PennO365 for Students

Activate and manage your account

All current Penn students are eligible for a free Penn O365 account. At this time, the Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM) is not participating in the program. 

For information about when incoming students become eligible, and what happens to your account after you graduate or leave the University, see  "After Graduating or Leaving Penn" in Get Help/FAQ.

Understand your PennO365 for Students account

Your PennO365 for Students account is a Microsoft account that provides access to Microsoft Office 365 services and applications.  It is separate from your PennKey and Penn School email accounts (benfranklin1749@school.upenn.edu). Although your PennO365 account uses PennKey@upenn.edu as a login/username, your Penn email address (PennKey@school.upenn.edu) will not be affected. See Get Help/FAQ for more information about your PennKey, PennO365, and email accounts at Penn.

You are responsible for using PennO365 in accordance with Penn's Acceptable Use Policy.  Also, review University guidelines about protecting personal and University data at Protecting Penn Data. These guidelines will help you protect your personal information and understand how to identify and handle sensitive University information. 

Before you activate your account at Campus Express

To make the activation process easier, do these 5 things: 

1. Double-check what email address you have listed in the Penn Directory. Microsoft will use this address to complete their account activation process.

2. Make sure your computer's browser meets Penn’s minimum requirements, which are different from Microsoft's. See "System and browser requirements" in Get Help/FAQ.

3. Make sure your desktop and mobile devices meet Microsoft’s minimum system requirements.  See "System and browser requirements" in Get Help/FAQ. For additional details, see Office 365 System Requirements at Microsoft.

4. Make sure you know how to create a strong password. Your PennO365 for Students account password must meet the University's minimum criteria for creating strong passwords. For guidance and criteria, see Selecting a Strong Password at Penn's Information Security website.

• Important: To protect personal and University information, your password for your PennO365 account must be different from your PennKey password. Never use your PennKey password to access external applications!

5. Check to see if there is an existing version of Office on your computer or device.  If there is, see "Installing, managing, and using Office 365" in Get Help/FAQ about what to do if Office is already installed.

Activate your PennO365 for Students account

To activate your PennO365 account, log in at Campus Express and click on My New Computer.  

Manage your PennO365 for Students account

You can manage your PennO365 for Students account at the Microsoft O365 online portal. Through the portal's settings menu, you can:

• Install and manage your Office 365 ProPlus licenses on your personal computers and mobile devices
• Change your PennO365 password
• Manage preferences including your start page and notifications

To access your account's settings menu:

1. Go to the Microsoft online portal.
2. Login using your PennO365 username and password.  
3. Go to settings in the upper right-hand corner (the gear icon next to your name).
4. Select Office 365 settings.

Keep your device licenses active - connect once to the Internet every 30 days

To keep your free licenses activated, you need to connect at least one Office application (Excel, Word, etc.) to the Internet at least once every 30 days on each computer or device.

If your device remains offline for more than 30 days, Office 365 ProPlus enters reduced functionality mode until the next time a connection can be made. You will be able to view and print your documents but all features for editing or creating new documents will be disabled. You will see a “Product Deactivated” message.

To reactivate the license on a personal computer or device:
1. Connect to the Internet.
2. Select Sign In – Add this computer to an active account.
3. Enter your PennO365 username and password when prompted.

Your online services: Office and OneDrive

Your PennO365 for Students account includes Microsoft Office Online and OneDrive for Business. You receive 1 TB of data storage on OneDrive.

Microsoft Office Online

PennO365 for Students includes access to Microsoft Office Online, an online version of the Office productivity suite that allows you to create, edit, and share documents, and  collaborate with others online in real time via your web browser.  You can save files to OneDrive, Microsoft's data cloud storage and collaboration solution, or you can save documents to your personal computer or mobile device and work offline with Office 365.

To use Microsoft Office Online:

1. Go to the Microsoft online portal and log in using your PennO365 username and password.
2. Click on any application icon to create a new Office document.
3. When you create an Office Online document, there's no save button because the document is automatically saved by OneDrive.

Important: OneDrive's Documents directory contains a default folder "Shared with Everyone."  Saved documents may default to this folder. Items placed in this folder will not be private. To keep your documents private, choose Save As to save documents to your personal "Documents" directory or create a new folder. You can then choose who to share your documents and folders with.

