Having Trouble Accessing Your Email?

Try closing Outlook and restarting your computer. Wait a few minutes and Outlook should work when you try again.

How can I access my email from a browser?

Type portal.outlook.com in your browser and log in from Outlook365.

How can I access my email on my phone?

First, delete your previous FCPS mail account on your list of accounts on your phone. Then follow the directions in the buttons below to set up your email.

Exchange Online FAQs

What is Exchange Online?

As part of an ongoing effort to improve business tools for our staff, the Exchange Email system is being upgraded to Exchange Online. Exchange Online, part of the Office 365 suite, is Microsoft’s hosted messaging environment for email, contacts, tasks and calendar applications. It is cloud‐based. Microsoft provides these applications via the internet and stores the data on their servers.

What are the benefits of using Exchange Online?

How about 100 gigabytes of mailbox storage! Exchange Online offers increased email storage for all employees. Each employee will have a mailbox size of 100 gigabytes with an attachment size limit of 10 Megabytes. In addition, security and disaster recovery capabilities are enhanced as Exchange Online runs your email on Microsoft's globally‐redundant servers protected by built‐in antivirus and anti‐spam filters.

How can I tell if my account has been migrated to Exchange Online?

FCPS email users will receive communication prior to their mailbox being migrated. If you are actively using your email through Microsoft Outlook while the migration takes place you will receive a dialog box saying, “Your system administrator has made a change to your mailbox and you need to restart Outlook in order to continue”. Once you close Outlook and reopen it, the new configuration will be applied and you can continue to use your email. You will not lose any data during the migration.

There will be a period of time when we are in a “hybrid” environment. That means that some people will still have their mailboxes on the physical Exchange servers in the FCPS Network Operations Center while other people’s mailboxes have moved to the new Exchange Online servers.

Will my email address change as part of the migration process?

No, your email address will remain the same.

Will all my current email be migrated to the new mailbox in Exchange Online?

Yes. All email will be migrated from FCPS’s current email environment to the new Microsoft Exchange Online environment.

Will I still have access to the same distribution lists?

Yes, access to the distribution lists will be the same, however, the process to add/remove members has changed. To update members contact the IT Service Desk (703-503-1600) or submit a ticket detailing what members need to be added to which list.

What about shared resources, such as conference rooms and shared calendars?

Yes, all shared resources will be migrated.

Shared calendars come in two flavors: resource mailbox calendars and public folder calendars. Public folder calendars do not have access issues in the hybrid environment regardless of where one’s mailbox resides that is trying to access it. Employees who have had their mailbox migrated will be able to view a resource mailbox calendar, but will not be able to post to a calendar of a resource mailbox that has not yet been migrated.

Is my data safe in the cloud?

Data security is a priority for FCPS. Exchange Online utilizes many technological and physical safeguards to protect data. As part of our design and implementation process, a security review was conducted to ensure that the Exchange Online system complies with FCPS security policies and practices.

Will I still have access to Public Folders?

Yes, access to the public folders will be the same, however, updating permissions will need to go through the IT Service Desk. To update permissions contact the IT Service Desk (703-503-1600) or submit a ticket detailing the location of the Public Folder and the permissions that need to be changed.

Will Public Folders work in Exchange Online OWA?

Until the Public Folders are migrated in mid-April or so, they will not be accessible via OWA for those who have migrated. The PFs are still available via Outlook while the migration is happening.

What is the Clutter folder in my mailbox?

Clutter moves your low priority messages out of your Inbox so you can easily scan for important messages. Clutter analyzes your email habits, and based on your past behavior, it determines the messages that you’re most likely to ignore. It then moves those messages to a folder called Clutter, where you can review them later. Clutter is turned on by default. Clutter can be turned off by logging into webmail and clicking on the gear icon in the top right corner and choosing Mail from “Your app settings”. Under Mail > Automatic processing you will see Clutter. Simply uncheck “Separate items identified as clutter” and click the Save button above.

What if I don’t see a Clutter folder in my mailbox?

The Clutter folder may be disabled for newly migrated users. The following requirements must be met to enable the folder:

1. At least 1,000 messages delivered to the mailbox after the mailbox was created or migrated

2. The user needs to have logged into the mailbox once after creation/migration

After both of these requirements are met, Clutter is auto enabled for that mailbox with 24 hours

How can I use Exchange Online with my Email and Calendar?

The following describes ways you can connect to your email account.

Web browser

 If you access your email through Outlook Web Access (OWA), it will function generally the same. The most recent version of OWA for Exchange Online has functionality that comes close to the full Outlook client experience. There is a new OWA website address to access your email; it is https://portal.office.com (this new address will not work until your mailbox is migrated). To access this use your FCPS email address (username@fcps.edu) along with your domain password.

Desktop

If you use the Outlook client on your desktop to access your email, this will not change with Exchange Online and you will notice little to no change.

Your Outlook client can now be used anywhere without a VPN Client.

Mobile phones and tablets

Exchange Online also works with a variety of mobile phones and tablets. You can set up your mobile phone or device to access your e‐mail, calendar information, contacts, and tasks.

Will I need to change the settings on my mobile device?

Yes. To update your mobile work phone:

iPhone Instructions: How to set up your iPhone (Exchange Online)

Android Instructions: How to set up your Android device (Exchange Online)

In an effort to increase data security and confidentiality on mobile devices accessing FCPS email, a 4‐digit pin must be set up on connection if the device does not already have one. You will be asked to add one when you set up your mobile device.

Are there any known issues that I should be aware of?

Yes. During the transition time when some employees will have their mailbox migrated to Exchange Online and some employees will have their mailbox on the existing Exchange servers, there is a possibility that there will be access issues to each other’s calendar for meeting coordination. This issue is resolved by making sure that both the “Default” and “Anonymous” users in the Calendar permissions have Reviewer permissions. Once all mailboxes have been migrated to Exchange Online, this will no longer be an issue.

Additionally, if your Outlook profile settings are not set to “Cached Exchange Mode”, you will need to make sure that this setting is checked. But before doing so, it is recommended that any OST files be deleted from your computer before checking that. To find your OST file (if you have one), please browse your computer at C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook and look for a file named similar to “username@fcps.edu ‐ username.ost”. Delete this file. Then, make sure that Outlook is set for Cached Exchange Mode by going in Outlook to File > Account Settings > Account Settings (again) > with your email address highlighted, click the Change button above it > under Offline Settings, make sure that Use Cached Exchange Mode is checked > click Next > click Finish > click Close. You will likely be prompted to close Outlook and re‐open it. Please do so.

You may find that when you open Outlook that you are prompted multiple times for your username and password. You may enter your username and password and check the box, remember my credentials, and click OK. I you find that you are continually prompted after this, please click Cancel. You shouldn’t see the prompt any longer until you close Outlook and open it again. This is a symptom of the migration environment that we will be in until the full migration is complete. Afterward, this will no longer occur.

My Out of Office Assistant is stuck on. How do I turn it off?

Log into outlook.com/fcps.edu, re-enable the Out of Office Assistant, wait 1 minute and then disable it again.

Can a user send to more than 500 recipients in Exchange Online?

No, not to individual recipients. To discourage the delivery of unsolicited bulk messages, Exchange Online has recipient limits that prevent users and applications from sending large volumes of email. These limits are applied per‐user to all outbound and internal messages. (This limit does not apply to distribution lists created in our Global Address List that contain more than 500 recipients.)