All About Hosted Exchange

Note: This help article applies only to Hosted Exchange. If you are not sure which email service you use, you can find more information in the following article.

https://www.green.ch/en/which-email-service-do-i-use

Hosted Exchange is a centrally managed email and groupware service. Depending on the mailbox type, you can synchronise emails, calendars, contacts and tasks between supported devices and applications. Mobile Push and additional Exchange features are available depending on the mailbox type.

The Hosted Exchange organisation is managed via EdgePilot. You can access your personal mailbox in a browser via OWA (Outlook Web App).

Differences from other email services

Hosted Exchange is a standalone service. It is not the same as Web and Mail Hosting, Consumer Mail / SurfMail, ePost, Microsoft 365 or Exchange Online.

Hosted Exchange uses its own infrastructure, management tools and connection details. The available features depend on the mailbox type you have subscribed to and the setup method you choose.

IMAP mainly synchronises emails and mail folders.
POP generally downloads emails locally to a device.
MAPI or Exchange additionally enables the synchronisation of calendars, contacts and tasks.

A setup using IMAP therefore does not offer the same range of features as an Exchange or MAPI setup.

Hosted Exchange and Microsoft 365

Hosted Exchange and Microsoft 365 are different products. According to the available product information, Microsoft 365 licences that include their own Exchange service should not be used in parallel with Hosted Exchange on the same domain. Microsoft 365 Apps for Business without its own Exchange service can, however, be combined with Hosted Exchange.

For more information about using these services in parallel, see:

https://www.green.ch/en/hosted-exchange-how-can-i-use-my-subscription-alongside-microsoft-365

Mailbox types

Hosted Exchange offers different mailbox types. The mailbox type determines, among other things, the connection technology used, the storage space and the available Exchange features.

Lite: POP and IMAP, 2 GB storage space, one mailbox
Lite Plus: MAPI, 25 GB storage space, Mobile Push, one mailbox
Full: MAPI, unlimited storage space according to the product page, Mobile Push, Outlook licence, one mailbox

The product information also lists OWA for browser access, 99.9 percent availability, server monitoring and recovery for up to 30 days.

With a Lite mailbox, mainly email features are available via POP or IMAP. Use Lite Plus or Full with an Exchange or MAPI setup if you also want to synchronise calendars, contacts and tasks.

Getting started with Hosted Exchange

To get started, the subscription, Hosted Exchange organisation, required users and DNS records must be coordinated with each other.

Order the Hosted Exchange subscription for the required domain.
Set up administrator access for the Hosted Exchange organisation.
Create the required users and assign the appropriate mailbox type to each user.
If required, configure mail aliases, contacts, distribution groups and other required resources.
Back up existing emails and other mailbox data before changing existing accounts or email services.
Create all required Hosted Exchange mailboxes before changing the DNS records.
Configure the DNS records intended for Hosted Exchange.
Check the login in OWA and test internal and external email delivery.
Set up Outlook and other devices according to the relevant mailbox type.
Check calendars, contacts, tasks, forwarding and distribution groups separately if you use these features.

For more information about the required DNS records, see:

https://www.green.ch/en/default-green-dns-records-hosted-exchange

Note: If Hosted Exchange does not work properly despite fully configured users and correct DNS records, additional technical processing may be required. In this case, contact Support.

Management via EdgePilot

The Hosted Exchange organisation is administered via EdgePilot. A personal mailbox does not automatically have administrator permissions.

Administrators can manage the following areas, among others:

Users and mailboxes
Mailbox types
Passwords
Administrator permissions
Mail aliases
Contacts
Distribution groups
Mailbox upgrades
Disclaimers
Spam filter policies
Quarantine
Allow and block lists

For management, you need an EdgePilot user with administrator permissions. The password for a personal mailbox, the EdgePilot administrator password and the MY user credentials are separate login credentials.

Users and administrator permissions

For more information about creating users and assigning administrator permissions, see:

https://www.green.ch/en/hosted-exchange-create-user-in-edgepilot

https://www.green.ch/en/how-do-i-assign-admin-permissions-to-a-user

Mail aliases, contacts and distribution groups

Mail aliases are additional email addresses assigned to an existing mailbox. Contacts and distribution groups are managed separately.

