How to access Microsoft 365 ()
In 2023 Microsoft completed the rebranding of Office 365 to the name Microsoft 365 and they offer two versions:
- Personal/Family Accounts
- Business/Enterprise Accounts
If you are provided with an account by Prelim, it will always be the Business/Enterprise version, which means access to the following:
- A company email account with your company's Internet domain
- Access to the business version of Teams, including many features to collaborate with colleagues
- A company OneDrive, allowing you to store and share documents with colleages
- Access to use Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook - either via a web browser, or potentially by installing the apps on your laptop
If you are provided with a company laptop
Generally, if you have been provided with a company laptop, you will be able to install the Office Apps mentioned above onto it. Instructions to do this are available in the links below:
- Windows
- MacOS (Coming Soon)
Once installed, the first time you run any of the apps, you will be asked to log in with your company email address and password.
You will also see the following message, to which you can safely click OK:
If you wish, you can also access tools and services from within a web brower via this address.
If you are using your own laptop
The easiest way to access your new 365 account is via a web browser via this address.
If you are logging in for the first time, simply click on the Sign in button and use your company email address and password. If you already have another Microsoft 365 business account, you can add an additional account by clicking on your avatar/initials in the top-right and click Sign in with a different account.
To access the different services in your browser, click on the 9 dots in the top-left and you can navigate to the service you wish to access.
If you already have a license to install Office Apps such as Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Outlook, you may be able to add your new company account, allowing you to save documents directly to Teams or OneDrive), although older versions may not support this.
When you add your new email address you may see the following screenshot:
We recommend selecting the No, sign into this app only when using your own laptop.
Smartphone Access
The following explains how to access email and teams from Android or iPhone /iPad.
If you wish to access your company email from a smartphone, we strongly recommend installing the Microsoft Outlook app (available for free from both Apple and Google app stores), which is optimised for the Microsoft 365 service. Links to both stores are shown below:
Once installed, you can log into the app using your company email address and password.
Other apps may work too, but compatibility cannot be guaranteed. When configuring the other app, always look to see if there is an account type of either Microsoft 365 or Hosted Exchange. You can also search for specific configuration settings by using the following Google search phrase:
"How do I use XXX with Microsoft 365 for Business" (replacing XXX with the name of the app you wish to use)
Teams
Teams is available from both Apple and Google app stores at the following links:
Once installed, you can log into the app with your company email address and password.