Alumni Email Changes

Alumni Email Changes

Changes to Berkeley’s Alumni Email Service Announced On Mar 6, 2024, alumni who have an active @berkeley.edu Google account were sent the following notification about the changes coming to email services they receive as a Berkeley alum including the steps they will need to take to retain uninterrupted access to their @berkeley.edu Google account.

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I’ve deleted everything in my account and it still shows high usage, and I’ve waited several days for my usage stats to update, but it hasn’t. What can I do?

Rarely, a connected app stores data in a “hidden” location within your Google Drive. You can check for these apps by visiting https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/settings . If you see anything that looks like it might be holding data you can use the dropdown “OPTIONS” menu on the right to “Delete hidden app data”. Make sure you don’t need the data before choosing this option. After doing so, you should see your storage decrease within a few hours.

I’ve moved all my content or deleted it from my UC Berkeley account, but my usage still shows the older, higher number. What’s wrong?

Sometimes it can take up to 72 hours for Google to update your storage usage statistics. If it still hasn’t updated in a couple of days, please let us know and we will investigate.

I keep seeing "html not found" or "404" when I go to the link provided.

This is a common error when you're already signed into a personal gmail account. Instead of logging out of your personal account, you can open an Incognito Window on Google Chrome or Private Window in Safari/Microsoft Edge/FireFox to access the form: https://sites.google.com/berkeley.edu/alumni-email/home

You should then be asked to login with a Google account in which you'll use your @berkeley.edu account (not @cal.berkeley.edu or any other...

Will the Alumni Email Service cost money and can I buy more storage?

No. Email services for alumni are currently funded by UC Berkeley as a privilege and limited benefit to alumni. There are no charges to alumni for using the alumni email service. All UC Berkeley Google accounts provided to alumni will be limited to 5 GB of total storage.

Alumni can not purchase additional storage or use storage purchased directly from Google with their UC Berkeley Google accounts.

Why is my @berkeley.edu Google account more limited than a free consumer Google account?

Control costs: Berkeley needs to manage the additional costs associated with the new storage pricing model offered to Google Workspace Education customers.

Manage risks and threats: Berkeley needs to manage the security and reputational risks and threats posed by unattended and possibly compromised alumni email accounts.

What can I use my @berkeley.edu Google account for and what should I avoid?

Many alumni value continued access to their berkeley.edu email address as a way to identify themselves as Berkeley graduates. Communicating between alumni and using it for job searches are two common ways alumni use their accounts.

Things to avoid:

Sending unsolicited email (SPAM) - even in relatively small numbers, sending SPAM can get your account blocked by Google. If your account is blocked, your account will be reviewed for abuse and can be subject to restrictions or revocation.

Using as a login to other services - Signing up...

Will I be required to use 2-Step verification to login to my @berkeley.edu Google account?

Yes. If you already have CalNet 2-Step verification using DUO, you will be required to continue using it. Alumni who don’t yet have CalNet 2-Step will be contacted in late summer 2024 or early Fall 2024 with instructions on how to set up CalNet 2-Step.