For information about getting started with Microsoft Office Online, see:

• Getting started with Office Online in Office 365
• Working with Office documents in a Web Browser
• Using Office Online in OneDrive
• Working Together on Office Documents in OneDrive

OneDrive for Business

Your PennO365 for Students account includes 1 TB of data storage on OneDrive for Business, Microsoft’s cloud data storage and collaboration solution. Students receive 1 TB of data storage.  With OneDrive for Business, you can:

• Create and share documents, and collaborate in real time through Office Online applications.  
• Save and retrieve documents stored on OneDrive through Office 365 ProPlus apps on personal computers and mobile devices that are connected to the Internet.
• Sync your devices to OneDrive so that you can view files in local directories instead of opening a web browser.  You can work offline, and all your changes will sync to OneDrive for Business when you connect to the Internet.

To activate OneDrive for Business:

1. Go to the Microsoft online portal and log in using your PennO365 username and password.
2. The first time you log into the Microsoft online portal, you may see a message that your OneDrive account is being set up. This one-time set-up usually happens within a day but may take longer. You can close your browser, do other work, and return later when without interrupting the process.
3. If you log into the portal and your OneDrive account isn't set up automatically, click OneDrive from the top menu bar to begin the process.

Tip: You must first set up your OneDrive account on the Microsoft online portal before using OneDrive with Office 365 applications on your computer or mobile device.

4. Begin using OneDrive from your browser window.

For information about what happens to your OneDrive data after you leave or graduate from Penn, see "After Graduating or Leaving Penn" in Get Help/FAQ. 

For information on using OneDrive for Business, see:

• What is OneDrive for Business?
• Microsoft Virtual Academy: OneDrive  Learning Center - Store, sync, and share your work files
• Store and Share Documents Quick Start Guide (downloadable pdf)

Office 365 for personal computers and mobile devices

As part of PennO365, you can install the latest version of Microsoft's office productivity suite on up to five (5) personal computers and mobile devices. You also receive access to Microsoft Office Online and 1TB of OneDrive storage.

Microsoft manages the process of downloading and installing Office products for you. Penn students should first activate their PennO365 Account and log into the Microsoft online portal and download apps to their computers and mobile devices.

You must first set up your OneDrive account on the Microsoft online portal before using OneDrive with Office 365 applications on your computer or mobile device. See "Office Online/OneDrive for directions on how to set up OneDrive.

Personal computers

To install Office 365 ProPlus on your personal computer:

1. Make sure that your devices meet the system requirements for Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus. See the "PennO365 System and Browser Requirements" table in Get Help/FAQ. 
2. Check if you already have a copy of Microsoft Office on your computer. If you do, see "Installing, managing, and using Office 365" in Get Help/FAQ. 
3. Go to the Microsoft online portal. 
4. Login using your PennO365 username and password.   
5. Next to "Install Office on your PC/Mac," click Install Now.
6. Save the install file to your desktop (.exe is for Windows, .pkg is for Mac).
7. Double-click on the install file  to launch the install.
8. Open one application and enter your PennO365 username and password. This will activate all other applications on your computer.

For additional information, see Microsoft's directions for downloading and installing the software:

• Download and install Office on your PC or Mac

Mobile devices

To set up Office Mobile on your device:  

1. Make sure that your devices meet the system requirements for Office 365 Mobile. See "System and browser requirements" in Get Help/FAQ.
2. Go to  the Microsoft online portal.
3. Login using your PennO365 username and password.  
4. Click Get Office on your Mobile Devices.
5. Select your desired device and select Send Email or Send Text based on your preference and enter your email address or mobile number.
6. Open the text or email on your device. The message will contain an icon for each available app.
7. From the Apple Store or GooglePlay, click on each icon separately to download apps.
8. Open one application and enter your PennO365 username and password.  This will activate all other applications on your device.

For more information, see:

• Office 365 Mobile Set Up - Help  
• Set up Office on an Android with Office 365
• Set up Office on an iPhone or iPad 
• Set up Office on a Windows Phone

University-managed computers and mobile devices

Office 365 ProPlus may not be self-installed on University-managed computers. For assistance, contact your computing support center. 

Generally, there is no difference in setup or use for personally owned vs. University-managed mobile devices. However, if your University-managed devices are managed via your school's Mobile Device Management  (MDM), you may need to enroll your device beforeinstalling Office Mobile.  See Enroll your mobile device in Office 365.

Set up Microsoft Outlook

You can use Microsoft Outlook to read most types of email accounts. You will need configuration information from your email provider in order to set up Outlook on personal computers and mobile devices.  

• Personal Email Accounts: Personal email providers, such as Gmail, provide directions on setting up Outlook.  We recommend checking their directions first for the most up to date information (for Gmail, log into your Gmail account and click on the Help icon and search for Setting Up Outlook).  If that doesn’t work, try Microsoft’s directions listed below.
• Penn School Email Accounts (ben@school.upenn.edu): School email configuration instructions vary by school. Contact your computing support center for directions on setting up Outlook to read your School email account.

