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 application, but 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 The Basic Authentication protocol is considered outdated and insecure, and was disabled for University accounts in August of 2022.
In addition to this page, Microsoft provides official documentation for using Exchange accounts on mobile devices, which can be found here.
iOS/iPadOS Apple Mail
The most reliable method to check your University 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.
To troubleshoot problems with the iOS mail app, remove the account and add it back:
- Open the Settings app, and scroll down to find and tap the Mail entry.
- Tap Accounts (Passwords & Accounts in some versions) to see a list of accounts that are configured in iOS.
- Select "Exchange" (or whichever entry represents your University account) and choose "Delete Account" on its page. iOS will warn you about removing things, but data stored on the University mail server will not be lost; this is only removing it from your device.
- Choose Add Account on the Accounts page to add back your University account following the on-screen prompts. Detailed instructions for doing this can be found in this article: Office 365, Email, Configure the Apple Mail and Calendar Apps for iPhone or iPad
Android
The most reliable method to check your University email on an Android device is with the Microsoft Outlook app.
If you choose not to use the Outlook app, please note that not all versions of Android have the same built-in mail clients, so support is provided on a best-effort basis.
- Your University account may appear in Android's Settings app, under an Accounts heading. The above instructions for iOS should apply similarly.
- Your University account may appear in the settings screen of the Email app. Sign out of the account, then 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 features, other than allowing you to remotely wipe email from your device. See Mobile Device Remote Wipe and Admin Access
In general, use the following settings where you are prompted:
- Protocol: Microsoft Outlook or OAuth2
- Email Address or Username: yourNetID@illinois.edu
- Domain: illinois.edu
- Server: outlook.office365.com
macOS Apple Mail
The built-in Mail app in recent versions of macOS (10.14 Mojave or newer) supports Modern Authentication and can be used with University email accounts.
Click the Apple icon in the upper-left corner of the screen, and choose System Preferences... and then Internet Accounts. Here, remove your University account and then re-add it.
Detailed instructions for doing this can be found in this article: Office 365, Email, Exchange, Setting up Apple Mail
Third-Party, and IMAP
There are many other third-party email applications that may be able to use Modern Authentication. Due to the many softwares, operating systems, and devices that a user can choose from, Technology Services are 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 option, you 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: yourNetID@illinois.edu
- Password: same password as with other University websites and services
- Incoming mail server: outlook.office365.com
- Incoming protocol: SSL/TLS, port 993
- Outgoing mail server: smtp.office365.com
- Outgoing protocol: requires authentication, STARTTLS, port 587, OAuth2
Some more information about using IMAP with Exchange can be found in this article: Office 365, Email, Exchange, IMAP Email Access to Exchange
