Live@edu to Office 365 for education FAQ
You've got questions, we've got answers. Find detailed responses to the questions commonly asked by Live@edu administrators who are moving their institutions to Office 365 for education.
Remember, Live@edu customers need to upgrade to Office 365 for education by September 2013. The smoothest upgrade is the one you start yourself
How Live@edu compares to Office 365 for education
-
Q: How does Live@edu compare to Office 365 for education?
A:
| Live@edu | Office 365 for education |
|---|
|
| Email | Exchange Online
Users use Outlook or Outlook Web App
| Exchange Online
Users use Outlook or Outlook Web App
|
|
| File sharing | SkyDrive | SharePoint Online |
|
| Instant messaging | Windows Messenger | Lync Online |
For detailed descriptions, download the Office 365 for Enterprise Service Descriptions.
-
Q: Live@edu is free for students, faculty, and staff. Is Office 365 for education still free?
A: Yes. The Office 365 for education A2 plan, like Live@edu, is free for students, faculty, and staff. The automated upgrade process will subscribe you to Exchange Online Plan 1. Once the upgrade completes, if you want to subscribe to the free Office 365 for education A2 plan (which includes Lync Online, SharePoint Online, and Office Web Apps) or to a paid academic plan with additional features, you must first sign a new Microsoft Online Services Agreement or a current Volume Licensing Agreement.
For information on what’s included in each plan, see Plan Details.
-
Q: If I want to subscribe to an additional academic subscription, when do I select it?
A: As soon as you have finished the upgrade from Live@edu to Office 365 Exchange Online Plan 1, you can subscribe for free to the A2 plan, or purchase a subscription to the A3 or A4 plans. Sign in to the Admin page of the Office 365 for education portal to select a plan.
-
Q: What’s the best way to learn about Office 365 for education?
A: We recommend that you do a trial of Office 365 for education.
Important: This trial must be done on a trial domain, as there is no way to merge Office 365 subscriptions.
Use the trial to:
- Learn what the end user experience is like.
- Learn how to use the Admin page of the Office 365 for education portal.
- Test your user account provisioning systems.
- Explore workflow possibilities.
- Prepare your IT staff and help desk.
- Prepare an upgrade plan for your educational institution.
To learn more, read the
Office 365 for Enterprise Service Descriptions.
-
Q: What’s the difference between Office 365 for enterprises and Office 365 for education?
A: They are exactly the same tools. The subscription plans are different because the pricing for educational institutions is different from pricing for enterprises.
-
Q: What are the Office 365 system requirements?
A:To get the full Office 365 for education experience, we recommend that customers meet our system prerequisites. (For details, see the system requirements.)
-
Q: I have multiple domains. Can these be combined into one Office 365 for education subscription?
A: If the domains are all accepted domains in one Live@edu enrollment, they are all upgraded together into one Office 365 for education subscription. If some of the domains are not in Live@edu, or are in a separate Live@edu enrollment, or are already included in a separate Office 365 subscription, they cannot be combined.
-
Q: Can I just enroll my domain now in Office 365 for education?
A: Space has been reserved in Office 365 for education for all Live@edu domains. This means that you cannot enroll a Live@edu domain directly in Office 365 for education; the domain must be upgraded.
-
Q: Are there differences in mailbox size between Live@edu and Office 365 for education?
A: Yes. Mailboxes were 10 gigabytes (GB) in Live@edu. They can be up to 25 gigabytes (GB) with Exchange Online Plan 1. If you upgrade to the A2 plan which includes Exchange Online Plan 2, unlimited mail storage is available.
-
Q: Are there any differences between Exchange Online in Live@edu and Office 365 for education?
A. Yes. You now get the same Exchange Online Plan 1 service that is available to all enterprise customers, and you can subscribe to academic plans that provide additional Exchange Online features like email archiving capabilities, legal hold, and unlimited email storage. Learn more about the Exchange Online differences in Office 365 for education
-
Q: What other differences are there between Live@edu and Office 365 for education?
A: There is no co-branding in Office 365 for education.
-
Q: Live@edu provided full access to SkyDrive. What happens to my users’ SkyDrive accounts and data?
A. After the upgrade, each user will have two accounts:
- An Office 365 account. This account is managed by the educational institution, and is used to access all Office 365 for education services.
