The University of Toronto (U of T) is currently transitioning to a new Microsoft 365 licensing model. As part of this initiative, Information Technology Services (ITS) is initiating a review of University email and Microsoft 365 accounts to ensure they align with the HR & Equity guideline: Email Accounts for University of Toronto Staff, Faculty and Librarians.  

Before your mailbox and Microsoft 365 account is decommissioned, you may wish to export out data for your records and inform your contacts of an alternate email address where they can reach you.

Please review the information below for steps you can take to preserve your data and notify contacts of your email account closure.

1. Export content

The following procedures will enable you to export out the contents of your Microsoft 365 account to preserve information such as email messages,  contacts and OneDrive files. Please click through to individual articles for detailed instructions.

Messages*

• Outlook for Windows: Back up your email (Microsoft).​
• Outlook for Mac: KB0011553​
• Apple Mail/Mac Mail: KB0011636​
• Thunderbird: KB0011548

*Note: If you are exclusively using the online version of Outlook, you will first need to set up your email address in the desktop Outlook client to proceed. Please follow these instructions.

Contacts 

• Export contact lists from Outlook Online (OWA): Export contacts from Outlook.com to a CSV file (Microsoft)
• Export contact lists from Outlook for Windows: KB0012526
• Export contact lists from Outlook 2016 for Mac: KB0012527
• Export contact lists from Thunderbird: KB0012528

Calendar and local folders in Outlook/other mail clients

• These are not part of your UTORmail account; instead, they are stored locally on your computer.

OneDrive

• Download files and folders from OneDrive or SharePoint 

2. Notify contacts of change of email address  (optional)

To avoid missed correspondence, reach out to your contacts to inform them that your @utoronto.ca email address will be going out of service. Remember to supply an alternative means for them to contact you.

Don’t forget to update your contact information with:

• People or organizations you correspond with.
• Subscriptions to newsletters, mailing lists or listservs.
• Services that provide alerts and notifications (e.g. news, banking or taxes, health and safety alerts).
• Online logins and accounts (e.g. social media, online shopping, clubs and memberships).

If you wish to open a new email account, there are numerous free and paid email providers to choose from. Examples of free email services include Gmail (from Google), Outlook.com (from Microsoft), or Yahoo! Mail. Home internet providers such as Rogers or Bell may also include email accounts as part of their service packages.