For more information, see:

https://www.green.ch/en/hosted-exchange-create-mail-alias-in-edgepilot

https://www.green.ch/en/hosted-exchange-create-contact-in-edgepilot

https://www.green.ch/en/hosted-exchange-create-a-distribution-group-in-edgepilot

https://www.green.ch/en/hex-mail-aliases-forwarding-and-distribution-groups

Change mailbox type

A mailbox can be changed to a different mailbox type depending on the available subscriptions. Please note that this may change the range of features and the configuration on the devices being used.

For more information, see:

https://www.green.ch/en/hosted-exchange-upgrade-mailbox-in-edgepilot

Set up a disclaimer

Administrators can set up or modify a disclaimer for outgoing messages.

For more information, see:

https://www.green.ch/en/hosted-exchange-adding-and-customizing-a-disclaimer-in-edgepilot

Webmail and OWA

OWA (Outlook Web App) is the browser-based access to your Hosted Exchange mailbox. You can use OWA without setting up a local email application.

OWA is also useful for narrowing down access problems. If you can log in to OWA but the configured email application continues to display an error, the cause may be the local account configuration, the Outlook profile, stored credentials or an outdated password stored there.

If you cannot log in to OWA either, check the password and, if necessary, have the mailbox status checked.

Check mailbox usage in OWA

ch.exg7.exghost.com/owa

Open the gear icon in the top right.
Select «Options».
Open «General».
Select «My account».
Check the «Mailbox usage» display.

Under «Mailbox usage», you can see the current usage and available storage space for your mailbox.

For more information, see:

https://www.green.ch/en/hex-owa-storage-limit

Set up an automatic reply

You can set up an automatic reply or out-of-office message in OWA.

For more information, see:

https://www.green.ch/en/hosted-exchange-set-up-an-automatic-reply-owa

Change password and check access

The password of a Hosted Exchange mailbox is managed by an authorised administrator in EdgePilot.

Log in to EdgePilot with your administrator user.
Open the «Users» section.
Select «User Management».
Open the required email address.
Change the mailbox password.
Update the new password on all devices and in all email applications connected to the mailbox.
Then check the login in OWA.

For more information, see:

https://www.green.ch/en/reset-email-password-hosted-exchange

https://www.green.ch/en/hex-change-password

Note: If you still cannot log in to OWA with the new password, contact the administrator of your Hosted Exchange organisation or Support.

Password expiry notifications

According to the knowledge base, the default password expiry policy is set to 1,000 days. Users receive a notification before the password expires.

An administrator can adjust the password policy in EdgePilot under «Exchange» and «Policies». Changes to security requirements are the responsibility of the administrator.

For more information, see:

https://www.green.ch/en/hosted-exchange-reset-password

https://www.green.ch/en/hex-password-expiry-messages

Retrieve connection details

You can find the individual connection and installation information for the relevant user in EdgePilot.

Log in to EdgePilot with your administrator user.
Open «Users».
Select «User Management».
Open the required email address.
Select «Exchange Settings».
Open «Email Settings».
Check the installation information and connection details for the relevant mailbox type.

For more information about the connection details, see:

https://www.green.ch/en/email-connection-details-hosted-exchange

https://www.green.ch/en/read-hex-connection-data-and-instructions/links

Set up Hosted Exchange on devices

The appropriate setup depends on the device, email application and mailbox type.

Automatic Exchange setup
Manual Exchange setup
IMAP setup
POP setup

For Lite Plus and Full, use the Exchange or MAPI setup whenever possible. Only this setup provides the supported calendar, contact and task features in addition to email.

With an IMAP setup, mainly emails and mail folders are synchronised. POP usually downloads emails locally and is therefore only suitable to a limited extent for consistent use of a mailbox across multiple devices.

Outlook on Windows

For more information about automatic and manual setup, see:

https://www.green.ch/en/hosted-exchange-automatically-set-up-lite-full-in-outlook

https://www.green.ch/en/outlook-windows-manually-set-up-a-hosted-exchange-account

Outlook on macOS

For more information, see:

https://www.green.ch/en/outlook-macos-set-up-an-exchange-account-for-hosted-exchange

Apple iOS

For more information about setting up Lite Plus and Full on an iPhone or iPad, see:

https://www.green.ch/en/hosted-exchange-lite-full-set-up-apple-ios

Android

For more information about setting up Lite Plus and Full on an Android device, see:

https://www.green.ch/en/hosted-exchange-set-up-email-account-on-android-lite-full-licence

Hosted Exchange and Outlook (New)

According to the available knowledge base, Hosted Exchange accounts that are not provided directly by Microsoft cannot be configured in Outlook (New) with full Exchange functionality.

