How to configure your email client

Set up your device to access your University email account

To access Nexus365 you need an Oxford username and Single Sign-On (SSO) password.

You can access your University Nexus 365 email account through your web browser or with an email application on your device.

If the settings to configure your preferred application are not listed, you may still be able to set it up using manual settings.

Windows

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If you have already set up Outlook but it is no longer working then you may need to remove and recreate your Outlook profile. 

 

  1. Open Outlook
  2. Add an email account, if necessary select File > Add Account
  3. Type your name and University email address, then select Next
  4. When prompted, replace your email address with your Oxford username in the format abcd1234@OX.AC.UK and provide your Single Sign-On (SSO) password
  5. Complete your multi-factor authentication (MFA) process

If you have already set up Outlook but it is no longer working then you may need to remove and recreate your Outlook profile.

 

  1. Outlook 365 is provided in the Office 365 suite, included with most Nexus 365 accounts
  2. Open Outlook
  3. If necessary, select File > Add Account
  4. Type your University email address, then select Connect
  5. When prompted, replace your email address with your Oxford username in the format abcd1234@OX.AC.UK and provide your Single Sign-On (SSO) password
  6. Complete your multi-factor authentication (MFA) process

  1. Open the Windows Mail app.
  2. Add an email account, if necessary select either Add account or Accounts > Add account
  3. Select Office 365
  4. Type your University email address.
  5. If you encounter a message saying Some accounts require additional steps to sign in, it may not be possible to use Windows Mail at this time and may need to use an alternate email application.
  6. At the Microsoft sign in prompt, replace your email address with your Oxford username in the format abcd1234@OX.AC.UK
  7. Type your Single Sign-On (SSO) password.
  8. Complete your multi-factor authentication (MFA) process.

  1. Open Thunderbird
  2. If the email setup box is not displayed, select  > New > Existing Mail Account
  3. Provide the following information:

     

    Your name Your name
    Email address Your University email address
    Password Your Single Sign-On (SSO) password
  4. Select Configure manually...
  5. For INCOMING:

     

    Protocol IMAP
    Server outlook.office365.com
    Port 993
    SSL SSL/TLS
    Authentication Autodetect
    Username Your Oxford username in the format abcd1234@OX.AC.UK
  6. For OUTGOING:

     

    Protocol SMTP
    Server outlook.office365.com
    Port 587
    SSL STARTTLS
    Authentication Autodetect
    Username Your Oxford username in the format abcd1234@OX.AC.UK
  7. Select Advanced config
  8. For your email address, set Server settings > Security settings > Authentication method to OAuth2

  9. Select Outgoing Server (SMTP)

  10. Highlight the account in Outgoing Server (SMTP) Settings and select Edit...

  11. Set Authentication method to OAuth2

  12. Select Home > Inbox

  13. At the Microsoft sign in prompt, provide your Oxford username in the format abcd1234@OX.AC.UK
  14. Type your Single Sign-On (SSO) password
  15. Complete your multi-factor authentication (MFA) process

If you see error "User authenticated but not connected" then you may need the following additional configuration steps:

  1. Select Menu  > Settings > General > Config Editor...
  2. Search for IPv4 and configure setting network.dns.ipv4OnlyDomains to outlook.office365.com
  3. (If you are experiencing the error for accounts other than your University mail account then search for IPv6 and configure setting network.dns.disableIPv6 to true)
  4. Close the config editor window
macOS

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The following assumes setup on Outlook 2016, with no account details stored in Accounts or Keychain.

 

  1. Open Outlook
  2. On the email setup screen, type your University email address
  3. If necessary, select Office 365 as the provider
  4. Type your University email address
  5. When prompted, replace your email address with your Oxford username in the format abcd1234@OX.AC.UK
  6. Provide your Single Sign-On password
  7. Complete your multi-factor authentication (MFA) process

  1. Open the Mail app
  2. Select Mail > Add account > Exchange
  3. If an email account has already been set up, click the + button under the list of accounts to add your Nexus 365 account
  4. Provide the following details:

     

    Name Your name
    Email address Your University email address
    Password Your Single Sign-On (SSO) password
  5. Select Sign In, then Sign In again when asked if you want to use Microsoft
  6. Type your Oxford username in the format abcd1234@OX.AC.UK
  7. Type your SSO password
  8. Complete your multi-factor authentication (MFA) process
  9. Confirm the services used by the account
  • When composing a new email, access the From drop down menu and select your address
  • MFA is supported in Apple mail from macOS 10.14 onwards
iOS

For iOS devices such as iPhones and iPads, Microsoft also provide guidance for setting up Office apps and email on iOS.

