Today’s newsletter features frontline work, focusing on how W&L enterprise mobile apps can help keep work and personal separate on our mobile devices.
Outlook Mobile
Wednesday, February 11
2:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Parmly 302
Zach Nix, ITS
Box Mobile: Have You Tried Box AI for Mobile Yet?
Tuesday, February 17
11:00 am – 11:30 am
Chavis 208
Zach Nix, ITS
Texting For Work? Move Your Team to Microsoft Teams
Thursday, February 19
10:00 am – 10:30 am
Chavis 208
Zach Nix, ITS
February Frontline Workshops
For frontline workers, having Outlook, Teams, Box, Zoom, and Workday on your mobile device means you can stay connected and complete tasks from anywhere, not just when you’re at a desk. During our February Frontline Workshops, we’ll help you install these apps on your phone or tablet, sign in, and walk through common workflows. If you already use Outlook Mobile, you may be surprised to learn that you can access shared mailboxes or set automatic replies (out of office) directly from the app.
Register for ITS Workshops
Outlook Mobile: Better for W&L Email & Calendars
Feature / Capability | Outlook Mobile App (iOS & Android) | Mail / Calendar Apps (iOS & Android) |
|---|---|---|
| Better Separation of Work & Personal | Yes | Confusing work & personal calendar |
| Search Quality | Excellent, server-powered | Basic, local |
| Focused / Organized Inbox | Yes (Focused Inbox) | No |
| Global Address List (GAL) Lookup | Directory integrated | Limited |
| Shared/Group Calendars | Supported | Limited |
| Shared Mailbox | Supported | Not supported |
| Unverified & External Sender Protection | Warnings for external & unverified senders | No warnings |
| Suggested Meeting Times | Available | Not available |
| Calendar RSVP & Meeting Details | Full support | Basic |
| Reply Toolbar (Create Event, Send Availability) | Available | Not available |
| Exchange ActiveSync (EAS)March 1 Deadline | Still works, not impacted | May break mobile mail access |
| Integrated Add-in Support (Box, Zoom, Teams, OneNote, Phish Alert) | Available | Not available |
Check out Microsoft’s Outlook Mobile Quick Reference Guides:
Outlook Mobile for Calendar Consistency
A common issue for iPhone users who rely on the native iOS Calendar is that software updates sometimes reset the default calendar from a W&L account to a personal iCloud calendar. When this happens, events created on the iPhone won’t appear in Outlook, leading to missed meetings and scheduling confusion. Resetting the default calendar back to your W&L account fixes the issue, but using Outlook Mobile provides a more reliable, long‑term solution.
This isn’t a new challenge. Back in September 2020, a faculty meeting Zoom link unexpectedly switched from the Dean of the College’s link to a personal Zoom link due to a syncing issue with a recipient’s iOS Calendar. Tracing the cause only raised more questions, but the takeaway from an ITS perspective remains the same: Outlook Mobile is the best and most consistent choice for managing W&L calendars on your phone.
Focused Inbox
Outlook’s Focused Inbox, introduced 10 years ago and set as the default since 2018, is designed to create an inbox that “feels right” by surfacing your most important emails in the Focused tab. Microsoft uses your reading and replying habits to refine these choices.
To ensure important messages don’t get lost in the Other tab, you can move them to your Focused inbox. Just right‑click the message (like the one from a W&L vendor below), choose Move, and select Always move to Focused inbox. Outlook will automatically send all future emails from that sender to Focused.
Read more about Focused Inbox on the ITS Blog:
Texting for Work? Move Your Team to Microsoft Teams
Improve your team’s communication by replacing work-related text messages with Microsoft Teams. This month’s session highlights why Teams is a more secure, organized, and efficient way to stay connected, without mixing work and personal messages on your phone.
You’ll see real examples of how W&L departments use Teams to share updates, coordinate tasks, and keep conversations in one place. Whether you’re in the office or out in the field, Teams provides a consistent, reliable way to collaborate through chat, calls, video, and even screen sharing, all from a single app.
Can’t Make it? Download the Teams Mobile App
New Phone Excitement: Before You Say Goodbye to that Old Phone
Before getting rid of your old phone, make sure you’ve:
Backed up your device
Ensure all photos, messages, and app data have successfully transferred to your new phone.
Verified your data made it to the new device
Double-check that everything you need is accessible before moving on.
Signed out of accounts and disabled tracking features
Sign out of Apple or Google accounts and turn off features like Find My iPhone or Find My Device.
Performed a full factory reset
This erases personal information before you trade in, sell, or give your phone to someone else—including family.
If your phone connects to W&L email, apps, or Duo, a factory reset ensures those services are fully removed before the device leaves your hands. For more information, see the FTC, Apple, and Android instructions:
• FTC guide: Removing personal information before you dispose of your phone
• Apple instructions: How to safely erase an iPhone
• Android instructions: How to prepare Android devices for trade-in or recycling
Are Your Mobile Apps Up to Date?
Take a quick look by following the steps below.
Update Apps on Your iPhone / iOS Device
- Open the App Store
- Tap your profile icon (top right)
- Scroll to view pending updates
- If “Update” appears next to an app, tap it.
Update Apps on Your Android Device
- Open the Google Play Store
- Tap your profile icon (top right)
- Select Manage apps & device
- Tap See details
- If “Update” appears next to an app, tap it.
Apple Tip of the Month
Hide Unwanted Folders in Box Drive
Too many folders at the top level in Box Drive? A recent update in Box Drive allows you to hide unwanted folders.
- Open Box Drive Preferences via:
- Click Box icon in menu bar → Select gear icon → Preferences
- Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + Shift + Alt + B → Gear icon → Preferences
- Right-click system tray Box icon → Preferences
- Navigate to folder visibility settings within Preferences.
- Click “Change Selection…” button
PC Tip of the Month
Hide Unwanted Folders in Box Drive
Too many folders at the top level in Box Drive? A recent update in Box Drive allows you to hide unwanted folders.
- Open Box Drive Preferences via:
- System tray Box icon → Gear icon → Preferences
- Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + Shift + Alt + B → Gear icon → Preferences
- Right-click system tray Box icon → Preferences
- Navigate to folder visibility settings within Preferences.
- Choose items to show in File Explorer.
General Genius
Facilities Field-Tested Tech
From posting QR codes across campus to streamline maintenance requests, to using Box Mobile in the field to document assets and access manuals, Facilities continues to demonstrate why W&L’s mobile apps belong in our everyday toolkit. Since their documentation already lives in Box, staff in the field can now use Box AI for Mobile to get instant answers from a manual, without digging through a table of contents.