Setup via POP or IMAP may be possible. However, Exchange features such as synchronisation of calendars, contacts and tasks are not available with this setup.

Use Outlook Classic if you need full Exchange functionality for a Lite Plus or Full mailbox.

For more information, see:

https://www.green.ch/en/hex-outlook-new-problem-on-windows-11

Problems with Outlook and Autodiscover

Autodiscover helps Outlook automatically determine the appropriate Exchange configuration. An incorrect or outdated assignment can cause Outlook to use the wrong service or prevent the account from being fully configured.

First check whether you can log in to OWA. Then check the email address being used, the password, stored credentials and the Outlook profile.

For more information about known Autodiscover issues, see:

https://www.green.ch/en/hex-outlook-autodiscover-issue

For more information about repeated password prompts in Outlook, see:

https://www.green.ch/en/hosted-exchange-outlook-windows-keeps-asking-for-a-password

Note: If OWA works but Outlook cannot set up the account despite the correct login credentials, a technical check of the Autodiscover assignment or the local Outlook profile may be required.

Spam filter and quarantine

Hosted Exchange includes server-side features to protect against spam and other unwanted messages. Depending on its evaluation, a message may be rejected, moved to quarantine, or delivered and marked as spam.

The spam folder and quarantine are not the same. The spam folder is located in the mailbox. Quarantine can hold messages before they are delivered normally to the mailbox.

Quarantine as well as allow and block lists are managed in EdgePilot. Entries may apply to the entire Hosted Exchange organisation. Administrator permissions are therefore required for full management.

For more information, see:

https://www.green.ch/en/hosted-exchange-spam-filter-policies

https://www.green.ch/en/manage-hosted-exchange-quarantine

https://www.green.ch/en/hosted-exchange-release-email-in-edgepilot

https://www.green.ch/en/how-do-i-manage-my-spam-filter-in-edgepilot

https://www.green.ch/en/hex-everything-about-spam-and-quarantine

DNS and email authentication

For reliable operation of Hosted Exchange, the required DNS records must be configured correctly. Incorrect, incomplete or not yet fully propagated DNS records can affect receiving, sending and automatic setup.

SPF defines which systems are permitted to send emails on behalf of a domain. DKIM adds a cryptographically verifiable signature to outgoing messages. DMARC evaluates SPF and DKIM while taking the sender domain into account and defines how receiving systems should handle messages that fail the checks.

These methods reduce misuse of a domain and improve the technical trustworthiness of messages. However, they do not guarantee delivery of every message or completely prevent sender spoofing.

For more information, see:

https://www.green.ch/en/default-green-dns-records-hosted-exchange

https://www.green.ch/en/dkim-and-dmarc-at-green

https://www.green.ch/en/spf-dkim-and-dmarc-explained

Sending limits and newsletters

Hosted Exchange is not designed for sending bulk emails. If the specified sending limits are exceeded, messages may be rejected or processed as failed.

For more information about the applicable restrictions, see:

https://www.green.ch/en/newsletter-sending-restrictions-hosted-exchange

Deleted items and recovery

Deleted items may be recoverable depending on when they were deleted and the state of the mailbox. The product information specifies recovery for up to 30 days.

First check the deleted items folder and the recovery feature in OWA.

For more information, see:

https://www.green.ch/en/hosted-exchange-deleted-items-restore

Note: If the required items can no longer be recovered via OWA, a technical investigation may be required. When contacting Support, provide as much detail as possible about the mailbox, folder and time period affected.

In-Place Archive

The In-Place Archive is a separate archive mailbox alongside the primary mailbox. It is displayed as an additional archive area in OWA and supported versions of Outlook.

According to the available knowledge base, the In-Place Archive has a fixed size of 50 GB. Archiving can reduce the load on the primary mailbox. Which items are archived depends on the retention policies applied.

For more information, see:

https://www.green.ch/en/hosted-exchange-in-place-archive

Audit Logs

Audit Logs can help track certain activities within a Hosted Exchange organisation. The data available depends on the logging that has been enabled and the activity being investigated.

For more information, see:

https://www.green.ch/en/hosted-exchange-audit-logs

When is Hosted Exchange suitable?

Hosted Exchange is suitable if you want to manage emails centrally and also use Exchange features such as synchronisation of calendars, contacts and tasks.

The service is