Students trying to access their UF webmail accounts from the Outlook mobile app will receive an email saying their access has been denied.
Christine Calvert, a UF business management freshman, was one of those students.
Like other students, she can’t sync her UF Outlook email account with the Outlook app.
But UF spokesman Steve Orlando said the GatorCloud system is fully operational, and students should sync their emails to the built-in email apps on their phones.
"In addition to the built-in applications, alternative applications are available from the app store that can be downloaded to a smartphone," he wrote in an email. "At this time, some of these alternatives do not meet UF privacy and security standards and are blocked. The Outlook app for IOS and Android is one such application."
The university retired its old email system, WebMail 2.0, on March 15, according to Gator Times’ website. The new system, GatorCloud, features emailing, texting, video messaging, a calendar and file sharing.
Calvert said she gave up on using the Outlook app after receiving the error message.
"It’s a little annoying because I have to open up Safari every time I want to check my email," the 18-year-old said.
An application that will work with GatorCloud is the Outlook Web Access Devices app for iPhone and Andriod, Orlando said. However, he recommends using the built-in email apps.
For UF nursing senior Kristin Marhee, the Outlook app isn’t a problem because she’s still using WebMail 2.0.
"I’m still, like, in the stone age," the 21-year-old said.
Marhee said she tried to switch over to GatorCloud in March but got a message saying she had missed her migration date and that she would be migrated automatically later. That date still has not come.
"I feel like I’ve found some proverbial wormhole in the system," she said.
Orlando said all students should be migrated to GatorCloud at this time, and students should contact the UF computing help desk if they experience difficulty migrating.
If students are worried they might miss out on UF Alerts sent to their UF emails, there are other avenues to see them, said University Police emergency manager Kenneth Allen.
"We certainly provide UF Alerts through multiple platforms," he said. "The UF Alerts are available on social media, on the UFPD homepage, as well as through text messaging."
Orlando said UF is currently working with Microsoft to resolve the privacy and security issues associated with the Outlook app.
"It is expected that the app will be available for general use near the end of the calendar year 2015 if not sooner," he said.
Contact Alexandra Fernandez at afernandez@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @alexmfern
