Exchange 2016 is a more robust, feature-rich email offering.
No, this is a required email hosting upgrade. Exchange 2016 will enhance your current email services by providing you with many new features, including:
- Improved web access
- Advanced mobile-device support
- 99.999% service uptime
- And more!
Yes, you’ll see many great new features, including:
- Unlimited mailbox storage.
- New web interface: Outlook on the web (OWA) for Exchange 2016 offers a modern interface for accessing mail, calendar, and contacts via the web or on your mobile device.
- Optimized mobile experience: Access webmail through a mobile-optimized interface.
We will ensure the upgrade process is as transparent as possible, and handle the majority of it for you. Each upgrade experience is customized and varies by account. Upgrades are currently targeted to begin in July 2017.
Communications regarding your approximate upgrade date and more details for what to expect will be sent at least two weeks prior to the upgrade.
There is no planned downtime during the upgrade and you will be able to access your upgraded services immediately. We will work closely with you to ensure that all your data is retained during the upgrade.
We are taking every step possible to ensure the upgrade is seamless and without downtime. Please see individual sections for each Hosted Exchange Version:
Open-Xchange will not be upgraded.
Your encryption, archiving, and SharePoint services will also be migrated or upgraded through this process. If you have these services, please see additional information below.
As new services become active on your account your billing will be updated to our latest list pricing. This includes your existing email mailboxes and services. Pricing for these services can be seen below:
- Exchange Mailbox: $9.99 per mailbox/month
- Security & Compliance Mailbox: $19.99 per mailbox/month
If you have any questions, please reach out to the customer service team for further information on the updated pricing. New options for advanced features will also be available to customers on upgraded plans.
You can access Outlook Web Access (OWA) by visiting https://owa.msoutlookonline.net/ once your upgrade has been completed.
If we do not provide DNS services for your domain name, you will need to update your DNS records once the upgrade has been completed. The following DNS records will need to be updated:
- Update or Add an MX record that points to east.smtp.mx.exch129.serverdata.net with priority of 10
- Update or Add a third-level domain name called "autodiscover" that points to a CNAME record of ar.exch129.serverdata.net
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR HYBRID MAIL CUSTOMERS: MX Records for customers utilizing our Hybrid Mail Solution (some Exchange and some POP/IMAP) DO NOT need to update MX records.
You can use the following guides to update your mobile device:
- iPhone/iOS Users: http://controlpanel.msoutlookonline.net/KB/Article/1437
- Android Users: http://controlpanel.msoutlookonline.net/KB/Article/1835
If you have any other questions prior to migration, please contact support.
Users will need to access the new OWA portal located at https://owa.msoutlookonline.net to continue utilizing Outlook Web Access through their browser.
Yes, all phones will need to be reconfigured to access your new upgraded services. Guides for various phones can be found below:
iPhone users – http://controlpanel.msoutlookonline.net/KB/Article/1437
Android users – http://controlpanel.msoutlookonline.net/KB/Article/1835
BlackBerry OS 10 users – http://controlpanel.msoutlookonline.net/KB/Article/2499
If we do not provide DNS services for your domain name, you will need to update your DNS records once the upgrade has been completed. The following DNS records will need to be updated:
- Update or Add an MX record that points to east.smtp.mx.exch129.serverdata.net with priority of 10
- Update or Add a third-level domain name called "autodiscover" that points to a CNAME record of ar.exch129.serverdata.net
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR HYBRID MAIL CUSTOMERS: MX Records for customers utilizing our Hybrid Mail Solution (some Exchange and some POP/IMAP) DO NOT need to update MX records.
You may need to make changes to your SPF record. Additional information can be found at http://controlpanel.msoutlookonline.net/KB/Article/1010.
You can find additional information about the new Spam Filter here http://controlpanel.msoutlookonline.net /KB/Article/1244.
Users will need to reinstall their Outlook plugin after the migration once they have been issued a new registration key.
Once the email migration is complete, users will need to recreate any custom policies previously configured.
Previous emails will be ingested in to a new enhanced email archive. Users will gain:
- Access to an archiving portal for easy search and eDiscovery
- Secure, tamper-proof archive
- Advanced administrative controls
In order to upgrade your archive to the new platform it has to be disconnected from the legacy platform. This allows our team to properly take a snapshot of the archive and move it the upgraded platform.
Your data is safe and accessible to our administrative team during this process. There will be no data loss and no data is being deleted by this process.
Your upgraded archive will be available from your new Hosted Exchange 2016 control panel once upgrades have been completed.
Additional product information can be found here.
If you are using an older version of Outlook you will need to upgrade your Outlook version to Outlook 2010 SP1 for compatibility with Exchange 2016.
You will need to identify where your DNS records are hosted. If your DNS is hosted with us, no further changes will be required. However, if you host your DNS with a different provider you will need to modify your DNS records with updated information during the upgrade.
A guide to your exchange upgrade process can be found here.
If you are using an older version of Outlook you will need to upgrade your Outlook version to Outlook 2010 SP1 for compatibility with Exchange 2016.
You will need to identify where your DNS records are hosted. If your DNS is hosted with us, no further changes will be required. However, if you host your DNS with a different provider you will need to modify your DNS records with updated information during the upgrade.
A guide to your exchange upgrade process can be found here.
Nothing is required currently. Post upgrade, users will need to update their mobile devices and DNS. More information about that will be provided as your upgrade date gets closer.
A guide to your exchange upgrade process can be found here.