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Get Office 365 for free

As current students and staff of Solent University, you can download and install Microsoft Office 365 on up to five of your personally owned computers and mobile devices at no cost

9th November 2020

As staff and students, you already get access to the full online office.com with your university account, however you can also download the desktop apps to your home computer or the mobile apps on your personal devices. 

Why install?

  • Cyber security - Using the latest version of Microsoft Office 365 not only provides you with the best integration and user experience with the University’s online services, but it ensures the best protection for your data using Microsoft’s up-to-date security protection.
  • They are free - The free access to these apps will remain while you are a current student or employed staff member. However, once you leave, your access to use the apps will change to 'read-only', so you can either purchase a personal license to regain full functionality or remove the software.
  • Syncs your accounts - Gives you secure access to your university emails and files by seamlessly syncing to your university account.

What does this include? 

  • Word
  • Teams
  • PowerPoint
  • Publisher
  • Outlook
  • OneNote
  • OneDrive
  • Excel
  • Acces

Can I continue to use older versions of Office or 3rd party apps?

Older versions of Microsoft Office and most 3rd party apps, like Gmail, are not able to use the most secure methods to access the University’s online services, so their access will soon be blocked.

Therefore, to access your university email and other Microsoft based services, you will need to install the Microsoft 365 apps on your phone, device or computer.

There are several reasons for this decision:

  • Hackers are increasingly targeting older methods of access, called legacy authentication methods, to compromise accounts. (Used by older versions of Microsoft Office and protocols such as IMAP, POP3, SMTP, Exchange ActiveSync, and MAPI.)
  • The University has a legal requirement to comply with the Data Protection Act 2018. This requires organisations to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data.
  • In 2021, Microsoft will be removing all access to their services via legacy authentication methods.

How do I install Microsoft Office 365 apps onto my mobile device and/or computer? 

For mobile, you should use the authorised Microsoft apps to access your email and files rather than 3rd party apps, like Gmail or Apple Mail. They are more secure and will seamlessly connect to your university account. 

You can download the mobile apps here >

To download onto your computer, first log in to Office 365, using your university email address and password. 

  • Click on the 'Install Office' button
  • Click 'run'
  • Say 'yes'
  • Sign in with your university email address and password

If you require any assistance, please log a call using the Unity self-service app or email ict.servicedesk@solent.ac.uk 

Office 365 - step 1
 Office 365 - step 2