Configuring Microsoft 365 to Use a Custom Domain Name

Table of Content

• Why Do PowerShell-Based Exchange Online Cmdlets Often Fail?
• Microsoft 365 Family Custom Domain with Catch all and Aliases
• Can I get around adding extra DNS records to my domain?
• Adding Your Domain to a New Microsoft 365 Account
• Can I use the default Microsoft domain name indefinitely?
• Adding Your Domain to an Existing Microsoft 365 Account

If you cannot verify the domain name, you can’t use it. Follow the prompts to purchase or attach a domain at GoDaddy, and then enter the name you want to use for your personalized address. To attach a custom domain to Outlook.com, start on this Settings page. You have to pay an annual fee to register and manage the domain, but there are no extra charges as long as your Office 365 subscription is active.

You can enable an option to update the DNS server to point to Microsoft, where Microsoft handles the process. Choosing this option means that Microsoft will be the DNS provider for your domain. This option works, but setting it up can be time-consuming.

Why Do PowerShell-Based Exchange Online Cmdlets Often Fail?

The steps in this process vary widely depending on where you registered your domain. You can see an example of this process in the screenshot below. Hopefully, you already have a custom domain name you can use.

Here, Microsoft 365 will check for the existence of the DNS record you created. It’s also worth noting that it can take up to 24 hours for new DNS records to fully go through the system, although the process typically only takes about 10 minutes. I registered a domain named posey365.com.After acquiring your custom domain name, it’s time to add it to a Microsoft 365 account. Let’s discuss adding your new domain to a new account first.

Microsoft 365 Family Custom Domain with Catch all and Aliases

But if not, it’s relatively easy and inexpensive to get one. You can go to any one of the countless domain registries available online to purchase a domain name. Any registry you choose will have a search box that allows you to search for a custom domain name.

The alternatives are a G Suite account or an Office 365 Business Essentials subscription, both of which cost $5 per user per month and don't include the Office 365 desktop apps. An Office 365 Business Premium subscription, with email and the desktop apps, costs $12.50 per user per month. At those prices, don't be surprised if some small businesses with one to five users decide to tempt the Microsoft licensing gods. This dialog box takes you to GoDaddy, which is the only supported domain registrar for Office 365 consumer accounts.

Can I get around adding extra DNS records to my domain?

Educate yourself even further on adding custom domains to Microsoft 365. Once the domain verification process completes, you’ll receive a prompt to add more DNS records to the domain’s DNS server. These records aren’t for verification purposes, but you’ll need them to make Microsoft 365 work properly. Example of retrieving a TXT file to add it to a public DNS.Once you add the required DNS record, go back to Microsoft 365 and click the Verify button.

You also have to be willing and able to configure DNS records and mail exchange handlers, a process that can seem as esoteric as anything they teach at Hogwarts. Finally, you get one and only one personalized email address per mailbox. This feature doesn't support creating additional aliases using your custom domain beyond the first one you create for each mailbox.

Adding Your Domain to a New Microsoft 365 Account

Microsoft 365 fully supports having multiple custom domain names. However, you can only map one custom domain name to each mailbox. Of course, there's no technical check that will stop you from switching a small business over to the premium features of Office 365 Home in Outlook.com, but that license agreement should frighten off most prudent business owners.

A vast community of Microsoft Office365 users that are working together to support the product and others. Setup your DNS records for domain.tld as required by Microsoft 365 Family. Read more on how you can change your email address to have it accommodate your custom domain name. Microsoft uses domain name verification to prove that you own the domain name in question.

Which then means that you can have yourself + 5 family members use a personal domain with their email. The next step in the process is to verify domain ownership. Essentially, this involves adding a TXT record to the domain’s DNS record. In doing so, Microsoft will assign you a TXT name, value, and TTL that you must add to the domain’s DNS.

Furthermore, it’s not the best option if you plan on creating additional DNS records for unrelated services. Microsoft first rolled this feature out as a standalone Outlook.com Premium subscription back in 2016, but closed the program in late 2017. For the handful of readers who still have one of these subscriptions, Microsoft sent out a notice this week that it will shut down the Outlook.com Premium dashboard at the end of February 2020 and will not renew those subscriptions when they expire.