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Microsoft 365 for students

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Microsoft 365 services for students

Students will have expanded access to the Microsoft 365 suite from 8 July 2024. 

This will facilitate future opportunities for students to seamlessly collaborate with fellow students and staff. It will enable co-creation of documents and supporting learning from any location.

Student mailbox migration

Student email accounts are being migrated  between 16 - 24 June 2024 to enable expanded access to the Microsoft 365 suite. 

Student mailboxes will be moved to the same email environment as staff in batches during the migration. The migration will copy students’: 

  • Mail (emails and mail folders)
  • Calendar
  • Contacts 
  • Tasks
  • Email forwarding set up

The following will not be migrated: 

  • Outlook signatures 
  • Outlook rules  
  • Microsoft Forms files & data

We will communicate with students throughout the migration – students will receive emails notifying them: 

  • of the date their mailbox is planned for migration 
  • the day before their mailbox migration will begin  
  • that their mailbox has successfully migrated and is ready to use. 

Students will need to action a number of tasks before and after the mailbox migration.   

NB: If you need to urgently access your email after your mailbox has been migrated, you can access your email via the my.UQ Dashboard. 

Migration tasks

Tasks before the mailbox migration

Before your mailbox is migrated, we recommend that you consider the following questions and take the appropriate action based on your answer to the questions. 

1. Check if your personal email address in my.UQ is correct.

Our intention is to alert you once your email is migrated using your personal email address. Update, if required. 

Action: Log in to my.UQ to update your alternative email address. 

  1. Log in to my.UQ.
  2. Go to the My profile section.
  3. Under Personal contact details, review your personal email.
  4. Update your email if necessary.

2. Check if your legal name and/or preferred name is correct in mySI-net.

You may skip this step if: 

  • Your legal name has not changed since you enrolled at UQ 
  • Your legal name is your preferred name.  

Outlook will use student information in mySI-net to populate display name fields in Microsoft 365. 

Example: Personal details in mySI-net

Legal Name 

John Smith 

Preferred name 

Jack Rogers 

Outlook Display NameJack Rogers

Preferred name exists in mySI-net  

If you have a preferred name set in mySI-net, your Outlook Display Name will be in the following format: <preferred first name> + <preferred last name>, so Jack Rogers in the example above. 

No preferred name exists in mySI-net  

If you do not have a preferred name set in mySI-net, your Outlook Display Name will be in the following format: <legal first name> + <legal last name> John Smith 

If your legal name has changed since you began at UQ, or your preferred name is different to your legal name, it is important that mySI-net reflects this so that your correct first and last name will be used in Microsoft 365 applications like Outlook. 

To check your names in mySI-net: 

  1. Log in to mySI-net. 
  2. Go to the Personal Details section. 
  3. Review your legal name and preferred name 
    1. If your legal name (in the Official Name field) needs to be updated, you can request an update in my.UQ. You will need to provide an ID document to verify your name change. 
    2. If your preferred name needs to be updated, you can make this change using the Name Details page in mySI-net. You don't need to provide any supporting documents. 

3. Export your Outlook rules that you would like to continue using after your mailbox is migrated.

Outlook rules and email signatures will not be migrated, meaning you will need to manually back up rules or signatures you wish to continue using before your account is migrated.  

You may skip this step if you do not use Outlook rules.  

To export your rules using the Windows Outlook desktop client: 

  1. Click the File tab. 
  2. Click Manage Rules & Alerts. 
  3. Click Options. Note: If you have more than one email account, make sure you select your UQ email account in the Apply changes to this folder field. 
  4. Click Export Rules. 
  5. Select the folder where you want to save the rules file, and then In the File name box, type a name for the set of rules that you want to export. 
  6. Click Save. 

You can restore your Outlook rules after the mailbox migration. 

4. Backup your email signature that you wish to continue using after your mailbox is migrated.

To back up your email signature using the Windows Outlook desktop application:  

  1. Either close Outlook or check that it is closed.  
  2. In the Start menu search box, type %APPDATA%\Microsoft and press Enter.   

The folder will open in the File Explorer.  

  1. Find and copy the Signatures folder.   
  2. Paste the copied folder where you would like to create your backup e.g., your desktop.

You can restore your signature after the mailbox migration.

