Microsoft 365 Family Custom Domain with Catch all and Aliases : Office365

Table of Content

• Here's how Office 365 users can get a custom email address -- without corporate headaches
• Getting Started with PowerShell-Based Management for Exchange Online
• TechGenix: Article on Choosing an Active Directory Domain Name
• Microsoft 365 Family Custom Domain with Catch all and Aliases
• Configuring Microsoft 365 to Use a Custom Domain Name
• Adding Your Domain to an Existing Microsoft 365 Account

When you set up a new Microsoft 365 account, Microsoft automatically assigns a domain name to your account. This domain name is usually something like .onmicrosoft.com. It’s safe to assume that this default domain name will do the job. But it’s still good to go for a custom domain name — because it’ll better reflect your corporate identity.

You can see an example of this in the screenshot below. You can create the aliases before you add the domain to the Outlook account. In short, the easiest way to reduce the chances of human error and to save yourself some typing is to copy and paste the DNS record information. It’s also worth noting that DNS records related to Skype and Microsoft Intune are optional. You won’t need to add those records unless you plan on using those services.

Here's how Office 365 users can get a custom email address -- without corporate headaches

First, you are required to use GoDaddy to purchase or manage your custom domain. There's no way to connect a domain from another registrar to this account. I paid $12 and change for the first year of my .com domain, but renewals are a pricey $18 a year, and you'll have to pay another $10 a year if you want your contact information to be confidential, making for a $28 annual bill after the year-one promo offer expires. I am not sure if they just didn't bother to skip validation if the domain is already connected to Outlook or if the actually don't want to support it in order to push people to the Business offers even though it is a feature that is useful for private users as well. From what I have read Microsoft 365 Family allows you to assign a custom domain against your family account.

The reason probably is, that the verification email can't be send, or rather received, since the alias obviously does not exist yet. The limitation I believe is that you can only have 1 custom email address per family member. TechGenix reaches millions of IT Professionals every month, empowering them with the answers and tools they need to set up, configure, maintain and enhance their networks. Check out this guide on how to connect your domain to Office 365. Discover how you can easily remove domains from Microsoft 365.

Getting Started with PowerShell-Based Management for Exchange Online

By contrast, Google Domains charges a flat $12 for a .com domain, with privacy protection as a no-cost option. Likewise, Namecheap charges $13 for a .com domain and promises that its WhoisGuard privacy protection service is "free forever." Setup and configure your domain.tld as a custom domain in Microsoft 365 Family. If you prefer to use the default domain name, you can do so for as long as you like. Google's Gmail and Microsoft's Outlook.com are the two most popular free email services in the world, and either one is a perfectly good choice for your primary email account. As long as you're willing to settle for an address in someone else's domain, that is.

Will MS get excited if the MX records don't point to them? If you did this then I assume you would be able to receiving any alias you want including catch alls. In the Settings dialog box shown above, click Premium and then click Get Started . Catch all won't be possible with that though and you are limited to 10 aliases.

TechGenix: Article on Choosing an Active Directory Domain Name

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.

That option takes you to the Personalize Your Email Address dialog box, shown here. Click Get A Domain if you want to buy a new domain; click the small I Already Own A GoDaddy Domain link at the bottom of the dialog box to attach a domain you already own. If you have a subscription to Office 365 Home, you can share that subscription with up to five people, each of whom also gets to create a personalized email address in your custom domain. The web-based interface is ad-free, and you can use any email client, including the Windows 10 Mail app or the Outlook program included with Office 365, to access your account.

It’s easier to add a custom domain name to Microsoft 365 in the initial account setup process. However, you can still use the default option until you’re ready to add a custom domain later on. When you set up a brand new Microsoft 365 account, you’ll see a setup wizard when you log into the account for the first time. This wizard walks you through basic tasks such as installing Microsoft Office and adding a custom domain name. As you can see in the screenshot below, adding a custom domain name is as simple as entering the domain name you want to use.

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.

Second, Microsoft already saw you calculating how much you could save by ditching your expensive corporate account for this much cheaper option. You have the option of creating a custom domain name during the initial Microsoft 365 setup process.Of course, you don’t have to supply a custom domain name immediately. You can always use your default domain name for now and add your custom one at any point in the future.

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.

Microsoft 365 Family Custom Domain with Catch all and Aliases

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.

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.