Forwarding FAQ

Below are some frequently asked questions about alumni.harvard email forwarding. For help setting up your email forwarding, please visit the forwarding setup help page.

• What is the alumni.harvard email forwarding address?
• Who is eligible for an alumni.harvard email forwarding address?
• How do I set up my alumni.harvard email address?
• I already have a post.harvard email forwarding address. How is that different from an alumni.harvard address, and how do I get an alumni.harvard email address?
• How do I change my post.harvard email forwarding address to an alumni.harvard email forwarding address? 
• How can I check to see what my alumni.harvard email address is, or where it is forwarding? 
• Can I choose my alumni.harvard email forwarding address? 
• Can I change my alumni.harvard email address after I have set it up? 
• Can I check my alumni.harvard email through the website? 
• Can I send outgoing mail using my alumni.harvard address? 
• Can I configure my Gmail account to send as my alumni.harvard address?
• When setting up my email program, what server addresses should I enter for incoming and outgoing mail? 
• Can I set up more than one alumni.harvard email address, or have my alumni.harvard address forward to more than one destination?
• Why can't I enter my alumni.harvard email address as my primary or additional email? 
• How soon after setting up my alumni.harvard address will I start receiving messages? 
• Does an alumni.harvard email address enable me to receive mail through my old Harvard student email address?
• I am not receiving messages sent to my alumni.harvard address, or messages sent to my alumni.harvard address are bouncing back.  Why? 
• Is it possible to recover messages that were previously sent to my alumni.harvard address? 
• Do alumni.harvard email accounts offer any protection from spam or viruses? 
• I have questions or problems regarding my HBS, HKS or HLS alumni email address.

What is the alumni.harvard email forwarding address?
alumni.harvard email is an email forwarding service available to all Harvard alumni.  An alumni.harvard email forwarding address (e.g. name@alumni.harvard.edu) will automatically forward mail to a designated email address.

Who is eligible for an alumni.harvard forwarding address?
Harvard University degree recipients and Associate Members of the Harvard Alumni Association are eligible to create an alumni.harvard email forwarding address. Please contact your school's alumni office for information about your alumni affiliation.

How do I set up my alumni.harvard email address?
To set up your alumni.harvard email forwarding address, you will first need to register for a HarvardKey login name and password, if you have not already done so.  Once you have a HarvardKey login name and password, you can set up your email address using the steps below:

• Log in to the alumni.harvard.edu community using your HarvardKey.
• Click the Email Forwarding link in the left hand navigation.
• Enter your handle (the part that comes before the @ sign) in the "Emails sent to" box.
• Select the address where you would like email to be forwarded from the "Will be forwarded to" dropdown.
• Click "Save."

After taking these steps, it will take about 2-3 hours for your alumni.harvard email forwarding address to become active.

I already have a post.harvard email forwarding address. How is that different from an alumni.harvard address, and how do I get an alumni.harvard email address?
The post.harvard email address and the alumni.harvard email address are both email forwarding addresses. Moving forward, alumni just setting up their forwarding accounts will gain an address in the @alumni.harvard.edu domain. The new forwarding address will have all the same functions and features as the old one. Those with an @post.harvard.edu forwarding address who wish to switch to an @alumni.harvard.edu email address may do so, but please note that this is a one-time change and cannot be reversed. 

How do I change my post.harvard email forwarding address to an alumni.harvard email forwarding address?
To make the one-time change from an @post.harvard.edu email forwarding address to an @alumni.harvard.edu email forwarding address, you will first need to register for a HarvardKey login name and password, if you have not already done so. Once you have a HarvardKey login name and password, you can migrate your email using the steps below:

• Login to the alumni.harvard.edu community using your HarvardKey.
• Click on the Email Forwarding link in the left hand navigation.
• Click on the link that says "Change my forwarding address so it ends in @alumni.harvard.edu."
• If you are sure you want to change your forwarding address, click the "Migrate my address" button in the pop up.
• Click "Save."

Please note that this action is a one-time change and cannot be undone. Please alert your contacts that your forwarding address will be changing, as your post.harvard address will become inactive once you migrate to an alumni.harvard address.

After taking these steps, it will take about 2-3 hours for your alumni.harvard email forwarding address to become active.

How can I check to see what my alumni.harvard email address is, or where it is forwarding?
The Email Forwarding page on the alumni.harvard.edu community allows you to view and change your alumni.harvard address and the address where it is forwarding.  If you have not yet set up an alumni.harvard email address, you will be able to do so on this page.  You will need your HarvardKey user name and password in order to access the Email Forwarding page.

