How to set up Microsoft 365 email on Android and iPhone

To set up Microsoft 365 (Office 365) email on Android, install the Microsoft Outlook app from Google Play, tap Get Started or Add Account, enter your work email address, sign in with your password and approve the multifactor prompt. On an iPhone, do the same with Outlook from the App Store, or add a Microsoft Exchange account to the built-in Mail app. If your organisation manages phones with Intune, install the Company Portal app first.

The steps below follow Microsoft’s current support guidance, which we checked on 4 October 2026: Set up email in the Outlook for Android app, Set up the Outlook app for iOS and Set up an Outlook account on the iOS Mail app. App screens change from time to time, so button names may differ slightly on your phone.

Before you start

You need three things: your full work email address, your Microsoft 365 password, and the phone you use for multifactor sign-in. Most failed set-ups come down to one of these.

• Your full address, such as jane@yourcompany.co.ke, not just “jane”.
• Your current password. If you have just joined, sign in once at the Microsoft 365 website on a computer to set a permanent password first.
• Microsoft Authenticator, if your organisation uses it for multifactor sign-in. Install it from Google Play or the App Store before you begin.
• Wi-Fi. The first sync downloads your recent mail and calendar. Doing it on office or home Wi-Fi saves your mobile data bundle.
• An up-to-date phone. Update Android or iOS and the app store apps, because old versions are a common cause of sign-in errors.

Every Microsoft 365 plan with business email works on phones, including Microsoft 365 Business Basic, which includes the mobile Outlook app.

Which app should you use?

Use the Microsoft Outlook app on both Android and iPhone unless you have a strong reason not to. It handles Microsoft 365 sign-in, multifactor prompts and company security policies most reliably, and it puts email, calendar and contacts in one place.

Built-in apps also work in many cases. On iPhone, the Mail app can connect to Microsoft 365 as an Exchange account. On Android, Gmail and Samsung Email can connect too, but Microsoft warns that from 1 March 2026, devices running Exchange ActiveSync versions lower than 16.1 can no longer connect, and recommends the Outlook app (Microsoft Support, checked 4 October 2026). Your organisation may also allow only the Outlook app on phones that hold company data, so check with your IT team first.

To add a second account later, open the menu in Outlook, go to Settings, then Account, and choose Add Account. If your account is not detected automatically, Microsoft’s guides give outlook.office365.com as the incoming server and, for outgoing mail on apps that ask, smtp.office365.com on port 587 with TLS. Most people never need these; the full IMAP and SMTP settings are in the questions at the end.

In the Outlook app for iPhone, you add a second account by tapping Inbox at the top, then Settings, then Account and Add Account.

Multifactor sign-in prompts

Expect a multifactor prompt the first time you add your account, and occasionally afterwards. It proves the person signing in is really you, even if someone has guessed or phished your password, so do not try to avoid it.

• Only approve a prompt you started yourself. A request you did not expect means someone may have your password: deny it and tell IT.
• If the Authenticator notification does not arrive, open the Authenticator app directly; pending requests often show there.
• Make sure the phone’s date and time are set automatically, because codes fail if the clock is wrong.
• Changing phones? Move Authenticator to the new phone before you wipe the old one, or ask IT to reset your sign-in methods.

Company-managed phones and Intune

Many Kenyan organisations now protect company email on phones with Microsoft Intune, which is included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium. Microsoft’s guides describe two set-ups, and your IT team will tell you which applies to you.

• Company-managed device. You install Intune Company Portal (and on iPhone, Microsoft Authenticator) and enrol the phone before adding Outlook. On Android you may be asked to create a work profile, which keeps work apps separate. Microsoft advises completing enrolment in one go, because pausing for more than a few minutes usually stops your progress.
• App protection only. Common on personal phones. You do not enrol the whole phone; instead Outlook is protected with a PIN and rules such as blocking copy and paste into personal apps. Company data can be removed from the app without touching your photos or WhatsApp.

If a phone is lost or stolen, tell your IT team straight away so they can remove company data from it. Our page on Microsoft 365 security explains how we set up these policies so they protect data without getting in staff’s way.

Troubleshooting common problems

Most problems are fixed by checking the address and password, updating the app, or removing and re-adding the account. Work through these in order.

• “Incorrect password” or a sync error after a password change. Change your password through Microsoft 365, not the phone. Outlook then detects the sync error and asks for the new password.
• Account not detected. Check the address for typos, then confirm you can sign in to Outlook on the web from a browser. If that fails too, the problem is the account, not the phone.
• “Your organisation requires…” or access blocked. Your organisation has a policy you have not met, such as enrolment, an approved app or an updated operating system. Install Company Portal or update the phone, then try again, or ask IT which rule applies.
• Gmail or Samsung Email stopped connecting. Older ActiveSync versions are no longer supported. Switch to the Outlook app.
• Mail arrives but the calendar or contacts do not. In iPhone Mail, check that Calendars and Contacts are switched on for the account. In Outlook, check the app has permission to save contacts if you want them in the phone’s address book.
• Enrolment stuck. Remove the half-finished work profile or management profile, restart the phone and start again without pausing.
• Still stuck. Remove the account from the app, restart the phone and add it again. For problems with the app itself, Microsoft’s guides point you to its in-app support, where you can contact Microsoft from inside Outlook.

Microsoft keeps a fuller list of connection fixes in its Outlook and mobile device connectivity troubleshooting resource (checked 4 October 2026).

Rolling this out to a whole team

For one person, these steps take a few minutes. For a team of 40 after a migration, a little planning saves a busy Monday. Send staff a one-page guide the week before, set up phones in short sessions by department, and keep someone on hand for people whose multifactor sign-in is not yet set up.

Our training and advisory sessions cover Outlook on phones alongside Teams and OneDrive, so staff get the most from the licences you pay for.