Email

Email for students and staff

Check your Kent email regularly as some information will only be sent by email. Access it using Outlook online, or use the Outlook app on your phone, tablet or laptop. 

Log in

Use this format for your username: 

  • Your Kent IT Account username followed by @kent.ac.uk
  • For example: abc12@kent.ac.uk

Log in at outlook.office.com


Phone, laptop and tablet settings

You need to use Outlook M365. To get Outlook 365, login to www.office.com with your University of Kent account. 

On campus: 

  • When connected to the Kent network, open Microsoft Outlook and the setup process should run
  • If asked for mail service/ type, choose Microsoft Exchange

Off campus

  • Click Start
  • Click Control Panel
  • Click Mail - if you can’t see it, click Switch to Classic View or View by: Small icons
  • Click Show profiles
  • Add… and give the profile a name (eg, kent email)
  • OK
  • Enter your name and Kent IT Account details (under Add New E-mail Accounts)
  • Next
  • There may be a few minutes’ delay
  • When asked to login you may need to choose Use Another Account.
  • Enter your Kent username in this format: abc1@kent.ac.uk (replace abc1 with your username)  

Outlook:

  • Open Outlook 2019
  • Click Add Account
  • Add an Exchange Account in the Accounts Window (from the Outlook menu click Preferences then Accounts)
  • Choose Exchange or Office 365 (type of account)
  • Exchange account info: enter your email address or shared mailbox email
  • Authentication method: User Name and Password
  • Enter your Kent username (even for shared accounts) in this format: abc1@kent.ac.uk (replace abc1 with your username)
  • Configure automatically: tick
  • Click Add Account and close the window

Outlook will synchronise with the server.

Mac Mail (not for shared mailboxes)

Click the Mail menu, then Preferences and the + button (bottom left) to add a new account, and enter:

  • Type of account: Exchange
  • Name: your full name
  • Email address: abc1@kent.ac.uk (replacing abc1 with your own username)
  • User name: your Kent IT Account username (eg abc1)
  • Password: your Kent IT Account password

Mail will synchronise (see progress below the left menu).

Permission to delete your data: you need allow us to remote wipe your phone if you report it lost or stolen to us (this means you would lose all your data).

How to set up email access:

  • Go to email settings and choose set up email
  • Choose Office 365 or Exchange Office 365, you might need to configure manually:
  • for manual settings enter your email address and username as username@kent.ac.uk
  • change the server to: outlook.office365.com
  • ensure 'Use secure connect (SSL) is ticked
  • Sign in as username@kent.ac.uk (replace username with your own)
  • Choose sync options
  • Click OK to the Remote Security Administration warning, and Activate the device administrator: this enables the remote wipe outlined above.

If the above steps don't work, try installing the Outlook app: you can install the Outlook app from Google Play.

Find the option to add an email account, then:

  • Choose Microsoft Exchange
  • Under Email enter username@kent.ac.uk (replace username with your own such as abc12)
  • If asked to configure manually or sign in, choose sign in and use the Kent login screen that appears
  • Choose your sync options and Save

If manual settings are needed use these:

  • Server: outlook.office365.com
  • Domain: blank
  • Username: use the format username@kent.ac.uk replacing with our username
  • Choose your sync options

To keep phone contacts separate: use Outlook on your computer to create a folder called 'phone contacts'; on your phone go to your contacts, tap Groups, select the 'phone contacts' folder. it's now the default phone contacts folder.

You may be able to access your University of Kent account from other email apps that support Modern Authentication or OAuth 2.0. Please check the instructions above to find the settings you may need to enter.

Unfortunately we don't support connections via the POP or IMAP protocols. This is to ensure the security of your University of Kent account, and the information it contains.

If your phone is lost / stolen, you should remote wipe off your data so others can't access it.

