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See the Big Picture for Setting Up Lightning Sync for Microsoft® Exchange
Salesforce admins can set up Lightning Sync so reps can sync contacts and events between Microsoft® Exchange and Salesforce. Salesforce admins and IT pros complete several steps, both on your Exchange server and in Salesforce.
Required Editions
| Available to sync records from: Salesforce Classic, Lightning Experience, and the Salesforce mobile app |
| Available to set up from: Salesforce Classic and Lightning Experience |
| Available in: Professional, Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer Editions with Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and Lightning Platform |
| User Permissions Needed | |
|---|---|
| To prepare your Exchange server to communicate with Salesforce: | Administrative access to your company’s Microsoft® Exchange server |
| To access and edit Lightning Sync Setup | Customize Application AND Manage Users AND Manage Lightning Sync |
Starting in Winter ’21, Lightning Sync isn’t available to new Salesforce customers. If you’re on Lightning Sync, use the Lightning Sync migration assistant for a seamless transition to Einstein Activity Capture, our long-term solution for syncing contacts and events between Microsoft® or Google applications and Salesforce.
In October 2026, Microsoft 365 replaces Exchange Web Service (EWS) with Microsoft Graph API. We recommend taking this opportunity to transition from Lightning Sync to Einstein Activity Capture with Graph API or another supported connection method. See Upgrade Microsoft Office 365 Authentication Method to Microsoft Graph in Einstein Activity Capture.
Complete these steps to set up Lightning Sync for Microsoft Exchange.
- Learn About Lightning Sync for Microsoft® Exchange Features
Keep your contacts and events in sync between your Microsoft® Exchange server and Salesforce without installing and maintaining software manually. - Choose and Configure a Method for Connecting to Microsoft® Exchange
Salesforce admins and IT pros can choose whether to connect Microsoft Exchange to Salesforce using an Exchange service account, or OAuth 2.0, and then set up that connection. Connecting using OAuth 2.0 requires a Microsoft Office 365® account. - Run the Lightning Sync Connection Test for Microsoft® Exchange Users
Salesforce admins can run the Lightning Sync connection test to confirm whether admins and IT pros have set up Lightning Sync successfully. Or, run the connection test if Lightning Sync was syncing reps’ items successfully, but suddenly stops. - Tell Reps How to Prevent Certain Microsoft® Outlook Calendar Events from Syncing to Salesforce
Salesforce admins should tell reps how to manage which of their Outlook calendar events sync with Salesforce. We recommend that reps prepare events that they don’t want to sync before admins kick off the sync process. However, reps can manage which events sync at any time. - Define Lightning Sync for Microsoft® Exchange Settings for Reps
After reps prepare their Exchange events to sync with Salesforce, admins can define sync settings for groups of reps in Lightning Sync configurations. This step kicks off the sync process, and determines how reps contacts and events sync between applications. - Tell Reps How to Sync Microsoft® Contacts with Salesforce
It’s time for Salesforce admins to tell their sales reps to manage the Microsoft contacts that reps want to sync with Salesforce.
