How to Circumvent Email Forwarding Block in Outlook for M365 School Accounts

Many schools and educational institutions use Microsoft 365 (M365) for providing email accounts to their students. However, sometimes, these accounts come with restrictions, such as blocking email forwarding. This article will discuss various methods to circumvent email forwarding block in Outlook/M365 school accounts.

Understanding Email Forwarding Restrictions in M365 School Accounts

M365 school accounts are set up with specific policies to restrict email forwarding. These policies are designed to prevent students from automatically forwarding school emails to external email accounts. This is done to ensure that sensitive school-related information is not shared outside the school network without proper authorization.

Methods to Circumvent Email Forwarding Block in Outlook/M365 School Accounts

Although email forwarding is restricted in Outlook/M365 school accounts, there are still a few methods to forward emails to another account manually.

Method 1: Copy and Paste

One of the simplest methods to forward an email manually is to copy the email content and paste it into a new email message in your external email account. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Open the email you want to forward in your M365 school account.
2. Select all the content in the email by pressing Ctrl+A (Windows) or Command+A (Mac).
3. Copy the selected content by pressing Ctrl+C (Windows) or Command+C (Mac).
4. Open a new email message in your external email account.
5. Paste the copied content into the new email message by pressing Ctrl+V (Windows) or Command+V (Mac).
6. Enter the recipient's email address and send the email manually.

Method 2: Use Forwarding Rules

You can use Outlook's built-in forwarding rules feature to automatically forward emails to another email account. However, this method requires access to the Outlook desktop client and cannot be done through the web interface. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Open Outlook desktop client and go to File > Manage Rules & Alerts.
2. Click on "New Rule" to create a new rule.
3. In the "When a message arrives" section, set the conditions for the emails you want to forward. For example, you can forward all emails from a particular sender or with a specific subject.
4. In the "Do the following" section, select "Forward it to people or public group" and enter the recipient's email address.
5. Click "Finish" to save the rule.

Note: This method will not work if the school has disabled forwarding rules in the M365 school account policy.

Method 3: Use a Third-Party Tool

There are various third-party tools available that can help you forward emails from your M365 school account to another email account. Some of these tools include:

• Outlook Forward
• Forward Email

Note: Using third-party tools may violate the terms of service of your M365 school account, and the school may take action against your account. Use these tools at your own risk.

Although email forwarding is restricted in Outlook/M365 school accounts, there are still a few methods to manually forward emails to another account. However, it's essential to respect the school's policies and use these methods responsibly. If you need to forward many emails regularly, it's best to contact the school's IT department and request a change in the forwarding policy.

References

• Microsoft. (2021). Set up automatic forwarding for a user.

• Tech Republice. (2020). How to forward email from a Microsoft 365 account.