For additional information on configuring Outlook on personal computers,  see:

• Set up Email and Basic Tasks in Outlook 2013
• Set Up Email in Outlook 2016 for Mac

For additional information about setting up Outlook on mobile devices, see:

• Office 365 mobile Set Up - Help  
• Set up email on an Android phone or tablet
• Set up email on a Windows Phone

Get started with Office365

Microsoft has many resources for learning to use the various parts of Office 365 ProPlus.

Here are some links to help get started:

• Office365 Learning Center for Business and Education
• Office Training and Tutorials
• Office 2013 for PC Quick Start Guides (downloadable pdfs)
• Office 2016 for Mac Quick Start Guides (downloadable pdfs)

Support for PennO365 is provided through your computing support provider. See the Student Support Directory to find your provider. If you are still unsure who to contact, please contact ISC Client Care.

Get Help/FAQ: support for PennO365

Support for PennO365 is provided through your computing support provider. See the Student Support Directory to find your provider. If you are still unsure who to contact, please contact ISC Client Care.

In addition, Microsoft provides many support and training resources. Here are some general links to help you get started. Please see other tabs on this webpage for topic-specific resources.

• Office365 Learning Center for Business and Education
• Learn your way around Office 365
• Office Training and Tutorials

Frequently asked questions

• Accounts and access
• System and browser requirements
• Installing, managing, and using Office 365
• After graduating or leaving Penn

Accounts and access

Who is eligible for a PennO365 for Students account? 

All currently enrolled Penn students are eligible for a PennO365 account.

What does PennO365 include?

Through PennO365, students can install the Microsoft Office productivity suite on up to five (5) personal computers and mobile devices, including Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, Android, and Windows Phone. Students also receive access to Microsoft Office Online and 1 TB of data storage on OneDrive.

For details about what's included, see What is PennO365 for Students.

I’m an incoming student. When am I eligible to set up my PennO365 account?

You are eligible for PennO365 after you have registered your Pennkey and obtained your school email address (for example,  PennKey@school.upenn.edu). 

• For information about setting up and testing your PennKey, see the PennKey website.
• Your email account is provided by your School. For more information, see Set Up Your Penn Email.

How do I activate and log in my PennO365 account? 

To activate your PennO365 account, log in at Campus Express, and click on My Computer.

What’s my PennO365 username and password?

Your username to activate and log into your PennO365 account is:
PennKey@upenn.edu (for example, benfranklin1746@upenn.edu)

You will be required to set a separate password to use Microsoft products. You will need your Microsoft password to download Office365 applications and log into Office Online. To protect personal and University information, your password for your PennO365 account must be  different from your PennKey password. For guidance and criteria on how to create a password, see Selecting a Strong Password at Penn's Information Security website

I’m a Penn student, but I can't set up my account or download Microsoft Office. Who should I contact?

If you’ve newly registered your PennKey, wait at least 24 hours before trying to activate your account.  If you created (or registered) your PennKey more than 24 hours ago contact your computing support provider.  See the Student Support Directory to find your provider. If you are still unsure who to contact, please contact ISC Client Care.  

I forgot my password. How do I create a new one?

To create a new password:
1.  Go to the Microsoft online portal.
2.  Enter your username, but leave the password field blank.
3. Click the Can’t access your account link that appears below the “Sign In” button.
4. Follow instructions to create a new password.

What's my PennKey?

Your PennKey is your unique username for the University. For more information, go to the PennKey website.

What's the difference between my PennKey@upenn.edu and PennKey@school.upenn.edu email addresses?

Students who have a registered email address in the Online Directory will have a PennKey@upenn.edu address and a corresponding forward entry in the Forward-Only e-mail service. This address automatically forwards to your primary Penn school email address. (If you're not sure what that is, see your profile in the Penn Directory.

System and browser requirements

What are PennO365’s system and browser requirements?

Make sure your computer's browser meets Penn’s minimum requirements, which are different from Microsoft's. For additional details, see Office 365 System Requirements at Microsoft.

Installing, managing, and using Office 365

If I already have the latest version of Office 2013 for PC or Office 2016 for Mac on my computer, do I need to uninstall it before I download Office 365 ProPlus?

If you already have the latest version of Office, there’s no need to install the Office 365 ProPlus version.  If you still want to install the Office ProPlus version, you must uninstall your original version first. Make sure you know your product key and keep it in a safe place before uninstalling Office.