- A personal Microsoft account. This account can be used to access existing SkyDrive content, Messenger, Zune, and Xbox settings. There are several important differences between the personal Microsoft account and the user's previous Live@edu account:
- The Microsoft account is now a personal account for each user.
- This account uses the same user name and password as the Live@edu account did.
- Note that this can be confusing for users, since they now have two accounts with the same user name
- The Microsoft account can't be administered by the educational institution.
- As an administrator, you can't reset the password for the account.
- You can't delete the account.
- The standard header is used no matter which services the user accesses, with no co-branding. It gives users access to Messenger, SkyDrive, and MSN.
- Advertising will be displayed on this account unless a student is determined to be under the age of 13.
-
Q: We’ve built classroom workflow based on SkyDrive and Instant Messenger. What should we do?
A: With your trial subscription to Office 365 for education, you can identify how to transition the workflow to using SharePoint Online and Lync Online. Office 365 for education provides significantly more options for implementing classroom workflow.
Upgrade timing and process
-
Q: When will my educational institution be eligible to upgrade to Office 365 for education?
A. All educational institutions in countries where Office 365 is available will become eligible over the next few months. Microsoft will notify you via email of your scheduled upgrade date. Once you receive this notification, you have the option to start the upgrade on your own or wait until the scheduled date to start the upgrade automatically. Sign in to the Live@edu Service Management Portal to make sure that your institution's contact information is correct and up to date.
If you would like to begin your upgrade before you receive your notification, please contact Live@edu support to inquire if early upgrade is available.
-
Q: What is the upgrade process?
A. Here is the basic flow of the automated upgrade process:
- You’ll receive an email message notifying you that your educational institution is scheduled for upgrade. Once you receive this notification, you have the option to start the upgrade on your own or wait until the scheduled date to start the upgrade automatically.
- Sign in to the Service Management Portal, select who should get notifications, and initiate the upgrade. If you don’t initiate the upgrade before your scheduled upgrade date, the upgrade will start automatically on that date.
When the upgrade process starts, it will prepare your space in Office 365, and switch all users to the Office 365 version of Exchange Online. This doesn't require moving mailboxes, message delivery is uninterrupted, and access to email, SkyDrive, Skype (Messenger), and other Microsoft services is not impacted. While the upgrade is in process, administrators can’t add, delete, or modify users, or reset passwords. You will receive an email when the process starts and another when it completes.
-
Q: Can I postpone the upgrade?
Yes. All institutions may request a one-time postponement of 60 days beyond their current scheduled upgrade date. Once you have received notification of your upgrade date, you can log in to the
Live@edu Service Management Portal and click
Postpone in the Upgrade to Office 365 section of the home page. You must request postponement at least 4 days before your scheduled upgrade date.
-
Q: Can I request a specific upgrade date?
A. Once you have been notified of your upgrade date, you have the option to start the upgrade at any time on your own or wait until the scheduled date to start the upgrade automatically. If your institution would like to upgrade before you receive your notification, please contact Live@edu support to inquire if early upgrade is available.
-
Q: When I make the upgrade to Office 365 for education, what do I have to do and what will Microsoft do?
A. Microsoft is responsible for any changes that happen in its datacenters, including setting up all users in
Office 365 for education. You are responsible for making sure that your client software is updated to meet the Office 365 system requirements. You are also responsible for
training end users and configuring any new features and capabilities that will be delivered by Office 365 for education. You should complete the tasks in the
before-upgrade checklist and review the Office 365 for
Enterprise Service Descriptions to prepare for new capabilities and improved ways of performing many administrative tasks.
-
Q: Do I need a new service agreement?
-
Q: Will there be any down time for my users?
A. No. Users will have access to their email, SkyDrive, Messenger, and other Microsoft services throughout the process. However, if your institution uses the SSO Toolkit or if you have other identity or federation requirements, please ensure you have read and performed any tasks necessary before your upgrade date.
-
Q: What limitations will I have on administering the service before the upgrade?
A. Before the upgrade process begins, the following tasks will not be available:
- The Service Management Portal Institution profile page is read-only, so you can't change address information.
- You can’t add or remove accepted domains or modify co-branding.
- The SSO Toolkit is no longer available if you have not already requested it.
- The Windows Live Admin Center can't be used to administer a domain that is being upgraded.
-
Q: Will there be any time when I can’t administer users?
A: During the upgrade process, user management is locked—you will not be able to change users’ passwords or add, delete, or modify users. You will be able to manage user accounts in Office 365 for education once the entire upgrade process is complete.
