FAQ on HKU Connect Email Service for Students

HKU Connect is a new email service offered for students. The HKU Connect email service is an outsourced email service powered by Google for HKU students and brings the benefits of 25GB of disk quota, indexed email search, industry standard spam control, calendaring, and ActiveSync for mobile devices.

HKU Connect email account holders will receive a permanent email address yourPortalUID@connect.hku.hk. Students can continue to use the simplified email address yourPortalUID@hku.hk for receiving emails as the emails will be automatically forwarded to yourPortalUID@connect.hku.hk. This email forwarding function will be available for use until graduation.

1. How to register for HKU Connect Email Service for Students?
2. Email Address, Email Alias, User Name and Password
3. Ways to Access
4. Change your language in Calendar, Contacts and Document
5. Other Related Information
6. I am unable to access the HKU Connect email service from where I am while other web sites seems normal
7. I sent an email from my HKU Connect account to my @hku.hk email address, but I can’t receive it
8. HKU Connect Email Service After Graduation
9. Useful URLs on using HKU Connect Email Service

1. How to register for HKU Connect Email Service for Students?

The HKU Connect email account is automatically created for all new students at the time of registration at HKU.

Students who have registered email accounts on HKUSU1.HKU.HK/HKUSUC.HKU.HK are invited by phases to opt-in to use this more versatile and user-friendly service (replacing the central email/calendar service using the email server HKUSU1.HKU.HK/HKUSC.HKU.HK)

For HKUSU1 users, please click here on How to register for HKU Connect Email Service for Students (from HKUSU1)?

For HKUSUC users, please click here on How to register for HKU Connect Email Service for Students (from HKUSUC)?

2. Email Address, Email Alias, User Name and Password

Note on Email Alias *

When a student set up an email alias, both emailAlias@hku.hk and emailAlias@connect.hku.hk will be created.  The alias emailAlias@connect.hku.hk can be used after graduation. However, emailAlias@hku.hk will expire once the user's student status expires.  Thus, the email alias emailAlias@connect.hku.hk is recommended to be used as your sender email address.

To set up an email alias, please visit:

- "HKU Portal" => "Campus Information Services" on left-hand menu => "Central IT Services" => "Change Email Alias"

To change your sender email address, please visit:

- "HKU Portal" => "Campus Information Services" on left-hand menu => "Central IT Services" => "Register Name/EAddress in Mail"

3.  Ways to Access

Note:
1. For IMAP and POP3, user must enable them in Gmail settings using the Web interface before use. To enable IMAP and POP3, please refer to:
http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=77695 (IMAP) and http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&ctx=share&answer=13273 (POP3)

2. If you are unable to access the HKU Connect email service while other web sites seems normal, please configure and setup HKUVPN2. After successfully connected to HKUVPN2, please try accessing the HKU Connect email service again.

4. Change your language in Calendar, Contacts and Document

Google will setup your language in Calendar, Contacts and Docs based on your location. If you are accessing the service in Hong Kong, the language will default to Traditional Chinese.

To change the language, please follow the following steps:

       -  Click the Gear icon at

       -  Click the Gear icon at the top right, next to your username

c)   Change user language for Documents:

 

       -  From the mail interface, click Documents at the top left of the page

       -  Click the Gear icon at the top right, next to your username

       -  Then choose the the first option

 

       -  Click on the first dropdown and choose English

      -   At the bottom of the page, click the left-hand button to save your changes.

 

 

5. Other Related Information

Your mail quota usage is shown at the lower left hand corner of the email page.

6. I am unable to access the HKU Connect email service from where I am while other web sites seems normal

Please configure and setup HKUVPN. After successfully connected to HKU VPN, please try accessing the HKU Connect email service again.

7. I sent an email from my HKU Connect account to my @hku.hk email address, but I can’t receive it

This is the Google mail behavior as written in Google Mail FAQ at http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=82454.

"If you're sending mail to a mailing list that you subscribe to, those messages will only appear in 'Sent Mail.' This behavior also occurs when sending to an email address that automatically forwards mail back to your Gmail address. To test forwarding addresses or mailing lists, use a different email address to send your message."
To test email forwarding, you have to change your sender email address accordingly to the instruction at http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=8158&ctx=cb&src=cb&cbid=rj469kvmt39z&cbrank=4.
 

8.  HKU Connect Email Service After Graduation

Students using the HKU Connect email service can continue to use it after graduation.

1.  The email address <Portal UID>@connect.hku.hk and its PIN will remain unchanged.
2. The simplified email address PortalUID@hku.hk and the auto-forwarding rule from PortalUID@hku.hk to PortalUID@connect.hku.hk will become invalid after graduation.
3. All emails, contacts and data stored under the HKU Connect email account will be retained after graduation. 

9.  Useful URLs on using HKU Connect Email Service