New phone, and you want your work email on it. This takes about ten minutes. The part that trips people up is not the email setup, it is the security check that proves the phone is yours, particularly if the old phone has already been wiped or handed back.

Try this first

1. Install the Outlook app from the App Store or Google Play. Use Outlook rather than the phone's built-in mail app. It handles work accounts properly, keeps work mail separate from personal mail, and if the phone is ever lost we can remove the work data without touching your photos.
2. Open Outlook and enter your full work email address, then tap Add Account.
3. Enter your password on the Microsoft sign-in screen that appears. If it looks different from the usual Microsoft page, stop and check the web address before typing anything.
4. Complete the security check. This is multi-factor authentication, meaning a second proof it is really you. Depending on how your account is set up, you will get a prompt in the Microsoft Authenticator app, a code by text message, or a phone call.
5. If you are asked to register the device or install a company portal app, follow the prompts and accept. That is your business's device policy and it is what lets a lost phone be cleared remotely.
6. Wait for mail to fill in. Outlook downloads recent mail first and older mail over the next few minutes. Do not panic if the first screen looks half empty.
7. Add the calendar. It comes across automatically in the Outlook app. Tap the calendar icon at the bottom to check it is there.

If that didn't fix it

The most common blockage is the security check. If your old phone had the Authenticator app on it and the phone is gone, the prompt has nowhere to go and you are locked in a loop.

If that is you, ring us on 03 9028 4358. We can reset the security method so you can register the new phone. We will need to confirm who you are first, which usually means a voice call rather than an email, and we will not do it from an email request alone. That is deliberate. Reset requests by email are one of the standard ways attackers take over accounts, so the check is protecting you.

Other things worth trying before you log a ticket:

• Switch off wifi and use mobile data for the sign-in, then switch wifi back on. Some office wifi setups interfere with the sign-in page.
• Check the phone's date and time are set automatically. A clock that is wrong by more than a few minutes will break the security codes, and the error message never says so.
• Force close Outlook and reopen it if it hangs on a blank screen.

When you log the ticket, tell us the phone make and model, whether it is iPhone or Android, whether you still have the old phone, and the exact wording of any error.

How to stop it happening again

Set up two ways of proving it is you, not one. In a browser go to aka.ms/mysignins, sign in with your work account, and add both the Authenticator app and your mobile number. If you then lose one, the other still works and you can set up a new phone yourself without ringing anyone.

Before you hand back or wipe an old phone, move the Authenticator app across first. The app has an in-built backup and restore for exactly this, and doing it in that order turns a support call into a two minute job.

One last thing. If you are leaving the business or handing the phone to someone else, ask us to remove the work account properly rather than just deleting the app. Deleting the app does not always remove the cached work data underneath it.

Still stuck?

Log a ticket at portal.yougrowit.com.au or email support@yougrowit.com.au. If it is stopping you working right now, call 03 9028 4358.

Support hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:30pm Melbourne time, excluding Victorian public holidays.