-
Q: What communications should I expect from Microsoft?
A: Microsoft will send email to you at various steps in the upgrade process:
|
When
|
Email contents
|
What you need to do
|
|
At least 30 days prior to the start of the upgrade
|
Notification that your domain is eligible to start.
|
- Develop an upgrade plan for your organization. If you have a Microsoft account representative
or partner, you should reach out to them to discuss planning for the upgrade.
-
You can start the upgrade any time after you receive notification.
By starting early, you have more control over the timing of the upgrade.
|
|
14 days before the upgrade date
|
Reminder that if you do not start the upgrade, it will start automatically on the
specified date.
|
Ensure that all preparation is on track for completion. You are no longer able to postpone the upgrade from this point.
|
|
Upgrade Start
|
If you have not started the upgrade yourself, you’ll get this message telling you
that upgrade has started.
|
Review the email to understand the impact to you and to your users.
|
|
Upgrade has completed
|
The automated upgrade process is complete
|
- Complete the tasks in the after-upgrade checklist.
- Subscribe to any additional Office
365 academic plans.
- Verify
that your provisioning and synchronization systems work.
- Set up additional Office
365 for education administrator roles. For information on the roles available and
how to set them up, see Assigning administrator roles.
|
-
Q: How do I prepare my users?
A: You should communicate to your users about the upgrade in advance. Download the End User Marketing Kit to get customizable templates for emails and flyers, quick reference cards, website content, and more.
You should also instruct your users to complete the end user checklist. Inform them that they’ll have two accounts after the upgrade, resulting in the following portal changes:
- Office 365 for education: portal.microsoftonline.com
- SkyDrive: skydrive.live.com
- Outlook Web App address:
- mail.office365.com
- http://www.outlook.com/<DomainName>
- An address you create using a CNAME record in DNS; e.g., mail.contoso.edu
-
Q: Can I roll back to Live@edu after the upgrade?
A: No, rolling back is not possible.
-
Q: What support will be available during the upgrade?
A: The same support you currently receive with Live@edu will be available throughout the upgrade. Go to the Support page in the Service Management Portal to access support options.
-
Q: I have not received any communication from Microsoft. How do I know when I am scheduled for upgrade?
A. Microsoft will notify you at least 30 days in advance of your scheduled upgrade date. Please make sure your contact information is correct on the Institution profile page in the Service Management Portal. If you have been scheduled for upgrade, you will also see your upgrade date in the Service Management Portal.
-
Q: I’m ready to upgrade now but have not received any notifications. How can I request to upgrade early?
A. If your institution would like to upgrade before you receive your notification, please
contact Live@edu support to inquire if early upgrade is available.
-
Q: Why don’t I see the option to postpone the upgrade?
A. You will only see the option to postpone if you have a scheduled date and you have not postponed once already. Also, if you are within 4 days of your upgrade date, postponement is no longer available.
-
Q: What is UTC? Why is it mentioned on the email I received about my upgrade date?
A: UTC, or coordinated universal time is the global standard in regulating clocks and time (also known as GMT or Greenwich Mean Time). When it’s midnight UTC, it’s 9am the same day in Tokyo or 7pm the day before in New York.
When the date for your upgrade is displayed in an email you receive from Microsoft, it is displayed in UTC. For example; if your email displays April 1, 2013, and your institution is located in Japan, you will begin the upgrade at some point after 9am your local time. However, if your institution is located in New York, you will begin the upgrade at some point after 7pm on March 31st.
-
Q: Why does the upgrade date listed in the Service Management Portal differ from the date listed in my email notification?
A: The date listed in the email you received from Microsoft is listed in UTC . The date displayed in the Service Management Portal has been adjusted from UTC into your local time (via your web browser’s settings). Thus, depending on your geographic location, these dates may differ.
For example; if your email displays April 1, 2013 as your upgrade date, and your computer is set to local time in New York City (UTC -5), you will see March 31, 2013 in the Service Management Portal (SMP) as your upgrade date.
-
Q: What is the Office 365 service upgrade? Is this different from the Live@edu to Office 365 for education upgrade?
A: Yes, the Live@edu to Office 365 for education upgrade is different from the Office 365 service upgrade. Live@edu customers must first upgrade to Office 365 before completing the Office 365 service upgrade, which gives your institution more features and richer experiences in Office 365. For more information about the Office 365 service upgrade, see the Office 365 service upgrade center .