Can I choose my alumni.harvard email forwarding address?
Yes. Alumni can choose any alumni.harvard email address @alumni.harvard.edu, subject to availability.  The mail name (the part of the address before the @ sign) must be at least 3 characters long, and can only contain letters, numbers, periods (.), hyphens (-) and underscores (_).  We can't guarantee the availability of any particular address ahead of time, so please confirm that the address you want is available before you distribute it to your contacts.

Can I change my alumni.harvard email address after I have set it up?

Yes.  alumni.harvard email addresses can be changed on the alumni.harvard Email Forwarding page.  Please see the forwarding setup help page for more specific instructions.  Please note that if you change your alumni.harvard email address, you previous address will be deactivated, and messages sent to the previous address will not be delivered.

Can I check my alumni.harvard email through the website?
No. Your alumni.harvard email address is a forwarding service, not a stand-alone email account. This means that you must set your alumni.harvard address to forward to another address in order to receive mail. You will automatically receive any messages sent to your alumni.harvard email address at the address where mail is being forwarded.

Can I send outgoing mail using my alumni.harvard address?
No. The alumni.harvard email system handles incoming mail sent to your alumni.harvard address, but cannot send outgoing mail. 

Can I configure my Gmail account to send as my alumni.harvard address?
Yes. In order to set up your alumni.harvard email address as a send-from address in your Gmail account you will first need to activate Two-Step Verification for your Gmail address by visiting the Gmail Two-Step Verification webpage.

After you have done so, please follow these steps to set up your alumni.harvard email address as a send-from address in Gmail. Please note the following set-up guidelines:

• In the pop-up box enter your alumni.harvard email address and uncheck “Treat as an alias.
• For SMTP server enter smtp.gmail.com.
• For Username enter your full Gmail address.
• For Password, provide an App Password generated in Google Accounts at https://security.google.com/settings/security/apppasswords.
• Leave “Secured connection using TLS” selected.

After you have completed this process an email will be sent to your alumni.harvard email address. By entering the confirmation code in the pop-up box you will complete the configuration process and then be able to choose which email address you would like to send from each time you compose an email. Please note that due to changes in Gmail policies, Two Step Verification will need to remain on in order to send as your alumni.harvard email address.

When setting up my email program, what server addresses should I enter for incoming and outgoing mail?
Your alumni.harvard address is a forwarding address, which means that it is not possible to retrieve messages directly from the alumni.harvard servers using POP or IMAP. It is only possible to receive email through the address where mail is being forwarded.

Can I set up more than one alumni.harvard email address, or have my alumni.harvard address forward to more than one destination?
No. You can only set up one alumni.harvard email address (even if you have multiple degrees from Harvard). Additionally, an alumni.harvard address only forwards to one address.

Why can't I enter my alumni.harvard email address as my primary or additional email?
alumni.harvard addresses can't be entered as a primary or additional email address to avoid having a alumni.harvard address forward to itself (this would cause your alumni.harvard email to stop working).

How soon after setting up my alumni.harvard address will I start receiving messages?
It takes about 2-3 hours for a new alumni.harvard address to be set up or for any forwarding updates to be transferred to the mail server.

Does an alumni.harvard email address enable me to receive mail through my old Harvard student email address?
No. An alumni.harvard email address is not connected to other Harvard addresses, such as student email addresses. After a student email address expires, messages sent to that address are returned as undeliverable, regardless of whether a alumni.harvard email address has been set up.  Please consult your school's IT office if you need more information on the expiration of student email addresses.

I am not receiving messages sent to my alumni.harvard address, or messages sent to my alumni.harvard address are bouncing back.  Why?
See the forwarding problems help page for some possible causes.  If you are not able to resolve the problem, please contact the HAA Help Desk for assistance.  Please include any bounce-back messages that you have received (including message headers) when you contact the Help Desk.

Is it possible to recover messages that were previously sent to my alumni.harvard address?
No. The alumni.harvard mail servers do not store the text of messages after they have been forwarded.

Do alumni.harvard email accounts offer any protection from spam or viruses?
Yes. All messages sent to alumni.harvard addresses are automatically scanned for viruses. Harvard also uses several spam-protection techniques.  Please see the spam help page for more information.

I have questions or problems regarding my HBS, HKS or HLS alumni email address.
These email addresses are managed by the alumni offices of each school.  Please see our links and contacts page for information on how to contact school alumni offices.

Still need help?  Contact the HAA Help Desk.  Please include as many details about your question or problem as possible.