Modern Authentication Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

On February 1, Xavier will transition Office 365 to a more secure form of authentication called Modern Authentication. This change may impact you, depending on which programs you currently use to check your Xavier email account. This FAQ addresses the most common questions related to this change.

In this article:

What is Modern Authentication?

Modern Authentication is a form of secure authentication provided by Microsoft. Among other benefits, Modern Authentication allows Xavier to extend multifactor authentication to desktop and mobile email clients.

How will Modern Authentication impact me?

The level of impact depends largely on which email clients you use to access Xavier email on desktops and mobile devices:

  • Microsoft Outlook 2016 or Outlook Mobile app: no impact. These continue to be Xavier's supported mail clients for desktop and mobile platforms.
  • Microsoft Outlook 2013 or older: unsupported. Outlook 2013 and older versions are incompatible with Modern Authentication. You will need to upgrade to Outlook 2016.
  • Outlook Web Access (OWA): no impact. Webmail already takes advantage of Modern Authentication.
  • 3rd-party clients (Apple/Android/iOS mail apps): unsupported. You must switch to Outlook 2016, OWA, and/or the Outlook mobile app. Most 3rd-party email clients lack Modern Authentication support, and will stop working once it is implemented. Outlook remains the officially-supported client on all platforms. You are free to continue using a 3rd-party email client for checking any personal, non-Xavier email accounts.

Will Modern Authentication change the login process?

The login experience will be the same as other login processes that already use multifactor authentication. (ie, Banner, VPN, etc)

Where do I go for additional help?

For Outlook Mobile setup instructions, please consulted the Related Articles section. These articles also include links to quick start videos, webinars, cheatsheets and additional support resources.

For additional assistance or questions, please call the Help Desk at 745-4357, or submit a ticket online.

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