Category: General Questions
Q: Why are we doing this?
A: Microsoft has chosen to phase out support of on-premise Microsoft Exchange in favor of their cloud-based system. Since UW-Madison already uses Microsoft 365 (M365) in the cloud, migrating to the same tenant provides us with a single mailbox and calendar.
Q: When is this happening?
A: The current cut-over or go-live migration is scheduled for Tuesday, September 22, 2026. (This was originally scheduled for August 18 but has been pushed back to allow us more time to prepare and test.) It will done during normal business hours to ensure staff from OIS, DoIT, and Microsoft are available.
Q: What does "done" look like?
A: Your WSLH mailbox including all of its components (inbox, folders, email, contacts, calendar, server-side rules, tasks, notes) will be migrated to your UW-Madison M365 mailbox. Your M365 mailbox will now include your WSLH email addresses (e.g., first.last@slh.wisc.edu) so any mail sent to your WSLH address (first.last@slh.wisc.edu) or M365 addresses (username@wisc.edu or first.last@wisc.edu) will all go to the same, single mailbox. Outgoing mail will use a single primary email address of your choosing (e.g., first.last@slh.wisc.edu or first.last@wisc.edu).
Q: How does the migration process work?
A: In the weeks leading up to the cut-over date, DoIT will be running a migration tool. This will start the synchronization process to migrate 98% of your WSLH mailbox to M365. That will minimize the time required for the actual cut-over when we synchronize the final 2% of your mailbox and change where email is delivered for first.last@slh.wisc.edu.
Q: Is my email address changing?
A: No, none of your email addresses are changing. Your WSLH email address (first.last@slh.wisc.edu) and your UW M365 email address (NetID@wisc.edu) will still exist. Users sending mail to ANY of these addresses will show up in your M365 mailbox.
Category: Before the Migration
Q: Will I lose any of my old emails, calendar appointments, or contacts?
A: No. All of your existing emails, folders, calendar items, and contacts will move safely to M365.
Q: Should I clean-up or delete old emails in either my WSLH or M365 mailboxes prior to the migration?
A: No, clean-up is optional. However, it would be a good idea to empty your deleted items folder so we aren't migrating trash.
Q: Is there anything else I should do to prepare for the migration?
A: Yes. If you would like to use the Outlook desktop client to open your M365 mailbox, follow the instructions in the attached document (M365 Mail Profile Configuration). This will configure a separate mail profile that only opens your M365 mailbox. You will need this after the migration *unless* you are planning to only use the Outlook Web (OWA) client through https://email.wisc.edu
Category: During the Migration
Q: Can I use my email and calendar while the migration is happening?
A: Yes, but only up to the cut-over window the morning of the migration. The final cut-over will involve changing where WSLH mail gets delivered so there will be an outage while we make this happen. This outage will likely require several hours but we are hoping to have it completed on the same day.
Q: Will my email password change?
A: No, but you will have to use your NetID to login to your mailbox since it will be in M365.
Q: Will I continue to use the same email clients?
A: Yes, you can use the Microsoft Outlook client currently installed on your desktop, the Outlook on the Web (OWA) application using any modern browser, or the Outlook Mobile App from your mobile device.
Q: Are shared mailboxes and shared resources (parking permits, conference rooms) migrating?
A: Yes, these will be migrated along with everything else but, because these do not exist in M365, they will have to be created by DoIT before they can be migrated. All of the other components (email, calendar, etc.) will then be migrated. If you have a meeting scheduled with a shared resource, it will be migrated on your calendar as well as the shared resource's calendar.
Category: After the Migration
Q: Will "secure mail" still work?
A: No! You cannot type [SECURE] in the subject line and expect your email to be encrypted in M365. DoIT does not currently support this. When sending a new email, you must manually encrypt it. In the OWA client, this is found under the padlock icon from the dropdown menu (shown below). In the Outlook desktop client connected to your M365 mailbox, this will be found under Options, Encrypt (shown further below). A detailed explanation of message encryption and instructions for other clients can be found in the following DoIT KB article: https://kb.wisc.edu/microsoft365/82185.
- Emails containing PHI that are sent to @wisc.edu addresses or @uwhealth.org address do not require encryption (the email stays within our M365 tenant).
- Emails containing PHI that are sent anywhere else require encryption!
Q: When is the secure mail website going away?
A: The secure mail website will remain up until 5:00pm on Friday, October 9, 2026. As of Tuesday, September 22, it will lose its ability to communicate with email. Users will only be able to login to its website to pick up emails and attachments that were delivered previously.
Q: If I'm having issues after the migration, who do I contact?
A: Always contact OIS first by either submitting a ticket through TeamDynamix or calling the Service Desk at (608)221-6262. Doing so allows us to determine if the issue is something we can help with or not. This includes M365 since we have delegated administration to your mailbox. If an issue is outside of our control, we will instruct you when it requires going through DoIT.
Q: How do I check my WSLH email on my phone after the migration?
A: After the migration, you will need to remove your old WSLH email profile from your phone then download the official Microsoft Outlook app and sign-in using your NetID. Instructions can be found in the following DoIT KB article: https://kb.wisc.edu/microsoft365/page.php?id=28350
Q: How do I set up a rule to keep my mail separated, based on which email address it was sent to?
A: Your M365 mailbox has multiple aliases (e.g., jyounger@wisc.edu and james.younger@wisc.edu). If you would like to set up a rule so email sent to one of these addresses is handled differently, you would need a rule that looks at the message header. So in this example, I will create a rule to move these to a different folder using the OWA web client at https://email.wisc.edu. After logging in, right-click on your Inbox (or wherever you would like to create this folder) and choose "Create new subfolder" (shown below) then give it a name.
Next, in the upper right corner of your dropdown menu, click the ellipsis icon (for more options) > Rules > Create rule.
- Select Add Rule.
- Give your rule a name (e.g., "Move email sent to jyounger@wisc.edu").
- Add the condition under Keywords that says "Message header includes" and then enter the exact email alias you'd like this rule to apply to (e.g., "jyounger@wisc.edu").
- Add the action you'd like the system to take. Here I am moving the email to a folder called "jyounger" under my Inbox (created above).
- Save your new rule.
- Test it! Send a test message to this alias (preferably from some other mailbox) and verify your rule works like it should. In my case, emails sent to jyounger@wisc.edu now go directly into my "jyounger" folder.