5. Export and save data from Microsoft Forms.

If you used forms, you need to export and save this data before your mailbox is migrated. For guidance, refer to How do I export my form responses?

During the mailbox migration 

We will contact you to let you know when your email will be migrated. While your email account is migrated, you may not have access to your email for a brief period – we expect this to last no longer than 3 hours.

Tasks after the mailbox migration

We will contact you once your mailbox has been migrated and is ready to access.

If you receive a "mailbox not available" messge after receiving the message that the migration has finished, check again in 30 minutes.

If you require assistance with any of the steps below, contact AskUs.

To access your student email account either login via my.UQ or follow the steps to access it via Outlook.com or Outlook on your desktop.
Ensure you clear the browser cache before accessing your email via Outlook.com.

1. To access your email using Outlook.com

If you use the online version of Outlook, to log in:

  1. Open your web browser and clear the browser cache. 
  2. Go to https://outlook.office.com/
  3. For the Sign In, enter your UQ account username in the format username@uq.edu.au, e.g. s1234567@uq.edu.au.
  4. You will be redirected to the UQ Authenticate page where you need to log in with your student UQ credentials. See the example below.
uq authenticate login screen

Your Outlook email will display. 

2. To access your email using Outlook desktop and mobile apps

If you use a desktop or mobile app to access your emails, your previous email account will no longer work following the migration. To set up your email after the migration, complete the relevant steps. 

You will need to:

  1. Remove your existing Outlook user profile or UQ account if there are multiple email accounts in your Outlook user profile.
  2. Depending on your action in the previous step, create a new Outlook user profile or new UQ account using the new @student.uq.ed.au email address e.g jo.bloggs@student.uq.edu.au

iPhones and iPads (iOS)

Remove existing profile from Outlook (iOS)

1.    Open Outlook application
2.    Select the face or 3 horizontal line icon in top left next to Inbox depending on your iOS version
3.    Tap the "Settings" gear icon located at the bottom left corner of the app
4.    Tap on Accounts and select what you want to remove. 
5.    Scroll down until you see the "Remove Account" option. Tap on it.
6.    Confirm that you want to delete the account.

Adding new student account to Outlook (iOS)

1.    Open Outlook application
2.    Click on Add Account
3.    If the old account details or another email address populates, click on Skip
4.    Enter your student email address as s1234567@uq.edu.au
5.    Sign into UQ Authenticate as usual
6.    Authenticate with MFA
7.    Select Maybe Later 

Your student account is now set up.

Android devices
Remove existing profile from Outlook (Android)

1.    Open Outlook application
2.    Click on account initials or image icon in top left corner next to Inbox
3.    Select Settings Cog
4.    Go to Accounts
5.    Select account to remove
6.    Scroll down and select Remove Account and Select Remove again.

Adding new student account to Outlook (Android)

1.    Open Outlook application
2.    Select Settings Cog
3.    Select Accounts > Add account
4.    Select Add an email account
5.    Enter email address as s1234567@uq.edu.au and click continue
6.    Enter credentials in UQ Auth
Your student account is now set up

Macbooks (OSX)

Remove existing profile from Outlook (Mac)

1.    Open Outlook
2.    Select Tools and click on Accounts
3.    Highlight the student account and click the – sign at the bottom of the pane
4.    Click Sign Out in the popup
5.    Close Outlook
For more information, visit Sign out of an email account in Outlook for Mac

Adding new student account to Outlook (Mac)

1.    Open Outlook
2.    Select Tools > Accounts
3.    Select Add email account
4.    Enter your student email account as s1234567@uq.edu.au
5.    Enter your login details at the UQ Auth prompt

Windows devices

Remove new student account to Outlook (Windows)

The process for removing your account from Outlook will depend on how many accounts you have set up in the application.
If you have two or more accounts:
1.    Check your drafts to see if there are any emails you need to keep.  If there are, save the content outside of Outlook. 
2.    Select File in the upper left corner of the screen. 
3.    Select Account Settings > Account Settings. 
4.    Select the account you want to delete
5.    Select Remove.
For more information, visit Remove or delete an email account from classic Outlook for Windows

If you only have your school account set up:
1.    Check your drafts to see if there are any emails you need to keep.  If there are, save the content outside of Outlook.
2.    Click File > Account Settings > Manage Profiles
3.    Select Show Profiles.
4.    Select a profile
5.    Select remove and ok
For more information, visit Remove a profile

Adding existing profile to Outlook (Windows)

1.    Open Outlook and select File > Add Account.  If you haven't launched Outlook before, you'll see a welcome screen.
2.    Enter your email address as s1234567@uq.edu.au and select Connect.
3.    If your screen looks different, enter your name, email address, and password, and select Next.
4.    Enter your student details in the UQ Auth window
5.    Select Finish.

