Email Forwarding for Life FAQ

Use One Address to Link All Your Email Accounts

What is Email Forwarding for life?

Email Forwarding is a service exclusively for MIT alumni that helps friends, family, and colleagues stay in touch with you. You may have many email addresses throughout your life, but people can always send email to your alum.mit.eduaddress, and it will be forwarded along to any address(es) you specify. You no longer have to tell everyone how to contact you. Simply update your forwarding address(es) in your Infinite Connection account.

How does Email Forwarding work?

When you register for an Infinite Connection account, you receive an alum.mit.eduEmail Forwarding address. At the same time, you specify one to five email accounts as your forwarding email address(es). When people send email to your alum.mit.eduaddress, it is forwarded to the addresses you specified.

What if I am having problems with my Email Forwarding address?

If you are experiencing problems with your email forwarding address please send email to help@alum.mit.edu. If you are experiencing a critical issue during weekend hours you can also send email to network@mit.edu (emergencies only please).

I already have an email account. Why would I want Email Forwarding?

Your email account will often change when you move, travel, start a new job, or change ISPs. To stay in touch with your friends, family, and colleagues, you have to notify them of this new address. In addition, during the transition to a new email account, you may miss important email from them.

By using Email Forwarding, you no longer have to notify everyone of your email address change. Your alum.mit.eduEmail Forwarding address will be with you for life. People will always be able to reach you through your alum.mit.eduaddress.

I already have an email account. How is Email Forwarding different from my email account?

Email Forwarding is only an email forwarding service, not an email account. The main difference between Email Forwarding and your email account is that Email Forwarding does not come with storage space for email. Email Forwarding works with your email account by forwarding email sent to your alum.mit.eduaddress to the email account(s) that you have specified as your forwarding address(es).

Can I use Email Forwarding if I don't have an email account?

No. Because Email Forwarding is simply a forwarding service, you cannot use Email Forwarding if you don't have an email account to which email can be forwarded. Many places on the Internet offer free email accounts (such as Hotmail, Gmail, and Yahoo). You can use Email Forwarding with such an account, or you can use Email Forwarding with your business account or any other email address you might have. You may associate up to five email accounts with the Email Forwarding service.

How do I set up Email Forwarding?

To set up Email Forwarding, you need to first create an Infinite Connection account. During the registration process, you will be asked to choose a username. Your username followed by alum.mit.edu becomes your Email Forwarding address.

Once you have created an account, go to MY ACCOUNT page and click the Email Forwarding for Life (EFL) tab. Enter your forwarding addresses(es) and be sure to check box to enable the address. Then click the Next button to save.

How do I change my forwarding email address?

To change your forwarding address, go to the My Account page, then click the Email Forwarding for Life (EFL) tab. Update your forwarding address(es) and click the Next button to save changes. Your forwarding address change will take effect within 5 minutes.

Can Email Forwarding forward email to multiple email addresses?

Yes, Email Forwarding can forward the same email to up to five email addresses.

What should I do if I will not have a forwarding email address temporarily?

If you do not provide a valid email address to which email can be forwarded, email sent to your alum.mit.eduaddress will be returned to the sender.

There are many places on the Internet that offer free email accounts (such as Hotmail, Gmail, and Yahoo) that you could use as a temporary, alternate forwarding address.

How do I set the return email address to my alum.mit.eduEmail Forwarding address?

You will need to open the software you use for your email and look for a place to set your return or Reply To address. This differs among email programs but is typically found under menu items called Options, Preferences, or Tools. Or you can consult the program's Help directory to get specific directions.

How can I send an email from my alum.mit.edu address?

You can use the online form, a link to which is also located at the top of the My Account page after login.

You can also configure your email client (e.g. Outlook or Thunderbird) to use an SMTP (or outgoing) server that's available exclusively for MIT alumni. To do so, you will need to open your email client and specify outgoing-alum.mit.edu as your SMTP (or outgoing) mail server. Typically the SMTP server information can be found in your email client under menu items called Options, Preferences, or Tools. You should use port 465 (SSL) or 587 (TLS). Please note that your Infinite Connection username and password are required for SMTP server authentication. You will also need to configure your email client so that your alum.mit.eduaddress is specified as the From address.

Does Email Forwarding delay email?

No, Email Forwarding does not delay email. When the Email Forwarding server receives an email, it is forwarded almost instantly. However, email may be delayed slightly if the Email Forwarding server has trouble contacting the server to which email should be forwarded.

If your email is delayed for an extended period of time, you should send email to help@alum.mit.edu and also contact your email provider.

Does Email Forwarding store my messages?

No. Within seconds of receiving a message, Email Forwarding forwards your email to your forwarding address(es). The email received and forwarded by Email Forwarding is neither stored nor archived.

Does Email Forwarding work with email attachments?

Yes, Email Forwarding works with email attachments. Please note that executable files (i.e. files ending in .exe) will be rejected by the Email Forwarding server to protect users from viruses.

Does Email Forwarding limit the size of email attachments?

Yes, Email Forwarding limits the size of email to 30 MB. Email larger than 30 MB will be returned to the sender.

Does Email Forwarding work with non-English email?

Yes, Email Forwarding works with non-English email.