This article explains how to manage your university and computing account using Subscribe. It also explains how to add a secondary contact email, change or reset your password, and how to reset your MFA password in case you need.

Overview

Subscribe Self-service is the university software designed to manage computer accounts within the university. By using Subscribe, you can manage:

1. Your university password and security settings, including:
   • Change your password
   • Manage your multi-factor authentication (MFA)
   • Manage your secondary contacts
2. Your personal details, such as:
   • Your preferred name
   • Your department/academic unit
   • Change the public visibility of your personal details
   • Edit your contact details
   • Your post-nominal letters
3. Your profile details, including:
   1. Your profile details
   2. Change your profile picture
4. Your University Microsoft 365 account:
   1. View usage and quotas
   2. Choose a primary email address
   3. Change mailname
5. Other generic accounts you own
6. Other computational services

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Adding, changing, or deleting a secondary contact email

Your secondary contact email is an optional non-University personal email address. 

You can add to your account in Subscribe. Once set and verified, it can be used to:

• reset your university computing password, should you ever forget that
• verify other security-related actions in Subscribe
• allow iSolutions to send security-related notifications, such as a notification that your password has been reset.

How to add a secondary contact email  

You can add your secondary contact email:

1. when you create your account for the first time
   or
2. later, by following the process below

After adding it in Subscribe, you will need to verify the address. This happens because the email you are adding can be used to reset your password.

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Log in to subscribe.soton.ac.uk
   
   
2. Go to the section “Password & Security” and select the link 'Manage your secondary contacts'
   
   
3. Enter your current password and your secondary email address. Please note: the email should not be another university address.
   
   
4. On the next page, please enter:
   1. your University ID number
   2. your date
   3. your month of birth
      
      Please note: we ask for this information as an additional security check on your identity in case your university password has been compromised by an unauthorised user.
      
      
5. An email will be sent to that address, to confirm you have access to it.  
   
   At this point the address is listed as a secondary contact, but as unverified. Until it is verified, it cannot be used for security purposes.
   
   If you do not receive the email within 10 minutes, you can click the Resend button to send a new verification email.
   
   
6. Once you have received the verification email, follow the verification link within it:
   • If your Subscribe session is still active, the address is now verified
   • If your session is not still active, you will have to re-enter your username and password

 

Deleting a secondary contact email

1. Log in to subscribe.soton.ac.uk

2. Open the link 'Manage your secondary contacts'

3. Select the button ‘Delete’

4. Confirm your choice

5. You will a notification to the email address deleted  
Removing a secondary contact email does not require additional security checks.

 

Changing a secondary contact email

Subscribe does not allow you to change your secondary contact email. Following the instructions above, you will need to:

1. Delete your secondary contact email
2. Add a new email

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Changing your password

You can change your password with a new one as follows:

1. Sign in to Subscribe

2. Go to the section “Password and Security” and select the link “Change your password”

3. A new screen will appear:

4. Fill out the field “Your current password”

5. Fill out the field “Your new password”

6. Fill out the field “Confirm your new password” by entering again your new password

7. Select the button “Submit” to register your information

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Resetting your password

If you have forgotten your password, you can reset it yourself using:

• Your secondary contact email, if you added it previously
  or
• The security questions that you provided when creating your account, if you have not set up a secondary contact email

Resetting your password using your secondary contact email

1. Open Subscribe

2. Select the button 'Reset a forgotten or expired password'

3. Select 'Reset your Password'

4. To confirm your identity, please enter:

1. your University ID number
2. your last name
3. your date of birth
4. your month of birth.

5. Re-confirm acceptance of the Terms and Conditions

6. Press 'Send email'. This will send a reset link to your registered secondary contact email.

7. Open the email and follow the embedded link. The link will expire after 60 minutes.

8. Press 'Reset Password'

9. This will give you a new random password. Use this password to sign in to Subscribe and change your temporary password to one of your own choices.

 

Resetting your password using your security questions

1. Open Subscribe

2. Select the button 'Reset a forgotten or expired password' 

 
3. Select 'Reset your Password'

4. To confirm your identity, please enter:

1. your University ID number
2. your last name
3. your date of birth
4. your month of birth.

5. Re-confirm acceptance of the Terms and Conditions

6. Select the option to 'Use security questions'. This option will appear automatically if you have no secondary contact email recorded).

7. You will be shown one of your security questions. Enter the answer, and press 'Next'.

8. This will give you a new random password.  Use this to sign in to Subscribe and change your password to one of your own choices.

Please do not ever share your security questions and answers with another person.

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How to reset your Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

You might need to reset the device chosen to confirm your identity through Microsoft Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). You can self-reset it by using Subscribe. To do that, you need first to request a Temporary Access Pass (TAP).

What is a Temporary Access Pass (TAP)

The Temporary Access Pass (TAP) is a single-use password that allows you to sign in without having to authenticate using a secondary factor.

TAP allows you to sign in to Microsoft's MySign-in page and update your secondary factors if you no longer have access to the device you use for authentication.

Please note: by using a Temporary Access Pass to reset your authentication methods, you will not change or alter your university IT account password.

Note for Alumni

Due to Microsoft settings, at present Alumni cannot self-reset their authentication method using a TAP. Alumni unable to authenticate will need to contact ServiceLine.

 

Before starting

Before starting, please note that you will be able to request your TAP only if:

1. You have added a secondary contact email to your account
2. You have verified it by following the link within the verification email
3. You have verified your contact at least 14 days before making this request.

 

Step-by-step instructions

1.    Sign in to Subscribe

2. Go to the section “Password and Security” and select the link “Manage your Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)”

3. A new screen will appear. Go to the section “Are you unable to authenticate?” and select the button “Request Temporary Access Pass”:

Please note: you will be able to use the button “Request Temporary Access Pass” only if you have verified your secondary contact email at least 14 days before making this request over 14 days.
 
4. Confirm your identity by adding:

1. Your University ID Number (you can find it on your university ID card, for example)
2. The day of your birth
3. The month of your birth

5. A confirmation message will be displayed on the bottom-right corner of your screen and say the following content: “Your temporary access pass has been generated and sent to your secondary email address. Please check your email and follow the instructions to change your secondary authentication factors.”

6. You will receive an email to your secondary contact email address. In this email you will find:

• your TAP
• TAP’s expiration time
• useful instructions about the next actions
  
  

7. Open Microsoft's MySign-in page

8. Sign in using your university email and your TAP

9. Remove the sign-in method you no longer have access to (for example an old mobile)

10. Select the Button “Add Sign-In method” and follow the steps to add a new authentication method

11.  When prompted to use MFA to access your university account you will now be able to use your new authentication method

 

What to do if your TAP expires

If your TAP expires before you can use it, you just need to request a new one. Please note: if the original TAP has not expired and you request a new one, the original one will automatically expire.

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