Clear the Auto-complete list

This is a list of previously used email addresses you frequently send emails to. Outlook suggests email addresses when typing in the To, Cc and Bcc lines. It may contain email addresses from the old Microsoft environment that contained your mailbox.

Note: the auto-complete list is not your contact list.

To clear your AutoComplete list on Outlook: 

  1. Open Outlook
  2. On the File tab, select Options.
  3. Select the Mail tab.
  4. Under Send Messages, select Empty Auto-Complete List.
  5. Select Yes.

3. Changing Microsoft account and licenses to new student email

Windows devices

Sign out of M365 Applications (Windows)
  1. Open Word
  2. Click on File > Account
  3. Select Sign out
  4. Close Word
For more information, visit Sign out of Office.


Activating your new license details

  1. Open Word.
  2. Click File > Account > Sign In.
  3. Sign in with your UQ credentials, as s1234567@uq.edu.au.
  4. Reconnect any online drives.

Macbook and Air

Sign out of M365 Applications (Mac)
  1. In any Office app, select the name of the Office app in the top menu.
  2. Select Sign Out.
  3. Quit out of all Office apps.
For more information, visit Sign out of Office.

Activating your new license details
  1. Open Word
  2. Click on Sign In
  3. Sign in with your UQ credentials, as s1234567@uq.edu.au 
  4. You may need to activate the license twice for Macs.

Dissociate Work/School Accounts from Windows

  1. Click on the Windows icon and type Work
  2. Choose Access work or school 
  3. Drop arrow down next to each listed account and select Disconnect.
For more information, visit Add or remove accounts on your PC
 

Backup Passwords and Favourites in Ms Edge

Back up your Microsoft Edge passwords
  1. Within your Microsoft Edge browser, open Settings.
  2. Navigate to Profiles > Passwords.
  3. Select the ellipses (…) next to Passwords.
  4. Select Export passwords.
  5. You’ll be prompted to choose a location to save your list of passwords. Once you’ve made your selection, select Save.
Back up your Microsoft Edge favourites    
  1. On your Microsoft Edge browser, open the Settings and more menu by selecting … in the upper-right corner of the window.
  2. Navigate to Favorites.
  3. Open the More options menu by selecting … above the list of favorited websites.
  4. Select Export favourites.
  5. Indicate a saving location, give the file a name you’ll remember, and choose Save.

For more information, visit Microsoft Edge - Backup

Remove a UQ Connect online account from Windows and sign in using a local account

Note: Ensure you backup (preferably to external usb), all of your content prior to these steps 
Windows 10 – switch to a local account 

  1. Select Start, select Settings  > Accounts  > Your info.  
  2. Select Sign in with a local account instead.
  3. Type the username, password, and password hint for your new account. The username must be different than any others on the device.
  4. Note: If you’re using Windows 10, version 1803, you can add security questions—instead of a hint—to your local account to help you reset your password in case you forget it. Check your version of Windows 10
  5. Select Next, then select Sign out and finish. Sign back in with your new local account.

If you didn’t add security questions to help you reset your password, it’s a good idea to create a password reset disk. If you don't do this and then forget your password, you won't be able to recover it.
For more information, visit Microsoft Support

Windows 11 - Create a local user account 
  1. Select Start  > Settings  > Accounts and then select Family & other users. (In some versions of Windows you'll see Other users.)
  2. Next to Add other user, select Add account. 
  3. Select I don't have this person's sign-in information, and on the next page, select Add a user without a Microsoft account.
  4. Enter a username, password, or password hint—or choose security questions—and then select Next.
  5. Sign back in with your new local account.

For more information, visit Microsoft Support

4. Recreate your Outlook automatic reply

If you use an automatic reply, you need to recreate it as follows. 

