The email or letter which is sent out following the allocation of an Oxford username and Single Sign-On (SSO) account includes an Activation Code, for example ABCD-EFGH-IJKL.
The generation of a University Card record is the trigger which initiates the Oxford account creation process. Once the account has been created it has to be activated. If you are a student you will be emailed an activation code. If you are a staff member, your department/college IT team can provide you with an activation code.
The Activation Code has a limited lifetime (specified in the email or letter) during which you must activate your new account via the web page at: https://webauth.ox.ac.uk/activate. If you don't activate your account within this time, you can contact the Service Desk quoting the account name and your card barcode number or student number.
When you go to the webpage, you will be asked to fill in some personal details and then include either your university card number or student number. You will then be asked for your Oxford username and Activation Code.