OIT is currently upgrading our campus email servers to the latest version of Microsoft Exchange. Most of the changes will occur behind the scenes and should have a very little noticeable impact to faculty and staff email service. Faculty and staff will, however, notice a difference when utilizing the web client available at webmail.smu.edu. In addition, the latest version promises to improve the voicemail transcription component offering a more accurate text translation of your voicemail messages.
On January 17, two important changes will be made:
- The webmail.smu.edu login screen will change.
- Thunderbird users may receive an error, as shown below. This error message will disappear once the mailbox has been migrated. However, you can also modify your settings to eliminate the popup error. For instructions, please see support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1064915
The Migration
Beginning the week of January 23, mailbox migrations will occur. These migrations will be scheduled to run early in the morning on Mondays through Thursdays.
On the day of your mailbox migration, all data is backed up and copied to the new email server. This copy is done completely behind the scenes with no impact to you. You will still be able to receive and send email without issue. The following morning, we will run the final process starting at 6:00 a.m. During this process, your mailbox on the current server will be temporarily unavailable while the final copy is completed. If you are logged into webmail, you will receive an error message in the browser that your account is not accessible. After about 5-10 minutes, simply return to webmail.smu.edu and sign on. You should see the new webmail interface and all service will be restored. If you are logged into Outlook or another mail client, you may be prompted to exit and restart Outlook when the move occurs.
You will not need to reconfigure any devices, and your email addresses will not change.
Please Note: Outlook 2008 and prior versions are not compatible with Exchange 2016. The latest office software can be downloaded on your office workstation via the LanDesk workspace and for home computers via office.smu.edu.
If you have any questions, please contact the Help Desk at 214-768-4357.
