. Click File > Options > Mail > Send Messages. Then click “Empty Auto-Complete List” at right and select “Yes” to confirm.

Check your email in a web browser

This foolproof method for email access should work at all times during and after the transition to our new Exchange email cloud system.

Log into the proper version of Mines Exchange email and calendar on the web. Choose the email system you now use and bookmark links you may need in the future.

Bonus: Your upgraded Exchange email is part of Microsoft Office 365 online suite, which gives you web versions of Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, OneNote, OneDrive for Business, and more.

You may now also download Microsoft Office Professional 2016 for installation on your own Windows or Mac computer. Every Mines faculty member, staff member, or student may install up to five instances of Office on personal devices only. Download your copy now.

 

 

Now that you have been migrated…

Tip: In all cases, there is one significant change: Your username to log in will no longer be “adit\username” or just “username.” In the new system, you should always use your full username@mines.edu email address as your username.

Here’s how to access your new and improved Exchange email platform on the web or in your favorite email client:

For those who want a beautiful, powerful email and calendar client that can be accessed anywhere (including on your phone or tablet) we suggest using the web version of Microsoft Outlook.

In any browser, navigate to https://outlook.office365.com and insert your Mines email address (username@mines.edu). You will be directed to a Mines login where you can insert your Mines MultiPass credentials (again, that’s in the form username@mines.edu plus your MultiPass password). Don’t worry — login authentication is taking place on Mines servers. You are not sharing your Mines credentials with Microsoft.

That’s it!

 

ITS currently support Microsoft Outlook 2013 and Outlook 2016 for Windows, plus Outlook 2016 for Mac.

In many cases, when you access your new mailbox in the cloud for the first time, Outlook will simply ask you to log in. Do so with your full Mines email address (username@mines.edu) plus your MultiPass password. Your email client should be reconfigured automatically. (In some cases, this doesn’t happen. Let us know through the Mines Help Center at https://helpcenter.mines.edu and we’ll work with you to quickly correct the issue.)

If you see the message: Outlook was redirected to the server autodiscover-s.outlook.com to get new settings for your account username@mines0.mail.onmicrosoft.com. Do you want to allow this server to reconfigure your settings? simply click “Allow” to let Exchange reconfigure your client automatically.

If you prefer to update your server address manually, the correct address is: https://outlook.office365.com/EWS/Exchange.asmx

Tip: Some recently migrated Outlook users have discovered that when they email some current students at their Mines MyMail address, the message will bounce, even though those are valid email addresses for current students. This is caused by the way Outlook handles cached email addresses — it is not a fault of MyMail or Exchange in general. Fortunately, the fix is easy: Simply clear the email addresses cached locally in your copy of Outlook. To do so, start Outlook. Click File > Options > Mail > Send Messages. Then click “Empty Auto-Complete List” at right and select “Yes” to confirm.

MORE INFORMATION FOR MAC OUTLOOK USERS

Please allow Autodiscover to update your settings automatically. When you first start Outlook for Mac 2016 after your Exchange account is migrated, you should see a dialog box asking for permission to reconfigure your account. Check the box and click the “Always” button to automatically remember your choice.

You may also need to change your username to username@mines.edu (in other words, your entire email address rather than just your username) in Outlook settings. To do so click Preferences > Accounts > Update Your Username.

 

In most cases, when Apple computer users restart Mac Mail after the migration, Autodiscover will automatically update the bulk of your configuration. You may however need to change your username. To do so within Mac Mail, click Mail > Preferences > Accounts > <pick your Exchange account> > Server Settings. Update the Username field to username@mines.edu (in other words, your new username for Exchange is now your full email address). You may also need to uncheck the “Automatically Manage” option and replace “exchange.mines.edu” with “outlook.office365.com.” Reboot your Mac for best results if you use iCal.

 

While the web-based Exchange interface works well on a mobile phone, sometimes an app is faster and more convenient. App versions of Outlook for iOS and Android give you the best mobile experience and allow you to connect to personal email accounts as well. They’re worth checking out.

iOS USERS

If you are using the built-in email client on your iPhone or iPad, you may need to change your username to your full email address (username@mines.edu) instead. This is done by tapping Settings > Passwords & Accounts.

ANDROID USERS

Since there are so many Android devices and email programs available it is hard to give specific steps. Each device and Android version will be different. Wait at least one hour after migration before changing any settings. Since the migration will happen first thing in the morning you shouldn’t have to wait beyond 8 am.

Some may need to delete the current email profile on the device and start again. In many cases, you will be asked to update only your username, which is now your full email address, username@mines.edu.

 

Advanced email users who prefer to configure their email client (Outlook, Thunderbird, Mac Mail, iOS Mail, and others) to use standard protocols rather than Native Exchange, may be interested in the following:

IMAP (By request only)
Server: outlook.office365.com
Port: 993
Encryption method: TLS

SMTP
Server: smtp.office365.com
Port: 587
Encryption method: STARTTLS