Office 365: Migrating on a Mac

General Information

OIT has provided general information about the Office 365 migration on its website.

MacMail

OIT’s instructions cover most instances, but not MacMail. Watch our video with instructions for completing the O365 migration in MacMail.

You can also check your email via the web.

Fixing Exchange Accounts on iOS

Here’s how to fix your Exchange account on iOS devices after the Office 365 migration has occurred:

Go to settings.
Scroll down until you see “Passwords and Accounts.” Tap on “Passwords and Accounts.”
Select Exchange account from list of accounts.
Select Delete Account option that is located at bottom of screen and written in red text.
Choose Delete from iPhone.
Choose add account.
Choose Microsoft Exchange from list of account types.
Type in your full UA email address in email field and tap next.
When prompted, choose sign in, then enter your myBama password in password field.
Make sure all services listed including calendar and mail have a green icon beside them.
Check calendar and email to confirm reset is working.

If you have any issues please email Jason Miller at jbmiller2@ua.edu for assistance.

More Migration Help

Now that the O365 migration is complete, we’ve learned about a few (relatively uncommon) problems experienced by our faculty and staff. Here are some tips for solving them.

Older Mac Operating Systems May Not Support Outlook or Apple Mail

If you’re attempting to update your Outlook or Apple Mail on an older iMac or MacBook, please note that the newer programs are only supported on OS 10.14 or newer.

If you have an older operating system, you may be able to update, if your machine hardware will allow it. Please note that updating your operating system may result in some older programs no longer working, so you will want to weigh the benefits vs risk on this front.

If you want to install the new operating system, please contact OIT at itsd@ua.edu to discuss your options. If you want to wait until we get back to update, you can always access email through outlook.office365.com.

The Old Webmail Address Does Not Work

This is partly true. The old address does still work. However, some internet browsers have stored your information in non-helpful ways — Chrome is especially bad about storing data. You can either clear your cache, which you can do when you are on the webmail page, by holding down the shift key while pressing the browser refresh button, or you can just go straight to the new site at outlook.office365.com, which is what we recommend.

Which App to Download?

Some people have experienced confusion when looking for the email app for their mobile devices, since there are many third-party apps out there. The right one is the Microsoft Outlook app, which is how it will be listed in both the Android and Apple stores.

Other 3rd Party Email Apps Are Not Working

Unfortunately, we are finding that some email apps, such as Thunderbird, Spark, etc., are not working well with the updated Office 365 system. Microsoft has made some recent changes that don’t play well with UA-required security settings and have affected older versions of Apple Mail as well (see “Older Mac Operating Systems …” above). Unfortunately, our troubleshooting with OIT has not come up with a workaround, so for now it looks like our only mail client options are Outlook and Apple Mail.

Generic/Department Accounts Are Not Working

Departments with generic accounts have reported issues with gaining access to their accounts. This is fixable through OIT. If you run into this issue, you can submit a ticket to itsd@ua.edu and they can help.

Contacts Not Found

Some people are reporting issues in finding their contacts. Those who are having this problem can read OIT’s article “Office 365 Contacts on iOS Devices” for some helpful advice on what to do.

Syncing Issues with Mobile Devices

A few people have reported syncing issues with mobile devices. In most cases, this can be solved by resetting the mail app. If you are still not able to get your app synced with your desktop, you may need to download and set up Outlook on your phone. Directions for how to do this can be found on the OIT website.

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