At IU, how do I choose my primary email address and preferred email account?

Note: This refers to selecting (or changing) your primary email address (e.g., the @indiana.edu, @iupui.edu, or @iu.edu portion of your IU email address). Alternatively, for information about changing your username, see At IU, may I change my Network ID username on UITS computing accounts?

Your primary email address

Your primary email address at IU will most likely be automatically selected according to your campus affiliation; see At IU, what is my email address?

If you have not yet created your first IU computing accounts, or are a returning IU student with only an Active Directory account, running the Starter Kit will, in most cases, set your primary email address for you. For instructions, see How do I get my first computing accounts at IU?

Important: If you already have a primary email address at IU and need to change it, you'll need to take several additional steps to avoid problems with mailing list subscriptions, website logins, and access to services both inside and outside of IU; see Guidelines for avoiding service interruptions when changing your primary email address at IU.

Note: Your primary email address will be displayed in the IU Address Book.

Preferred email account

Once you have your primary email address, you will need to select a preferred email account (i.e., the account that receives mail sent to your primary email address). The types of accounts available to you may vary based on the campus and your status at IU; see At IU, what email systems are available? You may even choose to use an existing non-IU email account as your preferred email account.

By selecting your preferred email account, you are choosing which email service you would prefer to use for managing your email. In simple terms, you can think of it as setting forwarding for your primary email address (i.e., telling the mail system where to deliver your @indiana.edu or @iupui.edu email).

Making your selections using AMS

1. Go to the Account Management Service. Use a web browser that supports SSL (e.g., Internet Explorer, Safari, or Firefox).

   Note: For departmental, student organization, or group accounts, only the account owner is authorized to change the passphrase or other account settings.

2. Click Manage my IU computing accounts. Log in with your Network ID credentials if necessary.
   
   
3. Click manage your e-mail. On the following page, click set primary e-mail. On the page that appears, you will see your email address and current delivery information.
   
   
4. Next to "Set primary e-mail address to:", from the drop-down menu, select a primary address. If you are or have been affiliated with more than one IU campus, you may see more than one address (e.g., username@indiana.edu, username@iupui.edu).
   
   
5. Under "Forward your IU e-mail:", select the appropriate option below for each email address listed:
   
   
   • If you want to select a different IU account for your preferred email account, choose Set the delivery for this address to user's UITS mail account on: , and then, from the drop-down menu, select the appropriate account (e.g., Exchange, Cyrus, Imail, or Umail).
     
     
   • If you want to use a non-IU email account for your preferred email account,, choose Set the delivery for this address to: , and then enter the address to which you'd like your IU email forwarded.

     Important: Indiana University provides students, faculty, and staff with IU email addresses, which most academic and administrative offices use to send you messages. If you choose to forward this address to a non-IU account (e.g., Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo!), the UITS Support Center will not be able to help you with problems concerning that account. More importantly, if this forwarding fails for any reason, you may miss important official communications sent to your IU address for which you are still responsible.

6. Click Forward email.

Note: Changes may take up to 30 minutes to take effect.