Microsoft Exchange & Outlook Web App Mail Access Connection

In order to make your Exchange mailbox accessible by phone using your Virtual Assistant, you must ensure that your Exchange Server supports Outlook Web App (formerly Outlook Web Access) and that you have the permission to access your email account using this protocol. Ask your Exchange administrator or go to Microsoft online support regarding Outlook Web App.

To configure the mail access connection to your Exchange account:

1. Get the required information
2. Configure the mail access connection

Required information

To setup a mail access connection to your Microsoft Exchange account, you will need the following information:

• Username to access your Exchange mail account.
• Your email Password
• The URL of your Exchange mail server: Example: https://webmail.companyname.com/exchange or http://206.200.104.1/exchange.

Configure the Exchange Server Mail Access Connection

Follow the instructions below to configure the mail access connection to your Microsoft Exchange account:

• Click Settings > Mail Access in the main menu.
• Enter or update your username and password at the top of the section.
• Select the Settings radio button.
• Select Exchange Server 2007 or Outlook Web Access from the Mail Access Protocol dropdown list.
• Enter the Exchange Server URL in the Incoming Server field. Example: https://webmail.companyname.com/exchange or http://206.200.104.1/exchange.
• Click Submit to launch the Mail Access Connection validation process.

The system uses the information that you provide to connect to your email account. The results of each validation step are displayed including any errors. If the connection is successful, you will receive a test email message confirming that your mail access connection setup is successful.

If the connection fails, verify that you have properly entered your connection information (Exchange server URL, username and password) and try again. Alternatively, follow these instructions to verify if the credentials are correct:

• Enter your Exchange server URL in the browser's address bar (ex: https://webmail.companyname.com/exchange).
• Press Enter.
• If the screen does not display a form to enter your username and password, it means that you do not have the correct server URL. Otherwise, enter your username (ex: john.smith) and password (ex: myPa$$word).
• Click OK.
• If the credentials you entered are correct, you should now have access to your email. Otherwise, check your username and password. They are probably the cause of the connection failure.

You may need to manually configure the mail access parameters or choose the I don't know option to have the system try a variety of mail access parameters and protocols to attempt establishing a valid mail access connection. You can also see Troubleshooting Mail Access Connection for details.

The Virtual Assistant has a special conduit to access and import your personal contacts from the contact folder of the Microsoft Exchange Server. To build and update your voice directory using contacts from your Exchange Server, see Import Contacts.