Getting a my.emich Account

What is my.emich?

My.emich is Eastern Michigan University's personal portal. It is an official form of communication with EMU. This secure site provides students, faculty and staff with world-class intranet and Internet services including a 20 MB e-mail account and calendar. It is where you can check e-mail and access EMU's Web resources.

Getting to my.emich

Getting to my.emich is a simple process. Make sure that your computer is on and connected to the Internet. Start the browser, enter http://my.emich.edu into the address box, and press 'Enter' or 'Return.' This will take you to the my.emich Web site.

Activating your my.emich

Accounts are available for EMU faculty, students and staff, but in order to use it, you need to activate it. To start your activation, go to the my.emich Web site and click on 'How do I get my username and password.' This will start the process.

Logging on to my.emich

When you're back at the my.emich login page, enter your username and password into the Username and Password boxes. Your email appears in the center of the my.emich tab once you have logged in. Remember to always log out of your email and my.emich when you are done.

Login Issues

If you are having problems logging into my.emich, go to http://ict.emich.edu/helpdesk to ask a question or click here for information on known login issues, including supported browsers, pop-up blockers, spyware, and more.

Choosing a Password

When you activate your account, you will be given an initial password. Once you have your initial password you should go to password.emich.edu. There you can change your password. A good technique to use when choosing a password is the "Easy to remember, but difficult for others to guess" strategy. You should come up with one that is easy for you, but difficult for someone else to figure out.

What if I Forget My Password?

Go to http://my.emich.edu and select 'Forgot your password? Click here!' Follow the instructions under 'Reset Current Account Password.' Your password will be changed almost immediately. When logging into my.emich after resetting your password, you may encounter a page titled "External System Error". If so, just click the "Start Recovery Session" button near the bottom of the page. This page is recovering passworded links to your email and calendar which my.emich stores internally. After clicking the button, you should automatically proceed into the portal. You should not encounter this message at your next log in.

Your My.Emich E-mail Address

Your My.Emich e-mail address looks like this: UserNameID@emich.edu. You should notify your work associates, friends and family of your new address if you intend to use it for your work or correspondence. Faculty and staff will also be able to use the familiar firstname.lastname@emich.edu e-mail address.

Helpful Hints and FAQs

Q. Why do I need a my.emich account?
A. The my.emich system combines e-mail e-mail, calendar, and online discussion group functions in one interface, all accessible with one username and password. This account is an official form of communication between you and the University.

Q. Can I use e-mail from my own Internet Service Provider instead of EMU's e-mail?
A. It is not recommended because of technical issues. However, you can forward your EMU e-mail to another account by logging in at http://my.emich.edu and clicking the 'E-mail' button. In the email window, click on "Options" and then "Settings". Enter your preferred e-mail address in the "Mail Forwarding" section. Once you have forwarded your e-mail to another account, copies will not be kept in my.emich.

Q. Can I access my e-mail from home?
A. You can access your e-mail through a compatible Internet browser anywhere you have an Internet connection. Enter the address http://my.emich.edu in the browser and you will see the my.emich login page.

Q. Can I use Thunderbird, Netscape, Eudora or another e-mail client to get my e-mail?
A. Yes.

If you routinely use the same computer at work or your own computer from home or the residence halls. IT strongly recommends that you use an IMAP complaint e-mail client for your e-mail. These clients are feature rich and tend to be faster than the Web based client provided with my.emich.

IT recommends you use Thunderbird mail or another IMAP compliant client. The advantage to IMAP is that your e-mail remains on the server where it can be accessed anywhere. POP removes it from the server and stores it on the computer you are using, the only place you then can see it. In either case, you will need the following to set up the client:

• Mail server: mail.emich.edu
• Account name: my.emich.edu
• User name: Your my.emich username
• Outgoing server: smtp.emich.edu

Once the client is installed and set up, use your my.emich password when prompted for a password.

IT supports Mozilla's Thunderbird Mail. See IT's Thunderbird Migration Guide for more information.

If you are traveling or away from your computer for any reason, you can still reach any email on the server by logging on to my.emich at http://my.emich.edu and using the web based mail system there.

Getting Help

If you need help getting into your account, have questions or need further assistance, call the IT Help Desk at 734.487.2120 or email them at ict.helpdesk@emich.edu.