If I have an earlier version of Office on my computer, do I need to uninstall it before I download Office 365 ProPlus?

If you have an earlier version of Office and know your product key, Penn recommends uninstalling it before installing Office 365 ProPlus for optimal performance. Keep your product key in a safe place because you will need it if you choose to reinstall your existing version of Office at a later date.

If you don’t know your product key or would prefer not uninstall your previous version of Office, you can still install Office 365 ProPlus. Office 365 ProPlus will run alongside previous installations. It may change your file associations and set itself up as default however, which makes it look as if your previous copy of Office isn't there anymore. If you check your list of programs/applications, you should see both versions listed.

How do I access PennO365 and install Microsoft Office on my computers and mobile devices?

After you activate your account, use your PennO365 username and password to log in to Microsoft’s online portal and and follow the instructions to install Office on your computers and devices.

Can I install Office 365 on a public computer in a lab or at the library?

Students using public computers can log into PennO365 and access Office Online through the local web browser. You will not be able to install Office 365 ProPlus or sync locally saved files to your OneDrive. However, you can download or upload locally saved files to your OneDrive via your web browser.

What’s a product key?

Your product key is 25 characters and is typically found in your product’s original packaging or in the confirmation email you received after purchasing a product online. If you purchased Office from the Computer Connection, your product key is on the back of the CD sleeve. You should keep your product key in a safe place because you will need it if you choose to reinstall your product.

Should I install 32 bit or 64 bit version of Office 365 ProPlus?

Most users will do fine with the 32 bit version - it takes up less memory so won't affect performance as much.  However, if you are planning to use memory intensive aspects of the software (such as complex functions in Excel) you may want to choose the 64 bit option.

How do I remove an Office 365 license from a personal computer or mobile device in order to make it available for use on another computer or device?  

You can manage your PennO365 licenses via the Microsoft Office 365 online portal:

1. Login using your PennO365 username and password.  
2. Go to settings in the upper right-hand corner (the gear icon next to your name).
3. Select Office 365 settings.
4. Select Software.
5. Select Office. A list of computers and devices where you have installed Office 365 ProPlus will appear. 
6. Select deactivate next to the device to remove the license from that device and make it available for use on another computer.

What happens when I deactivate a license on a computer or mobile device?

When you deactive Office 365 on a computer or mobile device, it enters reduced functionality mode. You will be able to view and print your documents, but all features for editing or creating new documents will be disabled.

Do I need to be connected to the Internet to run ProPlus applications?

You will need to be connected to the Internet the first time you run one of the Office 365 ProPlus applications, so that the activation process can be completed. After that, you only have to connect to the Internet at least once every 30 days to check the status of the subscription. If your computer or mobile device is offline for more than 30 days, Office 365 enters Reduced Functionality mode until the next time you connect to the Internet. This means you will be able to view and print documents stored on personal computer or devices, but will be unable to create/save/edit file.  You will not lose any documents created and stored on locally your personal computer or device but you will not be able to install any new instances of Office 365.

After graduating or leaving Penn

What happens to my PennO365 for Students account after I graduate or leave Penn?   

Office 365, Office 365 Online, and OneDrive for personal computers and mobile devices are free as long as you are a student enrolled at Penn.  Once you graduate or leave Penn, your student account will expire 60 days from your graduation date or last day at Penn.

After your account expires, you will not be able to install or use new instances of O365 or use Office Online and OneDrive and installed applications will enter reduced functionality mode. This means you will be able to view and print documents stored on personal computers or devices, but will be unable to create/save/edit files.  You will not lose any documents created and stored locally on your personal computers or devices. Documents saved on OneDrive will NOT be accessible after you graduate or leave Penn and must be downloaded and saved locally before your PennO365 account expires.
 
When will my PennO365 account expire?

Your PennO365 account will expire 60 days after your graduation date or your last day at Penn. For students graduating in May, this date is generally in mid-August.
 
What happens to documents stored in my OneDrive after I leave or graduate from Penn?

After your PennO365 account expires, you will no longer be able to access OneDrive or the documents saved there.  Make sure you download your documents from OneDrive within 60 days of your graduation date or last day at Penn.

What are my options after my PennO365 account expires?

If you wish to continue using Microsoft Office after your PennO365 account expires, you have several options:

• Purchase your own Office 365 license – if you choose to do so, you will maintain full access to the copy of Office you downloaded while you were a student, along with any online applications.
• Purchase a standalone version of Office.
• If you never uninstalled your previous copy, start using it again.
• If you uninstalled a previous copy, reinstall it using your original product key.