-
Q: Is it possible for my institution to complete the upgrade from Live@edu and the Office 365 service upgrade at the same time?
A: No. Live@edu institutions must first upgrade to Office 365 before they are eligible for the Office 365 service upgrade.
-
Q: When will my school be eligible for the Office 365 service upgrade?
A: Once your institution has completed the Live@edu to Office 365 upgrade, your institution will be eligible for the Office 365 service upgrade. All Office 365 service upgrades will be scheduled in 2013. You will be notified via email as soon as your institution is scheduled for the service upgrade. For more information, visit the Office 365 service upgrade center .
Technical considerations
-
Q: What user ID do I use to sign in to Office 365?
A. You will use the same user name and password that you used with Live@edu.
-
Q: How do I manage user accounts in Office 365 for education?
A: Once the upgrade is complete, you will no longer have access to the Live@edu Service Management Portal. Instead, you’ll use the Admin page of Office 365 (or the Microsoft Online Services module for Windows PowerShell) to administer the service, assign licenses, purchase additional subscriptions, and more. You can also continue to use Exchange Control Panel (ECP) or Windows PowerShell in Exchange Online to manage Exchange Online users.
To monitor Office 365 for education service status, use the Service Health Dashboard.
-
Q: I use custom scripts to keep my on-premises user directory synchronized with Live@edu. What should I do?
A. If you use Windows PowerShell scripts to synchronize information, you will need to update your scripts. You will also need to download the Microsoft Online Services Module for Windows PowerShell and connect to the Office 365 service in order to create Office 365 for education accounts and assign licenses. For more information, see
Use Windows PowerShell to Manage Office 365.
-
Q: Why are there two identity management systems, Microsoft account and Microsoft Online Services ID?
A: The separation between Office 365 (for organizations) and Microsoft services (for consumers) was done in order to satisfy the unique requirements of services provided to organizations and those provided to consumers. An organization with many users and legal obligations for confidentiality and auditability has very different requirements for generating, managing, and removing identities than does an individual who wants to store personal information online. Combining these requirements into one system was not feasible.
With the upgrade from Live@edu, a student now has both a “consumer” identity (the Microsoft account) to share personal files, pictures and information, and an “organizational” identity (the Office 365 for education account based on their Microsoft Online Services ID) to share schoolwork with classmates, faculty, and administration.
This is a similar experience to the workplace, where employees have a professional identity as well as a personal one. Most people are used to having multiple online identities for social media, bank accounts, and other services, and devices that people use to access different services are increasingly capable of separating or combining access to services. For example, the Windows Phone 7 platform lets you choose whether you want to combine different identities so that all email appears in one inbox.
-
Q: Are there password policy differences between Live@edu and Office 365 for education?
A: There are several differences:
- Office 365 for education passwords must be 8 characters long
- If password expiry is enabled, passwords must be changed every 90 days. This time period is not configurable. Password expiry is enabled by default but can be changed using the Microsoft Online Services module for Windows PowerShell.
- The last password cannot be reused.
For details on the password policy, download the Office 365 password policy.
-
Q: What's the link to the Outlook Web App (OWA) after the upgrade?
A: After your institution has been upgraded, your users can continue to sign in to OWA at http://www.outlook.com/<domain_name> or at mail.office365.com.
You can also create a CNAME record in DNS, such as mail.contoso.edu, for your institution.
-
Q: I currently use FIM 2010 or ILM 2007. Can I keep using it?
A: Directory Synchronization is the supported provisioning tool in Office 365. ILM will need to be uninstalled.
-
Q: I use the Outlook Live Directory Synchronization tool (OLSync) or the Outlook Live Management Agent (OLMA). Will either work after the upgrade?
A: If you are planning on staying with Exchange Online Plan 1, you can continue to use OLSync or OLMA for 30 days after upgrade. After 30 days, you will need to run a one-time cloud directory preparation tool and then switch to the Microsoft Online Services Directory Synchronization tool.
You’ll need to move to the Directory Synchronization tool immediately after the upgrade before you subscribe to an academic plan.
For more information about how to switch synchronization tools, see Directory Synchronization Options.
-
Q: I currently use the Password Change Notification Service (PCNS). Will it still work after upgrade?