To remote wipe your phone:

  • search the web for 'wipe my iphone' or 'wipe my android phone' for instructions
  • or ask us to do it for you: when you connect a smartphone to your Kent email you gave us permission to remote wipe your device. We'll only do this if you report it to us, and we'll tell you first. We don't remote wipe devices as a matter of course, won't wipe it without your knowlege and won't wipe your phone when you leave

Shared mailbox

Staff can apply for a shared mailbox, which is a shared email account that multiple people can access. Choose who can access the email account and its calendar, task lists and contacts.

Student Societies: Please contact the Kent Union about their society management tools.

FAQ list

Access it online using this link: https://outlook.office.com/mail/mailboxname@kent.ac.uk - replace the mailboxname in the link with the name of your shared mailbox.

Shared mailboxes will automatically appear in Outlook within the list of mailbox folders.

If the shared mailbox does not appear in Outlook an hour after you have been given access, follow the steps below to add it:

  • Open Outlook
  • Click File > Account Settings > Account Settings
  • Select your own Microsoft Exchange account, then the Change... button above it.
  • Select More Settings  then Advanced tab
  • Select Add
  • Type the Corporate Mailbox Name
  • Click Apply then OkNextFinish, and Close

Check the Sender
When writing your next email in Outlook, click Options (top menu) and then From. This displays the From field to let you choose which mailbox you're sending mail. 

Finding sent mail: sent mail  goes into the personal Sent folder of the sender. To manage this:

  • either drag and drop mail from a personal Sent folder to the shared mailbox Sent folder;
  • or use Outlook online to send all mail from the mailbox (see instructions above).

  • Open Outlook for Mac
  • Select File
  • Select Open
  • Select Other User's Folder
  • Select Inbox from the folder type drop-down menu
  • Enter the name of your shared folder in the search box
  • Select your Shared Mailbox from the list
  • Select Open

Sharing large files

The file size limit for email attachments in Kent emails is 45MB (or 35MB via Outlook.com).

To send larger files to anyone inside or outside the University, save the file to your OneDrive, then:

  • From your draft email in Outlook, click Attach
  • Choose to browse web locations/cloud locations
  • Select the file from your OneDrive
  • Choose to send it as a link rather than an attachment

Sharing sensitive files

You can also use OneDrive to share sensitive files securely within the University and with external contacts.

We don't currently offer encryption for files containing sensitive data. Be aware that if you share a file of this nature with an external contact, they can download it and forward it, so make sure you have a written agreement with them that they won't share the document further.

Encryption of files for confidentiality is under development. This will enable you to share files with only specific contacts and prevent any onward forwarding.  

External email forwarding

While you can forward individual emails to destinations outside the University, we have disabled the ability to automatically forward your emails to non-Kent destinations.

There are some exceptions to this:

  • If you are a KMMS student
  • If you are a Kent student or staff, but have an active NHS email address

In these cases, automatic external forwarding is available to your KMMS or NHS email address.

If you need access to your Kent email and are working in an environment where you can't log into your Kent IT account (such as on an Industry placement), or where automatic external forwarding is important for the smooth operation of the University, please fill in this form and we will review you request.

Shared resource calendar

Make rooms and resources bookable (for staff)

If you manage any bookable resources you could set them up a shared resource calendar in Outlook. This lets others book them using their calendar.

Set up a shared resource calendar

Junk and fake email

Check your Junk folder regularly

Some of the emails you need could be in your Junk Email folder. 

To check it:

  1. Open email in either Outlook or in a web browser
  2. Go to the Junk Email folder
  3. If you find an email you want, right click on it, and:
  • choose Mark as not junk if you see it;
  • if not click Junk, then click Never Block Sender

We recommend doing this regularly to make sure you don’t miss important mail.

How to spot fake (fraudulent) email

Email safety: spot fake email and keep your data secure

Email closure when you leave

When you leave Kent you will lose access to your email: details are in our IT Account closure guide

Help

Find out all the ways you can get in touch:

More IT and Library services

Library and IT

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