Set up your new work email on an iPad
Remove the old email account and set up the new one, using the built-in Mail app or Outlook.
Your email has moved to a new system. To finish the change on your iPad, you remove the old account and add the new one. It takes about ten minutes and you only do it once.
Before you start: have your phone with you (part of this happens there), have your new password handy, and be on Wi-Fi. Your mail is safe. Your mailbox has already moved to the new system, so removing the old account does not delete your email.
Do this first: put the approval app on your phone
The new system asks you to approve each new sign-in. That approval happens in an app called Microsoft Authenticator, and it lives on your phone. The iPad does not need it.
- On your phone, open the App Store (iPhone) or the Play Store (Android).
- Search for Microsoft Authenticator and install it. It is free and it is made by Microsoft.
- Open the app once and tap Allow if it asks about notifications.
- Leave your phone within reach.
Remove the old account
- Open Settings on the iPad.
- Scroll down and tap Apps, then Mail. On an older iPad there is no Apps section, so just tap Mail.
- Tap Mail Accounts.
- Tap the old account in the list. It is usually named after your email address or your old provider.
- Tap Delete Account, then tap Delete again to confirm.
The old mail disappears from the Mail app. That is expected, and the new account brings your mail back in the next step.
Add your new account
- Still under Mail Accounts, tap Add Account.
- Tap Microsoft Exchange.
- Type your full email address, for example
firstname@yourcompany.com. - In Description, type something simple like
Work, then tap Next. - When the iPad asks, tap Sign In. Do not choose Configure Manually.
- A Microsoft sign-in page opens. Enter your password.
- If the iPad says more information is needed and shows a square barcode, pick up your phone. Open Microsoft Authenticator, tap Add account, choose Work or school account, then Scan a QR code, and point the phone at the iPad screen. Follow the short set of prompts.
- From now on, when a sign-in needs approving, your phone shows a notification and you tap Approve.
- Back on the iPad, tap Accept if you are asked to allow access.
- Leave Mail, Contacts and Calendars turned on, then tap Save.
Check it worked
- Open the Mail app.
- Give it a couple of minutes to fill in. Older messages keep arriving in the background for a while, so the mailbox fills from newest to oldest.
- Send yourself a quick test message and make sure it arrives.
Worth knowing. The new system only keeps a stretch of recent mail on the iPad to save space. Everything older is still in your mailbox, and you can see all of it by tapping the search bar at the top of the message list.
If you use the Outlook app instead
- Open Outlook on the iPad.
- Tap your picture or initials in the top left, then tap the gear icon.
- Tap the old account in the list, then tap Delete Account.
- Back on the settings screen, tap Add Mail Account.
- Type your full email address and tap Add Account.
- Enter your password and approve the sign-in on your phone if asked.
Did this not sort it out?
If the sign-in will not take your password, or your mail has not appeared after fifteen minutes, stop and tell us. Do not delete and re-add the account over and over; it will not help and we would rather take a look.
Tell Michael which step you got to and what the screen says. A photo of the screen from your phone is perfect.