A: No. PCNS is not supported in Office 365. If you would like a single password for your users, we recommend that you use single sign-on (SSO).
-
Q: Can I continue to use the Live@edu SSO Toolkit with Office 365 for education?
A: No. In Office 365 for education, single sign-on is implemented differently than in Live@edu. Should you wish to continue to use single sign-on after the upgrade, it will be necessary to implement identity federation.
-
Q: What are the supported implementations for federation with Office 365 for education?
A: At this time, federation for Office 365 for education is only supported if you use Active Directory on premises. There are two ways to implement federation:
- Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) 2.0
- Shibboleth Identity Provider (IDP) with SAML 2.0 for Active Directory
-
Q: Why can’t I add or remove an accepted domain to my existing Live@edu account?
A: In preparation for upgrading to Office 365, certain features in Live@edu will no longer be available. This includes the ability to add or remove accepted domains to your account. Should you need to add or remove an accepted domain before your scheduled upgrade date, you’ll need to upgrade to Office 365 for education and then add or remove the domain. Please
contact Live@edu support to upgrade now.
-
Q: Why can I not add or disable single sign-on for my domains?
A: In preparation for upgrading to Office 365, certain features in Live@edu will no longer be available. This includes the ability to add or disable single sign-on. Should you need to add or disable single sign-on for one of your domains, you’ll need to upgrade to Office 365 for education and implement identity federation. Please
contact Live@edu support to upgrade now and read more about
single sign-on.
-
Q: Why can’t I change my Institution profile in the Service Management Portal?
A: In preparation for upgrading to Office 365, certain features in Live@edu will no longer be available. This includes the ability to update your institution’s name, location, and contact phone numbers. You will continue to have the ability to edit your critical notifications and administrator contact email addresses. Once you have completed the upgrade to Office 365 for education, you will be able to edit your addresses and contact information in the Office 365 administration portal.
-
Q: Why can’t I modify my institution’s co-branding?
A: In preparation for upgrading to Office 365, certain features in Live@edu will no longer be available. This includes the ability to add or modify co-branding. Please note that co-branding is not supported in Office 365. However, SharePoint Online team sites can be customized with you institution’s brand.
-
Q: What is SkyDrive Pro and how does it differ from SkyDrive?
A: SkyDrive Pro is a new feature your institution can use after completing the Office 365 service upgrade if your institution has subscribed to an academic plan that includes Microsoft SharePoint Online. Like SkyDrive, it’s a cloud storage option that allows users to store documents, access their files from anywhere, and share their files with others. The main difference is that SkyDrive is free and available to individuals, while SkyDrive Pro is managed by your institution.
-
Q: Do users get both SkyDrive and SkyDrive Pro?
A: After the Live@edu to Office 365 upgrade, your users continue to have access to their existing SkyDrive storage by using their personal Microsoft account. However, your institution cannot administer these personal Microsoft accounts and any new users you create in Office 365 will not be provisioned with a Microsoft account. Learn more about the two account experience.
After the Office 365 service upgrade, your users will get SkyDrive Pro if your institution is subscribed to an academic plan that includes Microsoft SharePoint Online. Your users will be able to use SkyDrive Pro for school-related data, and SkyDrive for personal data if they have a Microsoft account.
-
Q: Will my institution be able to use SkyDrive Pro when we upgrade from Live@edu to Office 365?
A: Your institution must complete both the upgrade from Live@edu to Office 365 and the Office 365 service upgrade and subscribe to an academic plan that includes Microsoft SharePoint Online before SkyDrive Pro is available for use.
-
Q: After my institution upgrades from Live@edu to Office 365, how will my users get support with their personal Microsoft account?
A: After your institution upgrades from Live@edu to Office 365, your users will have a personal Microsoft account that can be used to access their SkyDrive and other Microsoft services. Your institution no longer manages these personal Microsoft accounts. Your users can receive support via the Microsoft account website and online community.
-
Q: How do users move data from SkyDrive to SkyDrive Pro?
A: Remember that after the Live@edu to Office 365 upgrade, users’ data on SkyDrive is their personal data. It is entirely up to the user if they want to move their SkyDrive data to SkyDrive Pro (if available.)
Here are two suggestions for how users can move data:
- Download all SkyDrive content to a computer and then upload it to SkyDrive Pro.
- Use the SkyDrive desktop app and the SkyDrive Pro Sync application(requires Office 2013) to drag and drop files from one account to the other.