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  1. Download Microsoft Outlook from the App Store
  2. Open Outlook
  3. Type your University email address
  4. When prompted, replace your email address with your Oxford username in the format abcd1234@OX.AC.UK
  5. Type your Single Sign-On (SSO) password
  6. Complete your multi-factor authentication (MFA) process

For the default Mail app:

 

  1. Open the device Settings 
  2. Depending on your version click either Mail > Accounts, or Passwords & Accounts
  3. Click Add Account > Exchange
  4. Provide the following details, then Next:

     

    Email Your Oxford username in the format abcd1234@OX.AC.UK
    Description Nexus 365
  5. Select Sign in
  6. Type your Single Sign-On (SSO) password
  7. Complete your multi-factor authentication (MFA) process
  8. Select the services you want to include
Android

As Android settings differ between versions and devices the following should only be used as a guide as it may not match your device perfectly.

Microsoft also provide guidance for setting up Office apps and email on Android.

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  1. Download Microsoft Outlook from the Google Play Store
  2. Open Outlook
  3. Add an email account, if necessary select Settings  > Add account > Add an email account

  4. Type your University email address

  5. When prompted, replace your email address with your Oxford username in the format abcd1234@OX.AC.UK

  6. Type your Single Sign-On (SSO) password

  7. Complete your multi-factor authentication (MFA) process

  1. Open the Gmail app
  2. Select the  menu >  Settings > Add account > Exchange and Office 365
  3. Type your Oxford username in the format abcd1234@OX.AC.UK
  4. Type your Single Sign-On (SSO) password
  5. Complete your multi-factor authentication (MFA) process
  6. Accept the required app permissions

  1. Open the Samsung Email app
  2. Add an email account, if necessary select Manage accounts > +
  3. Type your University email address
  4. Type your Oxford username in the format abcd1234@OX.AC.UK
  5. Type your Single Sign-On (SSO) password
  6. Select Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync
  7. If authentication fails, provide the following information whenever requested:

     

    Username Your Oxford username in the format abcd1234@OX.AC.UK
    Domain Leave this blank
    Domain/Username Your Oxford username in the format abcd1234@OX.AC.UK
    Password Your Single Sign-On (SSO) password
    Exchange Server outlook.office365.com
  8. If prompted about a secure connection, choose SSL
Manual settings
Type of server Server name Port Encryption method
POP3 (incoming mail) outlook.office365.com 995 TLS
IMAP4 (incoming mail) outlook.office365.com 993 TLS
SMTP (outgoing mail for POP or IMAP) outlook.office365.com 587 STARTTLS

 

Your username will be your Oxford username in the format abcd1234@OX.AC.UK

Your password will be your Single Sign-On (SSO) password

The authentication type will be OAuth2

Tips

  • IMAP4 is preferred over POP3 because it supports larger mailboxes with multiple folders and allows mail to be accessed on multiple devices and applications.
  • Your email application must support IMAP through secure connections.
  • You may encounter data throttling errors, preventing the initial sending and receiving of email for periods of time.  During this time it is advisable to use Outlook on the web whilst the application completes its data synchronisation.  This is controlled by Microsoft and can not be changed.

ActiveSync

Some non-mobile email applications can use the ActiveSync protocol.

Exchange Web Services (EWS)

You can use this service to add Exchange functionality to other email applications and enable Nexus 365 calendars in Thunderbird.

You can use EWS and the URL https://outlook.office365.com/EWS/Exchange.asmx which, when visited and authenticated, can also be used to generate a service for connections.

The username will be your Oxford username in the format abcd1234@OX.AC.UK 

Setting and Changing your outgoing mail (smtp) settings

Outgoing mail settings inform your email application which mail service to use when you send mail.

We now ask everyone to use outlook.office365.com as the outgoing server.  If you are still using smtp.ox.ac.uk it is advisable to update this.

Details of how to update the outgoing mail settings are provided below for a number of email applications.

 

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To change the sending server (SMPT) settings in the Mail app on your Mac:

  1. Select Mail > Preferences > Accounts > Server Settings > Outgoing Account > Edit SMTP Server List
  2. Provide the following settings:

     

    Description Nexus 365
    Username Your Oxford username in the format abcd1234@OX.AC.UK
    Password Your SSO password
    Host Name outlook.office365.com
    Port 587 (TLS)
    Automatically manage connection settings Checked    

Apple also provide detailed Mac configuration instructions.

Microsoft provide details for manually configuring Outlook if you are not using the automated setup facility.

Secure connections are required for both incoming and outgoing mail.

Version 78 or above is required when using MFA.  

In the Account Settings dialog left pane, select Outgoing Server (SMTP) from the bottom of the list.  There may be an entry in the resulting list that was created when you entered your account details, either edit that or add a new entry with the following settings:

 

Description Nexus 365
Server Name outlook.office365.com
Port

Incoming: 993

Outgoing: 587
Use name and password Checked    

Username

 Your Oxford username in the format abcd1234@OX.AC.UK
Password Your Single Sign-On (SSO) password
Use secure authentication Checked    
Connection security/SSL STARTTLS
Authentication OAuth2

 

Mozilla also provide detailed IMAP configuration instructions for Thunderbird

Microsoft provide details for manually configuring the Windows Mail app if you are not using the automated setup facility.

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