Microsoft 365 at UB: common questions

Chemistry professor Diana Aga, and her daughter, Renee, 16, photographed at their Snyder home in April 2020. They are spending their time home working and studying due to the COVID-19 social distancing recommendations.

Published May 11, 2020

Do you use your UBmail address to access Microsoft 365 apps, like OneDrive or online versions of Word, PowerPoint and Excel? Changes are coming beginning May 29, 2020, as part of a larger effort to provide Microsoft 365 more widely at UB in the future. Here are some answers to questions you may have about the changes ahead.

Print

If you're using your UBmail address with a Microsoft 365 account, you will experience a 2-3 day outage beginning May 29, 2020, followed by changes to how you experience Microsoft 365 at UB. 

Former UB students, faculty and staff using their UBmail address to access Microsoft 365 will no longer have access to those apps.

Why is this happening?

Previously, Microsoft 365 was used on a case-by-case basis by certain UB people or departments who opted to sign up using their @buffalo.edu UBmail address.

By offering all current UB students, faculty and staff access to a standard selection of Microsoft 365 cloud-based apps, UB hopes to foster better collaboration and potentially consolidate services in order to deliver a more straightforward technology experience.

Will my login process for Microsoft 365 change?

Possibly, depending on how you log in currently.

After May 29, 2020, you will log into your UBmail-associated Microsoft 365 account at portal.office.com with your UBITName and password. 

You may also be asked to log in again to Microsoft 365 services you were logged into previously (like email clients or web browsers) once this change takes place.

Will I have access to my OneDrive files while this change is being made?

No; for a 2-3 day period beginning May 29, 2020 the OneDrive account associated with your UBmail-affiliated Microsoft 365 account will be unavailable.

Once the changes are made, you can access your OneDrive files again by using the login process described above.

Will I be getting any new apps?

At this time, the list of Microsoft 365 apps that will be available for UB students, faculty and staff has not been finalized. Microsoft’s suite of cloud apps includes several dozen apps, and not all of them will be right for UB.

UBIT is conducting a pilot program where members of the UB community can provide input about which apps should be available to them. More information about how to participate in this pilot program will be available later in 2020.

Microsoft 365 includes Exchange mail. Will Microsoft 365 replace my current UBmail?

At this time there are no plans to migrate UBmail for students or employees to Microsoft 365. As part of UBIT’s pilot program, we plan to test the use of Microsoft 365’s Exchange service for some employees, and may decide to make changes to UBmail based on the success of that pilot.

I’m a student using the Google apps (Drive, docs, sheets etc.) associated with my UBmail account. Can I still use these, or should I switch to the Microsoft 365 equivalents (OneDrive, Word etc.)?

At this time there are no plans to remove access to G-Suite apps associated with your UBmail account. You can continue to use those apps as you normally would.

Is there a cost associated with Microsoft 365?

There will be no additional cost to current UB students, faculty and staff for Microsoft 365.

What happens to my Microsoft 365 OneDrive files and apps when I am no longer at UB?

When you are no longer a UB students, faculty or staff member, your Microsoft 365 account and apps, including OneDrive, will no longer be active. 

Before you leave UB, you should move your files to a free OneDrive account. Microsoft offers 5 GB of free storage by signing up with a non-UB email address at onedrive.com.  

How can I get help with Microsoft 365?

Contact the UBIT Help Center, online at buffalo.edu/ubit/help, or by phone at 716-645-3542.