OIT has partnered with Google to bring G Suite (formerly Google Apps for Education) for free to UCI. All incoming students receive a free UCI Gmail account and full access to the entire suite of applications, including unlimited storage on Gmail & Google Drive. Faculty, staff & guests can also take advantage of Google Apps. To learn more about UCI Google Apps, visit our comprehensive FAQ.
Google has announced a new Gmail interface with a number of major improvements. In late May, OIT will enable the Google Early Adopter Program feature which will allow intrepid users to 'test drive' the new interface. Once the feature is enabled, you will see 'Try the new Gmail' under the Settings menu. Users can try the new interface and change back to the 'Classic' interface without fear of losing data. If you have questions about the new interface, please consult Google's documentation. Unfortunately, OIT will not be able offer support for the new interface until Google officially launches it later this year.
I'm a new student. How do I access my account?
This following applies to incoming freshman, most (more on that later) graduate students, transfer students, and Continuing Education students. All new students will be notified by OIT via the email address they used to apply to UCI when their email accounts are ready. Before you can use your UCI Gmail account, you must activate it first. Note: Graduate ICS & Law school majors use a separate instance of UCI Google Apps. You can learn more at the ICS Google Apps website and LawNet website.
I changed the password to my account but am still unable to login.
Make sure that you changed the password to your UCI Google Apps account here. Changing the password to your UCInetID will have no effect on your UCI Google Apps account.
Why was my account suspended?
Your account may be suspended for one of the following reasons:
- You're working for Health Sciences (either the School of Medicine or the UCIMC).
- If you work for a department in Health Sciences or the UCIMC, the HS Help Desk requires you to use the HS Exchange email system and they will change your email delivery point to @hs.uci.edu (if you'd like to see where your email delivery point is set, you can visit What's My Email?) As a result of this change, your UCI Gmail account will be suspended due to HIPAA. There are no exceptions to this and the OIT Help Desk cannot change this. At best, we can unsuspend your account for 3 days so you can forward any emails out or download files. Open a ticket to obtain temporary access.
- You're an alumnus and you didn't renew your account.
- Alumni are required annually to renew their UCI Gmail accounts; failure to do so will result in account suspension and eventually deletion. OIT will send you multiple reminders to do this, but if you aren't checking your account regularly you'll miss them.
- Your account was suspended for abuse because Google suspects it was compromised.
- Google will suspend accounts that are breaking their terms of service, usually because the account's integrity has been compromised. When this happens, follow Google's instructions to reset your UCI Gmail password first. Once you've done that, open a ticket with OIT and we'll unsuspend the account.
Please note that when calling the Help Desk, sometimes the phone agent will not be able to see the reason why you are suspended and will need to open a ticket to escalate the issue. When this occurs, someone will be in touch by phone or email soon thereafter to explain the reason for the suspension.
I want to change how my name appears in Gmail.
We have detailed instructions on how to change your Display Name in Gmail here. However, if you're trying to change your name globally, unfortunately it's no longer possible through G Suite. We suggest visiting the Student Access section of the Registrar's website and submitting a Name Change request in their system. Once it's approved, it'll reflect everywhere (including G Suite).
How do I setup 2-factor authentication (2FA)?
Google has great documentation on how to configure 2FA.
I'd like to learn more about Team Drive.
Team Drive is a terrific alternative to sharing your individual files & folders with other users. Should you (or someone you're collaborating with) leave the University, it's possible that others on your team may lose access to your shared files. Google addresses this concern by changing the sharing paradigm from one user sharing with others, to a drive that is shared (and therefore owned) by an entire team.
You can learn more about this service here.
Are the 'Backup and Sync' and 'File Stream' services available?
Yes. See this page for more info.
What are the differences between 'Backup and Sync' and 'File Stream'?
'Backup & Sync' keeps a copy of everything both on your computer & in the cloud.
'File Stream' does not automatically keep a copy of your files on your computer, which means that you must have a network connection in order to access your files. (There is an option to selectively store some files on your computer).
A more detailed comparison can be found here.
I accidentally deleted email and/or documents. Can you restore them?
Yes. Users who accidentally (or intentionally) delete email or content from G Suite can open a ticket requesting a restore, and when doing so they should tell us how far back they want us to revert. The restore will revert their mailbox or Google Drive to a previous state. Google keeps backups up to 25 days.
I've tried the steps above and I'm still having issues
We recommend you continue your search in our comprehensive ServiceNow Knowledge Base.
If you're still having trouble, feel free to open a ticket. When doing so, please provide the following:
- Your full name
- Your UCInetID (the first part of your email address, not your ID number)
- A detailed description of the issue
Failure to provide this information will delay our response.
Return to the OIT Help Center.