  1. In Outlook, select File.
  2. On the Info page, select Automatic Replies to open the Automatic Replies window.
  3. Select Send automatic replies.
  4. On the Inside My Organisation tab, type the response that you want to send to people in the University of Queensland.

5. Import your Outlook rules

If you did not previously export your Outlook rules before the migration, you may skip this section.

Once your mailbox has migrated, you can restore your Outlook rules by importing them. 

  1. In the Windows desktop Outlook application, click the File tab. 
  2. Click Manage Rules & Alerts. 
  3. Click Options. 
  4. Click Import Rules. 
  5. Select the rules file you created previously. 
  6. Click open to finish importing the rules. 

6. Import your email signature 

If you did not export your Outlook signature before the migration, you may skip this step.  

To restore your signature to the Windows Outlook desktop application once your mailbox has migrated:  

  1. Either close Outlook or check that it is closed.  
  2. Copy the Signatures folder created previously.  
  3. Paste the folder to %APPDATA%\Microsoft.  
  4. Open Outlook – your email signature should be restored. 

What will change 

Expanded access to Microsoft 365 suite

The expanded access to the Microsoft 365 suite will be available from 8 July 2024.

Login to Microsoft 365 services

After your mailbox is migrated, login to Microsoft 365 with your UQ credentials, s1234567@uq.edu.au.

This address cannot be used to receive email.

New student email address

Enabling additional Microsoft 365 services necessitates the introduction of a new email address for students. 

New student email address (current students) – current students will receive a new UQ student email address in the format: currentalias@student.uq.edu.au. For example, if your current default email address is jo.bloggs@uq.net.au  then your new default email address will be jo.bloggs@student.uq.edu.au  . 

All existing email addresses will continue to work after the migration, but the default 'sent from' email address will be currentalias@student.uq.edu.au.   

New student email address (new students) – new students will receive a default email address in the format: preferredfirstname.preferredlastnameXX@student.uq.edu.au  where XX is a number, e.g. John.Smith23@student.uq.edu.au. 

New alumni

New UQ graduates joining the alumni community from 2024 onwards will not retain a UQ mailbox. Instead, all email sent to their student email addresses will be forwarded to their verified personal email address captured in my.UQ. 

Existing past students 

For existing past students, there will be no changes and they will continue to retain their mailbox.

Outlook Display Name if manually updated 

Your Outlook Display Name will be populated from your personal details in mySI-net. Thus, if you have manually changed your Outlook Display Name, it will be updated to your personal details in mySI-net during your mailbox migration.

For more details access Is your legal name and/or preferred name correct in mySI-net?

Benefits

Students will gain access to:  

  • modern collaboration services 
  • cloud storage via OneDrive  
  • the ability to co-create documents with fellow students and UQ staff  
  • online Microsoft 365 applications to support learning from anywhere. 

software offering for students

Frequently asked questions

What is happening and why?

When will my mailbox be migrated? 

Student mailboxes are being migrated in batches between 16 - 24 July 2024. We will send an email to your UQ student email address to advice you of the specific day your mailbox will be migrated. If you are forwarding your UQ student email, this email will be forwarded to your forwarding address. 
After your mailbox is migrated, we will send an email to your personal email address to advice you that your mailbox migration has been completed.

Will I be able to access my mailbox during the migration?

To ensure complete migration of your mailbox there needs to be a short time where you cannot connect to your mailbox so you cannot make any changes to your mailbox. This disruption is expected to be less than 3 hours for most students.

How do I know when the migration has started?

Sign in to my.UQ to see the status of your migration.

How do I know when the migration has completed?

Once the migration has completed, we will send an email to the non-UQ alternative email address you have specified in “My Profile” in my.UQ.

You should check the email address you have provided UQ is still correct.

The migration status in my.UQ will also be updated.

Will my existing data be moved? Will I lose any data?

All content stored in your UQ student mailbox will be moved. You can see this data using the navigation bar in Outlook:

  • Emails (including folders in your mailbox and folder structure)
  • Calendar
  • People
  • To do Tasks

Data in Microsoft Forms will not be migrated.  If you have data in Microsoft Forms that you would like to retain, export and save it before the migration.

What happens to my UQ email addresses? Will I get email sent to my old email addresses? 

