Email - Setup and Access on a Mobile Device

email phone setup mobile

KU IT only provides support for the native mobile mail application & Outlook for Android, iOS.

Note: The Android operating system is extremely diverse, and some systems may look very different than the screenshots used here. While your system may look different, many options will be similar, and you may find this to be a good starting point.

Gmail App

Depending on the device, Gmail may be the default mail app. If it is not, you can use the following steps to add your KU account to the Gmail application on your device.

Open the Gmail application on your phone.
Tap your account avatar in the upper right, located in the Search Mail bar. This will pull up an account management box.
Select Add another account.
Select the method you want to use to connect your KU email.
- To sync via Exchange, select Exchange and Outlook 365. This is the recommendation of KU IT, and the rest of the instructions assume you’ve selected Exchange.
- To use IMAP or POP3, select Other and follow the IMAP/POP3 configuration laid out in KB0013361, Configure KU Email using POP or IMAP.
Enter your email address as primaryEmail@ku.edu and click Next. After a moment, a KU single sign-on (SSO) window will open.
- If the KU SSO window does not open and you are prompted to set up the account, you'll use the following settings:
  1. Email: primaryEmail@ku.edu
  2. Server: outlook.office365.com
  3. Username: onlineID@home.ku.edu
  4. Password: KU Password
Enter your KU username and password, and click Login.
- If you are an active student, faculty, or staff member, you will be prompted to authenticate with Duo. This is the only time that email will require mutlifactor authentication.

Native Mail App for Android

Open the Settings application on your device.
Navigate to Accounts, and select Add Account.
Choose Microsoft Exchange as the account type.
- Some devices show this option as Exchange with a Gmail icon beside it. This will set up your exchange account in the Gmail app, rather than your default mail application, but will work the same.
- If you do not have Exchange as an option, ActiveSync may also work.
Enter your email address as primaryEmail@ku.edu and click Next. After a moment, a KU single sign-on (SSO) window will open. If it does not open, or your get an error message, please refer to the Known Quirks and Alternative Options panel above for manual configuration settings.
Enter your KU username and password, and click Login.
- If you are an active student, faculty, or staff member, you will be prompted to authenticate with Duo. This is the only time that email will require mutlifactor authentication.

When setup is complete, you’ll be asked which services you want to sync with your device. Select as many or as few as desired and click Save. This will make your KU email accessible via your device’s native mail client.

Native Mail App for iOS

Open the Settings app on your iOS device.
Scroll down to choose either Passwords & Accounts (iOS 11 / iPadOS 13.1) or Mail (iOS 14+). For iOS 18+, scroll down to choose Apps then Mail (you can use the search bar at the top of the screen or scroll down.)
- iOS 11/ iPadOS 13.1
- iOS 14+
- iOS 18+
Select Add Account. If you are using iOS 14+ and have other accounts set up, you will see a button that says Accounts (or Mail Accounts for iOS18+) with the number of accounts listed. Click this button to see Add Account as an option.
- OR
Select Microsoft Exchange or Exchange.
Enter your primary email address (primaryEmail@ku.edu) in the Email field, and a description in the Description field. The description can be anything you would like; the default will be Exchange.
Click Next. The system will take a moment before pulling up a prompt asking if you would like to use Microsoft to sign in to your account.
Click Sign In when prompted if you would like to configure the email account manually or sign in using Microsoft. This will open a KU single sign-on (SSO) page.
Enter your KU Online ID and password at the KU SSO screen and click Login.
- If you are active faculty or staff, you will be prompted to authenticate via Duo.
Click Continue when asked by the sign-on if you’re trying to log in using Apple Internet Accounts.
Toggle which items you’d like to sync with your phone, then click Save.

It may take a few minutes for the account to sync and fully download your messages.

Outlook for Android

The Outlook application is compatible with Android 5+. If you use an older version of Android, you will have to set up your email using the native mail client or using the IMAP/POP configurations.

Install the Outlook application via your device’s application market. For many devices, this will be Google Play.
Open the Outlook application on your device.
Enter your email address as primaryEmail@ku.edu and click Continue. Outlook will pull up the KU single sign-on (SSO) screen.
Enter your KU credentials at the KU SSO screen and click Login.
- If you are active student, faculty, or staff, you will be prompted to authenticate with Duo. This is the only time your email will require you to use multifactor authentication.

Outlook for iOS

For the best experience synchronizing and managing your KU email on a mobile device, KU IT recommends using the Outlook application. The Outlook application syncs email, calendars, and contacts, and supports managing shared mailboxes on a mobile device.

Download the Outlook application from the Apple App Store.
Open the Outlook application on your iOS device.
Enter your KU email address as primaryEmail@ku.edu and select Add Account. After a moment Outlook will bring up the KU single sign-on (SSO) screen.
Log in using your KU Online ID and password. If you are active faculty or staff, you will be prompted to authenticate via Duo. This is the only time your email will require Duo authentication.