Central email service for reliable and secure communication for all university members. In addition to sending and receiving emails, the service includes calendars, contacts, and task management.
The email service is based on Exchange Online as part of Microsoft 365 (COMM-M365-1.0). All university members receive a personal mailbox with email, calendar, contacts, and tasks. Access is available via Outlook (desktop, web, and mobile), Apple Mail, Thunderbird, and other clients. Shared mailboxes are available exclusively via the Outlook app. Incoming emails are checked for spam, viruses, and phishing by Sophos Central Email Security. For university-wide communication with students and staff, an additional distribution list service is available via the Sympa server.
Please Note:
Email distribution lists (Sympa): Please use exclusively for emails directly related to studies, teaching, or university life. Maximum message size for distribution lists: 256 kB. The IT center reviews and releases emails promptly.
Email security (Sophos Central Email Security):
- Detected spam/phishing emails are held in central quarantine
- Daily digest message informs about held emails
- Release via Sophos Self Service Portal: https://central.sophos.com/manage/self-service
- Time-of-Click Protection: links in emails are checked at click time. Links are rewritten to https://eu-central-1.protection.sophos.com/...
- Certain attachments may not be delivered depending on threat level (including password-protected ZIP files). The email is delivered without attachment; full email can be released via the Sophos Self Service Portal
Permitted attachments: files with executable code may be rejected. Legacy Microsoft Office formats (.doc, .xls) are not permitted – please use current formats (.docx, .xlsx).
Report spam/phishing: send as attachment to is-spam@labs.sophos.com (start new email and drag & drop the spam email as .eml attachment).
Jade University user account (User Administration (SECID-UADM-1.0)).
When using Outlook Desktop (Windows/macOS) or Outlook Mobile (iOS/Android), no further action is needed after migration (restart may be required). For other email clients (Apple Mail, Gmail, Thunderbird): account reconfiguration required (remove existing account and add again).
The service provides:
Advantages of Exchange Online:
- Enhanced security: encrypted data transmission and storage, multi-factor authentication (MFA), protection against spam, viruses, and phishing via Sophos Central Email Security
- Automatic synchronization across all devices (PC, smartphone, tablet)
- Team collaboration: shared calendars and mailboxes, integration with Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive
- Scalability without own server infrastructure
All mailboxes are being migrated to Exchange Online in coordinated waves by the end of summer semester 2025. The migration runs fully automated in the background. Access remains available during migration. Outlook app (desktop/mobile) users need no further action (restart may be required). Other email clients (Apple Mail, Thunderbird) require account reconfiguration.
Access options:
- Outlook Desktop App (Windows/macOS) – full feature set for office workstations
- Outlook on the Web (OWA): https://outlook.office.com/mail/?domain_hint=hs-woe.de – no installation needed, nearly all desktop app features
- Outlook Mobile App (iOS/Android) – push notifications, syncs emails, calendar, contacts
- Apple Mail (iOS/macOS) – native Exchange support, syncs emails, calendar, contacts, reminders, and notes. Limitation: no shared mailboxes
- Gmail App (Android) – via Exchange ActiveSync (EAS). Limitations: no shared mailboxes, calendar/contact sync may be restricted
- IMAP/SMTP clients (e.g. Thunderbird, Evolution) – limited functionality (no calendar, no contacts)
Shared mailboxes are available exclusively via the Outlook app (desktop, mobile, or web).
Additionally, Jade University operates email distribution lists via the Sympa server (https://sympa.jade-hs.de) for university-wide communication with student and staff groups across all three campuses (Wilhelmshaven, Oldenburg, Elsfleth).
Access via Outlook on the Web: https://outlook.office.com/mail/?domain_hint=hs-woe.de
Thunderbird (IMAP) – account setup:
Microsoft has disabled username/password login for Exchange Online and enforces OAuth2/Modern Authentication.
- Incoming server (IMAP): outlook.office365.com, port 993, SSL/TLS, OAuth2
- Outgoing server (SMTP): smtp.office365.com, port 587, STARTTLS, OAuth2
- Username: loginname@hs-woe.de (e.g. ma1234@hs-woe.de)
Evolution (Linux) – account setup:
- Server type: Exchange Web Services
- Host URL: https://outlook.office365.com/EWS/Exchange.asmx
- OAB URL: https://mail.jade-hs.de/OAB/
- Authentication: OAuth2 (Office365)
Shared mailboxes: access exclusively via Outlook app (desktop, mobile, or web).
Digital email signatures and encryption: S/MIME certificates can be used for digital email signing and encryption. Requirement: valid user certificate (Certificates (SECID-CERT-1.0)). Instructions for Apple iOS/macOS, Android (FairEmail), Linux (Evolution), Thunderbird, Outlook (Windows/Mac) are available in the HRZ Wiki.
Email distribution lists (Sympa): https://sympa.jade-hs.de
Available lists include:
- bedienstete@sympa.jade-hs.de (all employees)
- bedienstete-whv/-ol/-els@sympa.jade-hs.de (by campus)
- bedienstete-prof@sympa.jade-hs.de (professors)
- studierende@sympa.jade-hs.de (all students)
- studierende-whv/-ol/-els@sympa.jade-hs.de (by campus)
- fb*-studierende@sympa.jade-hs.de (by department)
Post-migration troubleshooting:
- Outlook prompts for password for shared mailbox: remove and re-add via 'Open these additional mailboxes'
- Emails landing in Junk: right-click → 'Not Junk'
- Public folders unavailable: enable 'Download shared folders' and 'Download public folder favorites' in account settings
Contact for questions: hrz@jade-hs.de or COMM-HELPDESK
Sources:
[1] https://hrz-wiki.jade-hs.de/en/tp/email/start