Your UQ student email address will be updated to @student.uq.edu.au (e.g., from jo.bloggs@uq.net.au to jo.bloggs@student.uq.edu.au).

Your other UQ email addresses will continue to work, and email sent to them will be delivered to your UQ student mailbox. These addresses include: 

  • s1234567@student.uq.edu.au 
  • First.Last@uq.net.au (as available) 
  • First.Last@uqconnect.edu.au (as available) 

When you send an email, the From address on the email will be your updated student email address @student.uq.edu.au.

I am currently forwarding my UQ email to another email address. Will it keep forwarding? 

Yes. If you have configured your UQ student mailbox to forward email to another email address the forwarding will be retained.  

What is not being migrated?

  • Outlook signatures 

  • Outlook rules  

  • Outlook notes 

  • Email flag status (relevant for Tasks in Outlook) 

  • Microsoft Forms files 

How do I access my email after the migration?

You can access your email via my.UQ.

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My personal details

Will my Outlook Display Name be the same as it is now? 

If you have not manually changed your Outlook Display Name, it will be the same as it is now. 

If you have manually changed your Outlook Display Name, it will be updated to your personal details in mySI-net. 

Will I be able to manually update my Outlook Display Name after my mailbox is moved? 

No, you will not be able to manually update your Outlook Display Name. 

To update your legal or preferred name in mySI-net, submit a request. You can update your preferred name using the Name Details page in mySI-net. Updating your legal or preferred name in mySI-net does not automatically change your email address. 

NB: At the moment, adding a preferred name to your student record will not update your details in all UQ systems, which may use your legal name by default. UQ is currently undertaking work to improve this experience so that preferred names will be used unless legal names are required. 

To change your email address, refer to changing your student email address for further details. 

How does my preferred name impact my Outlook & MS Teams Display Name?

Your Outlook Display Name is drawn from your personal details in mySI-net.  

Example: Personal details in mySI-net 

Legal name 

John Smith

Preferred name 

Jack Rogers

Preferred name exists in mySI-net 

If you added a preferred name to mySI-net, your Outlook Display Name will be in the following format: <preferred first name> + <preferred last name> Jack Rogers

No preferred name exists in mySI-net 

If you did not add a preferred name to mySI-net, your Outlook Display Name will be in the following format: <legal first name> + <legal last name> John Smith 

How do I update my legal or preferred name at UQ? 

As a student, mySI-net is the official source for your personal details at UQ. Thus, many UQ systems that display your name link to information stored in mySI-net. 

If you would prefer to use a name other than your legal name, you can make this change using the Name Details page in mySI-net. You don't need to provide any supporting documents. Updating your legal or preferred name in SI-net does not change your email address. 

NB: At the moment, adding a preferred name to your student record will not update your details in all UQ systems, which may use your legal name by default. UQ is currently undertaking work to improve this experience so that preferred name will be used unless legal names are required. 

To change your email address, refer to changing your student email address for further details. 

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What do I need to do before my mailbox is moved?

Existing Outlook rules and email forwarding setups on your mailbox cannot be moved with your mailbox. 

How do I export Outlook rules? 

To export your rules using the Windows Outlook desktop client: 

  1. Click the File tab. 
  2. Click Manage Rules & Alerts. 
  3. Click Options. Note: If you have more than one email account, make sure you select your UQ email account is selected in the Apply changes to this folder field. 
  4. Click Export Rules. 
  5. Select the folder where you want to save the rules file, and then In the File name box, type a name for the set of rules that you want to export. 
  6. Click Save. 

You can restore your Outlook rules after the email migration. 

How do I update my alternative email address?  

To keep you informed, we plan to send an email to the alternative email or a message to the mobile listed for you in my.UQ.

Log in to my.UQ to update your alternative email address if required. 

How do I save my email signatures?

Outlook signatures will not be moved during the tenancy migration. If you have created your own email signature in the Outlook desktop app, you can create a backup before your account is moved. After your account has moved, you can restore the signature from the backup file.  

To backup your signature 

  1. Either close Outlook or check that it is closed. 
  2. Type %APPDATA%\Microsoft in the Start menu search box and press enter.  
  3. The folder will open in the File Explorer. Find and copy the Signatures folder.  
  4. Paste the copied folder where you would like to create your backup ie your desktop.  

