Microsoft 365 - Free for faculty, staff & students

Step by step instructions for obtaining and installing Microsoft 365 desktop applications which allows for current, qualified Faulty, Staff, and Students to access Microsoft 365 on their personal devices.   Microsoft 365 can be used online within a web browser, or for some individuals (those with A3 licenses) the desktop apps may be installed on a computer for offline use.  POI status does not come with access to these applications.

INFO: University Managed devices will come with Microsoft 365 desktop applications and Device Based Licenses pre-installed, so there is no need to follow this procedure.

IF you are an Active Student or  qualified Employee, you should NEVER have to Register for this product, you will automatically be assigned a user based license upon employment or prior to the start of the semester.  POI status does NOT automatically get you a license for Microsoft 365.

Instructions

Login in for Microsoft 365

  1. Sign in to download Microsoft 365 by going to www.microsoft365.com and if you're not already signed in, select Sign in.

    • Or you can login to your Campus Portal at mycampus.maine.edu and select the Microsoft 365 tile (Orange O). 

  2. Sign in with your @maine.edu account.   

  3. After signing in, you will be directed to M365 Copilot Chat. On the left navigation menu select Apps, then All Apps . From here you can access Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc. in the cloud to use the applications in your browser.

  • If you have an A3 license, then you can proceed to step 4 to download M365 apps for use on your computer: 

INFO: See Determining what Microsoft License I have been assigned to find out how to tell if you have an A1 or A3 license.

WARNING: Users with an A1 license cannot download and install M365 apps, they will need to use the online versions through a web browser.

  1. At the top right corner select Install apps, then Microsoft 365 apps.

  2. A new tab may open, select Install Office.

  3. Double-click the downloaded OfficeSetup file.

  4. Follow the wizard prompts.

If you experience issues logging into Office applications on your computer, you may have remnants of an older version or another license installed. See Uninstall Office from a PC or How to uninstall Office from a Mac to completely uninstall, then retry the installation instructions above.
WARNING: In most cases, students will lose access to Microsoft 365 one year after their last enrollment in a for credit course. 

Environment

  • M365
  • Web access or downloaded app/software
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