To restore your signature once your email account has moved 

  1. Either close Outlook or check that it is closed. 
  2. Copy the backup Signatures folder created previously. 
  3. Paste the folder to %APPDATA%\Microsoft. 
  4. Open Outlook – your email signature should be restored.
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What do I need to do after my mailbox is moved?

How do I remove the Outlook user profile

The user profile contains the information about the mail service to connect to. By migrating your mailbox, the existing Outlook user profile will not longer work. Remove a profile - Microsoft Support

Create a new Outlook user profile

Create a new Outlook user profile entering the email address as your new @student.uq.ed.au email address e.g jo.bloggs@student.uq.edu.au For instructions refer to Create an Outlook profile - Microsoft Support

Clear the Auto-Complete List

This is a list of previously used email addresses you frequently send emails to. Outlook suggests email addresses when typing in the To, Cc and Bcc lines. It may contain email addresses from the old Microsoft environment that contained your mailbox.

To clear your AutoComplete list on Outlook:

  1. Open Outlook
  2. On the File tab, select Options.
  3. Select the Mail tab.
  4. Under Send Messages, select Empty Auto-Complete List.
  5. Select Yes.

Recreate your Outlook automatic reply

If you use an automatic reply, you need to recreate it as follows.

  1. In Outlook, select File.
  2. On the Info page, select Automatic Replies to open the Automatic Replies window.
  3. Select Send automatic replies.
  4. On the Inside My Organisation tab, type the response that you want to send to people in the University of Queensland.

How do I import my Outlook rules? 

Once your account has migrated, you can restore your Outlook rules by importing them. 

  1. In the Windows desktop Outlook application, click the File tab. 
  2. Click Manage Rules & Alerts. 
  3. Click Options. 
  4. Click Import Rules. 
  5. Select the rules file you created previously. 
  6. Click open to finish importing the rules. 

How will you communicate with me? 

Emails will be sent to your student email account or your alternative email address stored in my.UQ if you cannot be reached on your student email account. 

Messages will be shared via social media. 

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I am a HDR student - which account should I log in with, student or staff?

Logging in to Microsoft 365 as an HDR student

When you log in to UQ systems and Microsoft 365, use the UQ credentials for your requirements - as a student or a staff member. 

To access any student-only resources, or make any enquiries about your studies or program, log in with your student UQ account e.g. s1234567@uq.edu.au 

For staff-related activities, log in with your staff UQ account e.g. uqjblog3@uq.edu.au 

It is recommended that you use different internet browsers for each account. 

We suggest the following: 

  • for your student account, use Chrome 

  • for your staff account (PhD), use Firefox 

*Note: Safari & Edge browsers have been known to have issues with certain UQ web pages, thus we recommend using Chrome & Firefox.  

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How many devices can I install Office apps on if I have a Microsoft 365 education licence?

How many devices can I install Office apps on if I have a Microsoft 365 education license? 

You can install Office apps on up to five PCs or Macs, five tablets and five mobile devices. 

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I am graduating. Will I be able to keep OneDrive and Microsoft 365?

Microsoft 365 access after graduation 

When you graduate, you will no longer have access to OneDrive or other Microsoft 365 apps. 

OneDrive

Instructions will be provided outlining how to export OneDrive content.

Microsoft Outlook

New alumni will not retain a UQ mailbox. Instead, all email sent to their student email addresses will be forwarded to their verified personal email address captured in my.UQ. 

Instructions will be provided outlining how to export Outlook content.

Note: for existing past students, there will be no changes and they will continue to retain their mailbox. 

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I was a Guest in a team, but I no longer have access after the student mailbox migration

Microsoft Teams access as a guest

Following the student mailbox migration, you may no longer have access to previously joined teams in Microsoft Teams. 

An automated process has been delivered to reinstate your access to the team(s) you were a member of in the UQ M365 environment. 

If there are teams you still need access to that are external to UQ, please reach out to the Team Owner. If uncertain of the owner, contact the administrator of the external organisation for assistance. They can help identify the appropriate Team Owner and facilitate re-inviting you as a guest user. 

 

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Related content

Student email (mailbox) migration 
Students are being directed to this page following the completion of their mailbox migration.

AskUs (Students)

 

ITS Service Desk (Staff)